After watching this video, I decided to replace the rear struts on my 2011 Venza (184K miles on originals) myself. This video was great, but it wasn't as simple as it looks. Our mechanic wanted $860 to replace the pair. I bought a new pair for $250 online (KYB SR4455 for rear left, SR4454 for rear right). These are OEM units; I wouldn't mess around with cheap Chinese knock-offs (see Scotty Kilmer's video on that subject). Without an air wrench, it was hard to break the large bolts loose, even with a long breaker bar. It was hard to get the bar in a good place. It was also really hard to get the large bolts back into the new unit (for the first one; on the 2nd one, they went in easily). I probably spent 2 hours on the first one, and I had a helper. The 2nd one I did by myself in about an hour, although I did need a helper to put the nuts on the top of the strut while I held it in place. Tip for putting in main strut bolts at the bottom: Use a floor jack to gently lift the brake assembly into position, then put a socket extension into the top hole to hold it in place. You can then tap the strut with a rubber mallet to position it the rest of the way for the bottom bolt. After putting in the bottom bolt, use the jack on the caliper to position the top hole correctly for the top bolt.
The second one is always easier. 😂 was on my 2010. I was cussing the first one. Second one took me maybe 10 minutes. First one was probably an hour. But I have power tools.
Update, and something to watch for. Replacement strut was not quite OEM fit. There were 2 little "ears" sticking out about 1/2" x 1.5" on the round disc that forms the lower coil pocket - you can actually see them in this video if you look at it at 3:28 and then back up a few seconds to see the OEM one. One of the ears was very close to the body. I already had the strut installed when I noticed it, so I took a chance and left it. It did make contact, made some noise, wore off some of the sound deadener too. I pulled the strut almost all the way off again today and cut the ear off with a Dremel. Seems OK now. Would have been a lot easier to cut it off on the bench before initial installation. Strut was by FCS, bought locally. Price for identical part was cheaper through Rock Auto but after adding shipping it was almost the same.
Just did one rear strut on my 2011 Venza with 340,000km on it. Only replaced the one that was leaking, ride seems fine with just the one new strut. Removing the 12 yr old sway bar link was the big challenge - the little rusty 5mm hex hole stripped out immediately, ended up cutting it off with a Sawzall, if I ever do it again I'll likely try to use a nut splitter instead. Bottom bolts would never have come off if I hadn't had a 1/2" impact gun. Total damage for 1 aftermarket link $56 and 1 strut $174 CDN. Plus about 4 hrs time including a trip out mid-job to get a 22mm impact socket. My usual mechanic's rough estimate was $600 per side, Toyota dealer I'm sure would be way more than that.
So much better than the other one which only has a bunch of pictures which can be very deceiving. I’m glad that he struggled a little this way I’ll be more prepared when working on mine
You should always get an alignment after working on your suspension or steering components. The new struts may be slightly different from the old ones. If your alignment is off, your tires will wear out more quickly than normal and the car might not handle as well. Most cars come from the factory without camber adjustment bolts, so theoretically the alignment would not change when you install a new strut. An alignment is recommended but it's possible you can get away without doing it.
Im curious where you found 145 torque for the rear bolts? On toyota-specs im seeing 85 for the lower bolt "Rear Strut Lower Bolt Torque Spec 85 ft-lbs" and 155 for the front. Can you confirm a source?
The best quality struts are Toyota. KYB is a pretty good cheap replacement. Dude who owns this car went with el cheapo eBay struts. I bet they're broken by now.
If you search YT you’ll find how to video for door panel removing. There is one specifically for Venza. I done sound deadening on my Venza recently and brought the noise in the cab down by 6.5dBL. I used that video to get oriented on the panel removing process. Attaching the sound proofing is straight forward. Wear long sleeve and gloves not to get scratched.
@@SuperMan-uj7dh I got the NOICO, the thicker version of what appears as the tar and alum. foil sandwich - 72 sq ft of it total - $120 or so. Did the doors in the cavity and also just under the panel if you know what I mean. Then in the trunk - removed the spare and lined out that entire area. I also removed the side panels back there and did little behind those. And then the plastic covers covering the spare tire from underneath. Then the tail gate but that’s a difficult access so didn’t do much there and there also a different material is recommended there. I did little underneath as I was changing all the oils (AWD) And then under the hood a bit too. There is a lot of videos made, Scotty Kilmer has one too. Sorry if that’s too many details 😆
@@denisurbanczik9057 Thank you for replying!! I have no idea how to remove the side panels in the rear? Could you help me with that? Could I contact you via email? I really want to make my car quieter!
It will always cost more to replace the ride quality and reliability from any strut that isn't Toyota The Gabriel's, Monroe's, Sensen, KYB, Etc are garbage... It's not even worth doing unless you plan to sell within a year. I've never once seen a good long-term result from cheap junk quickstruts. Some rust up and start sagging/leaking within a year, even seen some shear at the pinchwelds and cause the wheel to to horizontal, especially when you don't replace with an original OEM strutmount (those things have bearings, if you don't replace those you're wasting time). Hopefully you've checked that you've checked those suspension parts for play as this can cause all sorts of issues. In short, make sure you bring your suspension tierods, balljoints, control arms, endlinks and bushings (as well as engine mounts) back to factory condition. Then decide whether it's worth it or not to invest so much money into an old car. Also your tires and alignment should be checked as well, some tires are just loud AF and imo new tires will provide better noise insulation, safety via better grip, better fuel economy and safety as well as stopping distance (tires take away some load from the brakes and such). Can we see an update btw? 3 years in life?
I really appreciated how to the point this was. Time is money. Extremely accurate even provided tq specs. And sizes for nuts and bolts.
After watching this video, I decided to replace the rear struts on my 2011 Venza (184K miles on originals) myself. This video was great, but it wasn't as simple as it looks. Our mechanic wanted $860 to replace the pair. I bought a new pair for $250 online (KYB SR4455 for rear left, SR4454 for rear right). These are OEM units; I wouldn't mess around with cheap Chinese knock-offs (see Scotty Kilmer's video on that subject). Without an air wrench, it was hard to break the large bolts loose, even with a long breaker bar. It was hard to get the bar in a good place. It was also really hard to get the large bolts back into the new unit (for the first one; on the 2nd one, they went in easily). I probably spent 2 hours on the first one, and I had a helper. The 2nd one I did by myself in about an hour, although I did need a helper to put the nuts on the top of the strut while I held it in place. Tip for putting in main strut bolts at the bottom: Use a floor jack to gently lift the brake assembly into position, then put a socket extension into the top hole to hold it in place. You can then tap the strut with a rubber mallet to position it the rest of the way for the bottom bolt. After putting in the bottom bolt, use the jack on the caliper to position the top hole correctly for the top bolt.
How is your ride after the replacement? I replaced my 2009 venza with the same KYB unit and now it’s so bumpy.
The second one is always easier. 😂 was on my 2010. I was cussing the first one. Second one took me maybe 10 minutes. First one was probably an hour. But I have power tools.
Update, and something to watch for. Replacement strut was not quite OEM fit. There were 2 little "ears" sticking out about 1/2" x 1.5" on the round disc that forms the lower coil pocket - you can actually see them in this video if you look at it at 3:28 and then back up a few seconds to see the OEM one. One of the ears was very close to the body. I already had the strut installed when I noticed it, so I took a chance and left it. It did make contact, made some noise, wore off some of the sound deadener too. I pulled the strut almost all the way off again today and cut the ear off with a Dremel. Seems OK now. Would have been a lot easier to cut it off on the bench before initial installation. Strut was by FCS, bought locally. Price for identical part was cheaper through Rock Auto but after adding shipping it was almost the same.
Just did one rear strut on my 2011 Venza with 340,000km on it. Only replaced the one that was leaking, ride seems fine with just the one new strut. Removing the 12 yr old sway bar link was the big challenge - the little rusty 5mm hex hole stripped out immediately, ended up cutting it off with a Sawzall, if I ever do it again I'll likely try to use a nut splitter instead. Bottom bolts would never have come off if I hadn't had a 1/2" impact gun. Total damage for 1 aftermarket link $56 and 1 strut $174 CDN. Plus about 4 hrs time including a trip out mid-job to get a 22mm impact socket. My usual mechanic's rough estimate was $600 per side, Toyota dealer I'm sure would be way more than that.
Good video. You showed all the points needing to see when I fast forward thru other videos.
Those sway bars really made me work for it 😂
Fantastic video, I'll be using this as a guide on our Venza. Thanks!
So much better than the other one which only has a bunch of pictures which can be very deceiving. I’m glad that he struggled a little this way I’ll be more prepared when working on mine
This vid would be perfect if would put list of needed tools at start of vid. Otherwise it's dead on. Thanks for the quality vid. It helped.
Excellent video. Thanks!
Short and excellent way !!!
Do I need to get an alignment after replacing the struts? What if I just replace the rear?
You should always get an alignment after working on your suspension or steering components. The new struts may be slightly different from the old ones. If your alignment is off, your tires will wear out more quickly than normal and the car might not handle as well.
Most cars come from the factory without camber adjustment bolts, so theoretically the alignment would not change when you install a new strut. An alignment is recommended but it's possible you can get away without doing it.
@@LabCoatPaul Thank you! very much appreciate the video and info.
fast video worth every second of it!!!!!
Excellent video!! What do you torque the top strut nuts down to ? Front (under the hood)and rear (under the plastic covers inside the car).
the best vid i saw ever!! Thx man!
God bless you sir
Impressive video! Well done sir.
Im curious where you found 145 torque for the rear bolts? On toyota-specs im seeing 85 for the lower bolt "Rear Strut Lower Bolt Torque Spec 85 ft-lbs" and 155 for the front. Can you confirm a source?
Good job
What brand would you recommend. I have a 2010 venza
The best quality struts are Toyota. KYB is a pretty good cheap replacement. Dude who owns this car went with el cheapo eBay struts. I bet they're broken by now.
@@LabCoatPaul Thank you.
FSM says torque for those big bolts is 214 ft/lbs, but yours is much less.
i saw the same spec too
are the struts the same part on another model like a rav4 or camry?
Hi could you please add sound deadening to this car? I have this Venza and I don't know how to remove the door panels. Please!
If you search YT you’ll find how to video for door panel removing. There is one specifically for Venza. I done sound deadening on my Venza recently and brought the noise in the cab down by 6.5dBL. I used that video to get oriented on the panel removing process. Attaching the sound proofing is straight forward. Wear long sleeve and gloves not to get scratched.
@@denisurbanczik9057 You did 4 doors only? Which brand of sound deadener did you use?
@@SuperMan-uj7dh I got the NOICO, the thicker version of what appears as the tar and alum. foil sandwich - 72 sq ft of it total - $120 or so. Did the doors in the cavity and also just under the panel if you know what I mean. Then in the trunk - removed the spare and lined out that entire area. I also removed the side panels back there and did little behind those. And then the plastic covers covering the spare tire from underneath. Then the tail gate but that’s a difficult access so didn’t do much there and there also a different material is recommended there. I did little underneath as I was changing all the oils (AWD) And then under the hood a bit too. There is a lot of videos made, Scotty Kilmer has one too. Sorry if that’s too many details 😆
@@denisurbanczik9057 Thank you for replying!! I have no idea how to remove the side panels in the rear? Could you help me with that? Could I contact you via email? I really want to make my car quieter!
It will always cost more to replace the ride quality and reliability from any strut that isn't Toyota
The Gabriel's, Monroe's, Sensen, KYB, Etc are garbage... It's not even worth doing unless you plan to sell within a year.
I've never once seen a good long-term result from cheap junk quickstruts. Some rust up and start sagging/leaking within a year, even seen some shear at the pinchwelds and cause the wheel to to horizontal, especially when you don't replace with an original OEM strutmount (those things have bearings, if you don't replace those you're wasting time). Hopefully you've checked that you've checked those suspension parts for play as this can cause all sorts of issues.
In short, make sure you bring your suspension tierods, balljoints, control arms, endlinks and bushings (as well as engine mounts) back to factory condition. Then decide whether it's worth it or not to invest so much money into an old car.
Also your tires and alignment should be checked as well, some tires are just loud AF and imo new tires will provide better noise insulation, safety via better grip, better fuel economy and safety as well as stopping distance (tires take away some load from the brakes and such).
Can we see an update btw? 3 years in life?
Yikes. I’ve never seen a set of shocks totally fail like that on a Toyota. Especially on one that new.
If only automakers would make all of their own products, stuff like this wouldn't happen.
Where did you buy the loaded struts for this car?
These struts came from eBay. You can also get loaded struts at discount auto parts stores like AutoZone, O'reilley, Advance Auto Parts, and NAPA.
I wouldn't have reinstalled the factory sway bars tbh lol what a terrible design, same as my 2000 Camry
good garbage!😆
Excellent video! Thank you.