This tutorial is useful for installing front strut bars. In this case, we will be installing a DC Sports CS-2 Strut Bar. I would like to thank DJ X Trodinaire for the pictures.

For this install, you will need:
- floor jack (either the one that comes with your xA/xB or an aftermarket will do)
- 12mm box wrench
- 10mm socket wrench (xA install)
- a buddy (optional, but recommended)

First, here is a picture of the strut bar we will be installing.
http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/strut_bar_xb/strutbar01.jpg

Now, onto the installation!

Loosen up!
Start by taking the strut nuts off the strut with the 12mm box wrench. You may have a hard time taking out the rear strut nuts out due to the wiper assembly being in the way. You can take off the wiper assembly, but it is not required. Instead of uninstalling the wiper assembly to get to the strut nuts, we will use a floor jack to lift the chassis and relieve the stress off the struts. Just make sure you loosen the problematic strut nut(s) beforing jacking up the vehicle.

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/strut_bar_xb/strutbar02.jpg

NOTE: xA owners may want to use a 10mm socket wrench to unscrew the two screws on the ends of the wiper assembly, as well. The passenger side screw is easily accessible, but the driver side screw is hidden under the foam. Failing to unscrew these may result in having bloody gashes on your fingers.

In addition, xA owners may want move the wiper wires (loomed) from behind the throttle body bracket to the front of bracket. The wiper wires may get in the way of installing the strut bar. Either unhook the throttle body cable by unscrewing the bolt holding the bracket and moving it behind the wire, or unhook the throttle body cable and bend the bracket back while moving the wiper wires in front of it. Do not forget to hook the throttle body cable back onto the bracket.

Driver Side Strut
1. Let's start with the driver side. Have your parking brake engaged and your car in gear for safety precautions. Line up your floor jack with the jack point and start jacking it up.

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/strut_bar_xb/strutbar03.jpg

2. Once the car is jacked up, push down on the tire to get the problematic strut nut out.

3. With the tire still pushed down, put the strut bar on. Once the one side of the strut bar is aligned with the strut bolts, slowly let off the tire while putting the problematic bolt back on.

4. After that, go ahead and put the other two bolts back on. Do not tighten the bolts all the way, though. The other side of the strut bar still has to be mounted.

http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/strut_bar_xb/strutbar04.jpg

5. Once all of the bolts on the first strut are back on (but not tightened!), lower the jack and move onto the passenger side of the car.

Passenger Side Strut
1. Jack the car back up using the jack point on the passenger side.

2. Once the car is jacked up, push down on the tire and remove the problematic strut nut, if there is one. If not, then continue by putting the other side of the strut bar on the strut.

3. Line up the strut bar with the bolts and put the strut nuts on before letting off the tire.

4. Go ahead and tighten the strut nuts completely. Tighten the strut nuts on the driver side while the passenger side is still jacked up, as well.

5. Once the bolts are tightened completely, lower the jack completely and double-check the strut nuts. If you have an xA, go ahead and screw the two screws back into the wiper assembly.

NOTE: I would periodically check the strut nuts to make sure they do not get loose.

Final Product
http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/strut_bar_xb/strutbar05.jpg
http://www.scionlife.com/tech/images/strut_bar_xb/strutbar06.jpg

In my xA, I noticed the car was much more responsive after I installed the DC Sports CS-2 Strut Bar. I checked the rigidity after installing the strut bar by holding the front support of the car (behind grill) and banging on the strut bar. I felt the vibrations via the front support. That might not be the best way to test it, but I did feel a difference in the front suspension while driving. I think it is a worthy upgrade.

Thanks for the write up.this will come in handy since this is exactly the strut I will be buying....................juan

Thanks for the write up.this will come in handy since this is exactly the strut I will be buying....................juan

Yeah, I noticed your post in the sponsered sales section. :lol: I was like "manejounxa will probably find this useful..." :D

mikochu ur car looks like my car.

when i was doing mine i found it easier to get it on if both front wheels were off the ground. the struts dropped down easier then

mikochu ur car looks like my car.
BCP xB? That's DJ X Trodinaire's... I have a Polar White xA...

when i was doing mine i found it easier to get it on if both front wheels were off the ground. the struts dropped down easier then
If I had jackstands, I would've just lifted the front and put the jackstands...but not everyone has jackstands.

should those spacers still be on? i didnt know so i took mine off. what difference do they make on or off?

should those spacers still be on? i didnt know so i took mine off. what difference do they make on or off?

I think the instructions for either the DC or Hotchkis bars said to keep it on...so I kept them on.

my dc one didnt come with instructions.

my dc one didnt come with instructions.
Neither did mine...I bought mine used. I remember reading about it, though.

read your walkthru and it was even easier than I thought it would be. I even used just a box wrench to get them all loose (a rubber mallet helps) . No one was home so I just pushed the tire down with my knee while jacked up and it was a breeze. Drove around the block and it does feel tighter. Didn't remove wiper aseebly, it was so easy.

I was gonna waith til my springs came but what the hell. Will be using the excelent guide that I read thu the other day on this great site.

thanks to all.

I'm glad we could help!

On most strut bars I've seen listed for sale for the xB, they state they are for the '03 - '04 models. Is the '05 any different, or has the manufacturer just not updated their info?

On most strut bars I've seen listed for sale for the xB, they state they are for the '03 - '04 models. Is the '05 any different, or has the manufacturer just not updated their info?

They are the same...

I am about to Install this puppy on my XB today Thank You for The tips, this sounds like it will help a great deal!!!!!

JERMDOC

I am about to Install this puppy on my XB today Thank You for The tips, this sounds like it will help a great deal!!!!!

JERMDOC

Cool, I just riveted a new DC Sports badge on mine not more than 5 minutes ago. I'm gonna reinstall the strut bar in a bit.

All went as planned, thanks for the help!!!

Tomorrow I will install a header I hope this Strut is not in the way!

I found it just as easy to remover the wiper cowl and assembly, granting me full access to the bolts. Took me under an hour to install last night. Great product!

My tC is comming next week and I am in the process of getting the front strut bar .... just like the install here (but on the tC). Would the install be similar? Also, what exactly is jacking up the car doing to ease getting to the rear nut? I do not have the car so I dont have a picture becides what is posted here (to understand whats going on). . . .plus I normally dont install anything on my car myself but this looked too easy to not try. Please give any info.

Did this on my xB...make sure you jack up the drivers side at least... I forced it on the passenger side but had to jack up the drivers side.

i just used tha lift at work?????

jackstands??

I wish I would've seen this thread the other night. I searched, but I think i searched for strut TOWER bar... My Megan Racing bar didn't come with any instructions either and it was new.

I found another thread that gave this same info on jacking it up which made it very easy. In fact, I could just stick my foot in my rim and push it down as needed. Those things are so versatile...

I wish I would've seen this thread the other night. I searched, but I think i searched for strut TOWER bar..
booooo, you should've checked the tech section, Mark!

I swear I did. That's why i was surprised to see this here today. Must be due to the nice new layout of the Tech Section, even sorting things by vehicle. [/shameless plug]

Just wanted to throw my Thanks in with the rest. Just installed my CS-2 in about 30 min. Thanks to that great step-by-step. :bow: We're not worthy! :bow:

i just used tha lift at work?????

jackstands??

Why would you need to use jackstands?

Excellent article mikochu, this will come in very handy once my xA RS2 arrives. :bow:

Mikochu, you said you check the nuts/bolts on the strut bar every so often. Do you find that you actually need to? I plan to install mine this time around, but the bar on my xB was pre-installed, and I never had to check the bolts. They seemed to stay on fine.

Also, just out of curiosity did you use the torque measurements in the instructions or did you just use the "this feels pretty freakin' tight" method? I didn't know if using one over the other would be safer. Answer sounds obvious to me, but I'm not a car guy by any means, so I may not truly know.

Another also, your tech guides are amazing. You present all of your stuff in exactly the right way, even a tuner-newbie like myself can understand. Thank you!

i install mine today was very easy

Finally got my DC strut bar and installed. Took an hour because the nuts kept falling in the back. I had to use wire coat-hanger to get it out. Thanks for the write-up.

My DC instructions mention torquing the bolts after installation. Are all of you ignoring that part? Seems to me you HAVE to move that wiper cowling part in order to do that and I'm not sure how to go about it.

gm2: send me a PM or email me at tranceisgood4u@yahoo.com and I will upload you a PDF file that shows you exactly how to remove the cowling and the torque specs. It's from the Scion tC repair manual. I would host a link, but I don't know how -.-


btw, its for a toyota trd strut bar and a tC, but instructions on how to remove the windshield cowl should be almost identical.

:bow: :bow: :bow: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU


The write up made it very easy and less intimdating. My 6 y.o. son helped with the install of my Megan strut bar today, nd it went very well. Only thing different with the wtire-up and the install on my 06 is I removed the spacer plates. The bolts would not come all the way through the nuts with the plates still installed. Otherwise, this was very easy install and took about 30-45 minutes, which included letting my son use the jack and his new creeper to look underneath.

Thanks again for the write up!!

I'm not sure which way is better but I installed mine by removing wipers and cowling. This gave me lots of room to work and ensure the nuts were good and tight.

I just did this mod today....well yesterday (4am now). I didn't have to jack the car up and lower the wheels. It was tight, but you can get that back nut off without jacking up the car. The plate that is already on the strut tower won't come off, but the new plate for the strut bar will go right on with no trouble. You gotta use a long box wrench (12mm) to get to the back nut. Didn't have to remove the wiper cowling either. The mod took about 15 minutes or so.

Drove the car to work tonight. The handling was MUCH improved. It just seemed tighter in the corners, with more control. Great and inexpensive modification.

UPS deliverewd my Hotchkiss STB this evening and it was on within the hour. I swear the instructions that can with the bar look like they came straight out of the Scion manual. Piece of cake.

I am thinking of buying the strut bar most likely I will , I Anyone notice Dramatical differences between having one and not having one ?

Anyone knows the proper torque for the strut nuts?

Anyone knows the proper torque for the strut nuts?
29 ft lbs

hey guys... i threw on my dc sports strut bar when i was installing the springs. i noticed that the fuel line that does a rollercoaster loop, touches the bar and theres no where to gently ziptie it away and its not meant to bend or anything. i was worried it may rub, so i bought some wire loom and wrapped it around the contact point.

was i being too paranoid or what... has anyone had issues with that fuel line?

hey guys... i threw on my dc sports strut bar when i was installing the springs. i noticed that the fuel line that does a rollercoaster loop, touches the bar and theres no where to gently ziptie it away and its not meant to bend or anything. i was worried it may rub, so i bought some wire loom and wrapped it around the contact point.

was i being too paranoid or what... has anyone had issues with that fuel line?
No, you're not being too paranoid. Both the TRD and the Hotchkis bars come with plastic loom to protect that fuel line....though with the TRD, the fuel line does not actually make contact with the bar. But they included it just to make sure, as the tolerences for each car may vary some.

cool thx

thank you, thank you for writing this article up. I was out last night trying to install my greddy strut bar with all instructions in japanese and i couldn't figure out how to get the back driver side bolt out. Now I know! I'm going to give it a much more informed go at it tonight.
:clap:

Let's see a picture of that Greddy bar once you ge it installed.

So I used this guide to un-install my TRD Strut Bar. Everything seemed to go fine, no problems. Drove to work, and didnt notice much of a difference until...

As Im getting close to work, I hear an almost metal on metal sound. Like if something was slightly rubbing and hitting against metal. I heard it everytime I accelerrated for a couple of blocks, then it just went away.

Not sure what to think of it, but I dont see how anything could've got messed up since nothing was really changed. Everything is nice and snug on the strut mounts.

I went to a local shop and showed them if they could do it for me---------- they wanted to charge me $60.00 for it!! Whaaaa...... i'll just buy a floow jack!

My problem is there are no 12mm box wrench that are long enough to provide torque.

bumps, for my xa i have this black cup looking thing next to the (facing the hood) right strut under the hood. what do i do? also it "looks" as if my SRI might be in the way or might not. how do i lower it? i got the greddy front strut, waiting for springs and a rear sway and either have a friend do it or do it myself.

Very nice write-up!
Thanks!

bumps can anyone help me out? ^^^

bumps, for my xa i have this black cup looking thing next to the (facing the hood) right strut under the hood. what do i do? also it "looks" as if my SRI might be in the way or might not. how do i lower it? i got the greddy front strut, waiting for springs and a rear sway and either have a friend do it or do it myself.

bumps help please.

nice write up, this will come in handy when i go to do mine. Thanks