Ok. This is totally my fault. At the time I bought my car, I decided to buy the springs and NOT get them installed because they were charging me MORE than the springs cost. Maybe I'm an idiot or something but I didn't feel like it was worth it even tho i had it financed. For some reason, I thought I could go to another dealership and have them install them for way cheaper since people have been quoting 15 an hour on the forums. OK. I was wrong. My dealership (South Coast Toyota) is trying to charge me $290 and other places have quoted me $590. NOW what do I do? I have no experience with these things and have no access to lifts or anything, just the jack that comes in the trunk. PLEASE HELP. :nails:

the dealerships is charging for the springs AND the install??? my dealer said the $250 was for the springs plus installation.

where are you located?

best bet would be to find a local area scion club/crew and see if one of their members can help with the spring install. should take no more than 1 hr to put those springs on
we have a couple of guys in our crew that do spring installs, etc all the time. and their rates are reasonable -- $50 and a case beers... :wink:

it is very easy. There are instruction on the tech section. I changed mine myself and that was the first time I did it. On the DIY ppl said you don't need spring compressor but for the TRD springs, I think you better rent one because the springs are not short enough to push it down by hand. Just read the DIY again and again. All you need are jack stand and basic hand tools

If you don't feel comfortable doing it yourself, surely there is an auto shop nearby that would do it for half what the stealership wants. IMO it should cost less than $200. Maybe you could do the rears (very easy) and have a shop do the fronts?

BTW, I changed mine but I wouldn't recommend trying it without a spring compressor. A buddy of mine is an ASE mechanic and once related a story about a cheap spring compressor that broke while he was removing a strut spring. The spring shot 20' across the garage and broke a hole in a cinder block wall.

I bought a spring compressor from Auto Zone for $45 through their 'rent-a-tool' program. I had 45 days to return it for a full refund. The $45 was really more of a deposit and was well worth it.

if you like you head were it is..... never ever try and change strut springs without a good spring compreser.
ok enough of the scare tactics.
atleast do the rear spring yourself, its easies then changing a tire. the front is also easy but requires a bit more work and en inpact. and a local garage shouldn't charge you more than $125 to do that.

i'm in socal. anyone free today? hah thanks guys for the insight. I guess I gotta get my hands dirty SOMEtime right?

oh yea. one more thing. probably a dumb question but umm...do I need to do an alignment after?

alot of spring compainies will say it needs to be done.
TRD is not that much of a drop, so i wouldn't bother.

i lowered my front end about 2 1/2" and didn't notice any difference. i waited about 3 weeks for the springs to settle and then went and got en alignment. the toe was only out by a very small amount.

Frontier quoted me 252 for installation but wanted --get this-- $502 for the springs!!!! I'm gonna get them offa ebay and save myself almost $300. How much do the TRD springs lower the ride BTW?

what a rip. that's not even right. it's supposed to be at most 250. Dealerships man...imma install mine tomorrow with a friend. hope everything turns out ok. any tips?

trd is about a 1" drop.
oh this is 2nd gen stuff, im not sure for the 2nd gen.

Just curious but what do you need an impact gun for? I changed mine without one. I use a rubber mallet and a breaker bar in place of an impact gun.

BTW, the gen 2 TRD springs gave me about 1" drop in front and 1.5" in back. Just as advertised.

i just got done explaining this to some one elts.

http://www.scionlife.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=2804803#2804803

I can see how an impact gun could be useful or even sometimes necessary for the top strut nut but in my case the shaft didn't turn and I was able to loosen and tighten the nuts with just a socket wrench and a rubber mallet. I certainly didn't clamp vise grips onto the strut shaft or anything similarly unwise.

its alway nice when a job goes well.
yah... its not a good idea to hald the shaft with anything.

I was charged 550.00 for install plus 250.00 for springs, I feel violated after visiting another dealer that offered 550.00 out the door for all. Good luck. I guess the stealers can charge anything they want. Happy hunting.

If you haven't heard it yet... then ill say it now.... DO IT YOURSELF.. save your cash! ... rent the spring compressor and make sure you have the right sockets and you are golden! ... just need the tools and a buddy.. youll have it done in a few hours at most!

Got the springs and sway bar from Ebay for 375 with shipping and Now Frontier Scion says it'll be 320 total for installing them...

Like I said... grab a buddy and do them yourself.... the instructions tell you exactly what you need..... and how to do it.... i am by no means a grease monkey, and I did it and my car hasn't fallen apart yet.....

Only part i messed up on was not putting the new bolts on the top of the struts so i had to go back and do those, but that didnt take too long. I just took off the top cowl.

You don't really have to replace those top strut nuts but if it makes you feel better you can or just put some locktite on the threads.

Ya i figured you "really" don't have to, but I wanted piece of mind....Since the springs came with the nuts and it didnt take long to take off the cowl, I just did it anyway... now i feel better... :)

I dont want to mess up my 100,000 mile warranty. None of my "buddies" know a thing about cars... Where did you get the vinyl for your bumper? I asked Randode about this a few months ago and he replied it was not available through him, due to difficulty installing it (something about stretching). I so want it though especially now that I got the holes filled from the dealer plate.