Anyone still running their original front suspension out there? How many miles do you have, which parts are still original and what part of the country do you live in?

I'm investigating doing a refresh. I need to get under and do a complete inspection, but I'm at ~195K miles now and I hear some clicking and probably need new ball joints/LCAs, maybe tie rods, definitely sway bar bushings and links. I see some uneven tire wear also. The only thing replaced up front was a complete KYB quick strut setup about 3 years ago - everything else is still original to the car. Do you have any recommendations on good aftermarket brands? Anyone have experience with TRW parts? Most of the front end parts from TRW look like they are made in Taiwan, which is a positive, IMO. Any tips on removing and replacing these parts would be appreciated as well. Normally I would keep the original Toyota parts if they are still good, but I think I want to do everything at once and call it a day. They can't be that far from failing, but prove me wrong. Let me know if you're running original parts at over 200K miles.

My rear has been completely refreshed - KYB shocks and mounts, new coil springs, new insulators, new trailing arm bushings. I don't regret doing that at all, but it was more a necessity than a choice.

 

I redid the front as the NE salt belt has eaten through the car after 16 or so years. I replaced with a lot of Mevotech. So far so good and I would certainly recommend this brand. I moved to Koni orange and H&R springs because my original TRD springs were discontinued years ago. Everything was pretty straight forward to install but the control arms were a pain to get in. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll try to answer as best as I remember. Good luck!

 

Thanks. I had some time this afternoon, jacked the driver's side up and there was a ton of play at 3 and 9 o'clock. Tight at 12 and 6. A lot of outer tire wear. Once the wheel was off, I saw the LCA bushing that is bolted through the subframe was torn up pretty good. Tie rods felt nice and tight, but I'll take it off the knuckle and check it. Sprayed everything down with PB Blaster. Praying to the rust gods that the bolts come out. Hopefully I can get to it in the next couple of weekends. I'll try to get some pics.

 

Good luck man. If you're in the NYC area I'd give you a hand. The knuckle to strut bolts, after bad mechanics and years of rust took using a beast of an impact to get off. Have a inner tie rod tool handy too. A good impact and a long breaker/cheat bar will help. I tried to replace any bushing I could with the poly ones. Next up for me is the exhaust system and rear trail arm bushings. Salt belt and metal is no bueno.....

 

Appreciate the offer. I'm in NJ actually. I think I have all of the tools I need to do this, but maybe a meet-up in the future is necessary Or maybe a group fixit session!

Trying to keep this little guy alive - I just had an exhaust shop repair a leak and install an original muffler I found on FB. No rust on the important parts like frame or body panels, but a good amount of rust on everything else. Gonna take care of all of that this summer. How are the poly bushings on these roads? I gotta imagine it's quite a bit tighter/rougher.

 

No problem man. If you ever need, the quick jacks are there for the day. I'll say, it beats jack stands in the driveway. I don't have the poly's on the control arm but just the front sway bar set. Feels pretty good and soft but I'm also coming from the old TRD set up. That springs and suspension set were tight and rough. My GF's at the time were always complaining about the harsh ride lol. I on the other hand loved it and sure was bummed when I found out they discontinued those TRD parts. Overall though, love this car and it plays into legendary Toyota reliability and engineering. Not that it needs much TLC, but it does suck that parts are harder to come by now. That's the real challenge. Again, good luck with the work and I'm all for group fix its!

 

I wonder if there are any NOS TRD parts sitting in a dealership somewhere. Manhattan Toyota still had original Scion alloy wheels from '04 for sale a couple years ago.

 

If they do, I'd buy those springs in a heartbeat but most of the time they don't list it for sale anymore. Maybe I can drop by one of these days after work and inquire. Can't even find them on Ebay which is weird Oh I have 8 of the TRD 18's sitting in my cellar but they all need to be refurbished. I loved the looks and feel of these wheels but too bad NE roads destroy anything good.

 

I guess it was over 3 years ago now, but they had this right up front at the counter. For sale, multiple sets available. I can only imagine what kind of NOS they have buried in that building.

 

I got all my parts - bought everything just in case. I went with TRW from Rockauto - was too good of a deal. All in (delivery and tax included) was less than $200. The parts look solid. Mostly made in Taiwan. First nice weekend in a while here, so went after it.



Glad I got everything, because everything was clapped out. Don't mind the exhaust spring that I found just hanging out on the subframe. Gotta look at that now...



Everything was bad - ball joints, tie rod ends, inner tie rod and bushings all kaput. End links might have been salvageable, but I had replacements in hand. Nothing devastatingly failed, but was getting close. The bushing on the top looks fine in the above pic, but here's what they look like when on the car.




I was hoping I would only need to do the LCA, but as soon as the tie rod popped off the knuckle, I knew I had to replace it too. I ended tearing the whole front end out - which was not the original plan, but I don't think I could have gotten the LCA in without doing this. It was a tight fit and needed persuasion. I found jacking up the other knuckle gives you more space away from the sway bar - less fighting you need to do. I wouldn't attempt this job without an impact wrench that hits hard. No chance in getting the LCA bolts out in a rusty environment. Also, you need to jack the engine up just a bit to get to the front LCA bolt. Here's everything hanging and the new LCA in.



Tie rod went back in smooth, no issues. I was amazed at how good of shape the boot was. That's still original.



Everything back together




Now I have to do the passenger side hahaha. Took longer than I expected and of course I didn't have a 30mm 12 point for the axle nut so had to make a run to the store. I'm hoping to bang the other side out quicker, but will not tempt the rust gods with my hubris.

Overall, job is doable, just take your time. The TRW parts do look solid and fit nicely, but time will tell. I got tires and an alignment scheduled for next week too. My car turns 20 years old in September!

 

Oh that's a great job! Good find with the parts, no need to spend for OEM on a 20 year old car. I do it when I can or when I worry about fit, but at most I just get the OEM bolts I may need because with our weather, everything is rusted out and prone to breaking. Nothing ruins repair days more than a broken bolt or nut. Wish I had enough patience to do the documenting part but thank you for posting. When my stabilizer links and control arms were replaced, they were disintegrated from 15 years of salt and North East weather. No rubber left at all! Your stuff looks pretty good for NJ! I'll look forward to some work when my family obligations start slowing down. Can't wait, although the thought of taking the rusty exhaust bolts off are not attractive right now. I really hope I don't break those and have to drill them out.....always an adventure! BTW Happy 20th to your baby!

 

Thanks man. You're right - the car isn't that bad for a car that's live its entire life in NJ. The TRW parts came with new fasteners which was a plus, but the original bolts weren't bad at all. I did snap the passenger side end link bolt the next day hahaha. Everything was similar on the other side except I had to undo the passenger motor mount to jack the engine up to get at the front LCA bolt. Also, the underside LCA bolt would not budge with my 'regular' impact wrench so I whipped out a hi torque I bought a few years ago. Took it out, no problem. I bought it for $150 about 2 years ago - worth it for that one bolt alone! I was so happy I had that and it worked. Car tracks straight now even without an alignment and on unevenly worn front tires. Every suspension/rubber component on the car is new now. The one thing I wish I had planned for was a front passenger wheel bearing - I should've bought one with the suspension parts and replaced the bearing while everything was open. I replaced the driver's side a few years ago and I'm sure the passenger side is due soon. But I'm glad I bought the whole enchilada on the suspension front. I needed every piece.

 

Some people don't know how important those parts are for a nice safe ride. I know what you mean man, I did the whole front and didn't change the hub or bearing on either side, even though I've had the mevotechs for over 2 years. They're still new in box inside a crate labeled "Scion xA parts"....that box is full of Scion parts I have gotten over the years! We need to sneak some time in for repairs.....every time I sneak off, I'm found very quickly in the driveway.....LOL.

 

I've got an SKF wheel bearing coming, hopefully in the next day or two. Should the hub be swapped out at the same time?

 

I reused the hub a few times but then got new ones when the threads on one got rusty. Also I saw you used the universal end links when I refreshed mine I used the same kind you put on and it they both made noise and I had to buy these oem style ones.

 

That's good info. I will keep my ears out for noise - what kind of noise is it? Clunking or something else? I am a little suspect of these links - they were like $2 each, even though they were made in the USA. Interestingly enough, the original bushing were made in the USA, which was a complete surprise.

 

I would say a pop kind of sound. Pretty noticeable if i was going slow and I drove over a speed bump with one side of the car or like turning into my driveway which has like a divot for water at the start and then it slopes up towards the garage

 

I got new hubs with the bearings so when it's time, I'll replace both and keep the old ones as a spare. Think it was a package deal. The mevotechs were a lot cheaper then OEM. The suspension links I got were from energy suspension. So far so good on those. If they last half as long as the original links, I'll be ok, plus they're kind of easy to replace so I wouldn't be mad if they went. If you do replace them, think about getting the Mevotech Supreme ones. Pretty good stuff and won't break the bank. Good luck!

 

I will keep an ear out for that. Thank you.

I did every wheel bearing test I know of and it passed each one of them, so I'm not messing with it yet. I'll wait until it fails. I think I'm going to order a hub for when I do replace it. Definitely will check out Mevotech links if these $2 TRW links suck. Tires and alignment tomorrow.

 

Just a quick update - no issues and the sway bar end links are still quiet. New Yokohamas have been on for 1K miles and offer a way quieter ride. Heading out for a week long camping trip this morning.

Doing this front end refresh has really made the car feel new again. Drives straight, everything is tight and can't be happier. I highly recommend doing this job at one time if you have yet to touch anything. It just make sense now for these 18-20 year old cars.