Are strut spring spacers any good?

Question

I have a 91 Toyota Camry LE. I know that my front struts are worn and need replacing. I have done this procedure before and will be doing it myself again. However, because my car is "bottoming" on occasion, I think that my springs are bad. I am having a hard time locating the springs at my usual parts houses and even on the internet. While researching the part, I found that spacers exist which can be placed within the spring to make them ride higher. I would like to hear from people who are experienced with these so I can determine if they are any good. I can get them at my local AutoZone for about seven bucks.

Thanks, Al Kondo

N8N · Accepted Answer

In a word, no. Honestly if your struts really are shot you may not have a spring problem at all. Otherwise I would just buy a new set of springs and be done with it. The only good spring spacers are the ones that sit in the spring seat; I assume you're talking about the little things that go in between the coils, which are worthless.

nate

<HLS · Answer

I have had to use these when trailering with a car that was not really set up for it. Used them on my rear coils, and they gave me enough lift to get me home, and stability was fine.

I would not use them as a long term alternative, and agree with Nate that you may not have a spring problem at all. New struts may solve the issue.

scrook · Answer

The spacers will just negate some of the  the action of the springs making the car ride harder (and bottom out harder), the bottoming probably arises from lack of damping due to the worn out struts.

MisterSkippy · Answer

IMHO, the bottoming might well be due to the fact that the struts are doing little to dampen the spring travel. Back in the day, I used those rubber spacers between the front coils on a '61 Galaxy In which I replaced the original 292 with a 390. Still bottomed. Eventually I had to change the springs. FWIW YMMV DFB

Are strut spring spacers any good?

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