Is this symptom a sign of bad strut springs?

Question

I have a 91 Camry LE with almost 190k miles on it. Recently, the car has been bottoming when going from driveways to street or vice versa... depending on the dip involved. It had never done that before. I looked at my shop manual and found that I could take a measurement to find if the car is riding too low (an indication that the springs, or something else, is not operating correctly). Anyway, the manual showed that I could take a measurement from the bottom side of the lower suspension arm to the ground. The manual indicated that the measurement should be 8.78 inches. Mine read 6.5 inches on both sides of the car. My question is.. "Is there something else I should be checking which could cause this problem?" If there is nothing else, I would assume that the problem resides in the springs. I would appreciate some thought son this.

Al Kondo

John S. · Accepted Answer

Are the wheels and tires the same size as originally came with the car?

Comboverfish · Answer

On a 91 Camry with those miles, the springs are most likely sagging. There is nothing else that wears out on the Camry that would cause low ride height. The struts can last that long and still perform adequately, but they may be worn out also, causing bottoming over bumps to occur even easier.

If you are checking the suspension, look carefully at the sway bar bushings that are mounted in the front lower control arms. Also check the inner tierods for looseness.

Toyota MDT in MO

BOB URZ · Answer

Maybe he ought to cut his losses, and sell the car for too much moneyas a "Lowered" tricked out car. Maybe a set of spinners and he canget a grand or more out of it than its worth......  ;)Bob

Is this symptom a sign of bad strut springs?

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