The Camry has 110k miles & the Avalon only has 35k, but they both have noisy struts. The Avalon sounds like the front end is about to fall off, but the previous owner said it sounded like that from day 1 when it was new. Constant chatter as the struts absorb road bumps....
Is there any fix or do I just need to get used to it?
You will need strut towers to fix the noise problem on the camry as well as shocks. Mine made noise from day one, in 2000? they came out with a new design strut tower that fixed the noise.
I don't have the Avalon, but read this cure somewhere. Seems they sought to reduce strut noise in the Avalon by inserting a cushion of sorts under the strut mount in the wtrut tower, which compresses and creates extra clearance - hence the noise on bumps. The cure was to loosen - only ONE at a time, the strut mounting bolts at the strut tower under the hood, and then torque them to the correct figure. I think for the Carmy it was around 53 ft. lbs. each. The idea is you only work with one nut at a time to preserve alignment settings. Worth a try - if you have a torque wrench, it's free, and was reported as a common problem for the Avalon.
The strut mounts are defective from the beginning. By now you should also change out the struts along with the mounts. Avalon back then was just a bloated Camry, so you have the same problem.
Some in the newsgroups are happy with the Monroe SensaTrac. If you do too then you can buy their "Quick Struts" complete with SensaTrac struts, springs, mounts, boots, etc. Just swap them out -- quickly -- and then get an alignment. I think these Quick Struts are guaranteed lifetime? Check
I personally don't care for the el cheapo KYB (Keep Your Bilsteins) that are often used as stock struts. It's plain without any decent valving. But if you want a cheap strut it's also got lifetime guarantee (like pretty much all the other name brand struts).
Unless your struts are shot. Either you or your mechanic re-Torque your Struct-to-Suspension support (damper shaft) nut to the recommended torque specificatins while the car is cold (very important). Example:
99' Camry 36 Ft-lbs. I had the same problem (damper shaft nut was over tightened) and the noise went away.
I've been ignoring the noise for quite awhile. I was told it was loose sway bar bushings, not struts. Supposedly, it can be tested by loosening the sway bar mounts and wrapping black tape around the sway bar and reassembling.
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