Struts or shocks - Toyota 2006 Corolla LE?

[Qacer]

I'm reading about the difference between shocks and struts, but I can't seem to tell if my car use both or either one. Since my cars ride has been getting rougher, I got it checked out and the mechanic told me that I need new struts and shocks. However, I did not get any part number or anything....

How can I tell if my car has struts or shocks?

When searching for parts, I see options for struts for both front and rear. I also see parts for shocks for the rear. From what I read, struts are more complex than shocks, but if my car has shocks, then I can't just replace it with struts.

Any tips?

 

[kitatech]

Shocks are all you need...struts are shocks surrounded by the spring and 99/100 you don't need new springs...
Unless you want to either modify the look (lower or raise the body on the wheels) or structural performance...likely not since you mention neither....other parts may be required to assist attaching the shock to the assembly and to the car, such as boots...and of course the springs IF THEY ARE BROKEN, again unlikely...

Here's a bunch of threads on Toyotanation on this subject....
http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/search.php?searchid=7710905

 

[Jimzz]

Your car has struts at all 4 wheels.

I am doing 12 struts on 3 corollas soon, plus brake work on 1, plugs on 2, etc...
make sure to replace the front mounts as well and if your car has more than 100k then I would also replace the ball joints and outer tie rods while in there. You will need an alignment after the work is done.

KYB is my preferred brand but I am using Gabriel on the 3 I have coming in. Autozone has 20% off for online orders and they have a buy 3 get the 4th strut free going on right now as well. For the mounts I ordered some off eBay, $35 for 2. For ball joints and tie rods I ordered quicksteer from www.rockauto.com

Do not buy no name Chinese struts like sensen, unity, etc... Get KYB, Monroe, or Gabriel. The labor and alignment cost would kill any savings if you get a bad one or one that does not hold up well.

 

[jagec]

Just doing shocks will be cheaper, BUT if you can get struts for not that much more expensive, it's an easier job that way.

As mentioned above, struts are just shocks wrapped in the spring assembly. You can take apart the strut to just replace the shock (which is the part that wears out 99.9999% of the time), or replace the whole strut as a unit.

 

[phucheneh]

As mentioned above, struts are just shocks wrapped in the spring assembly.

No.

A 'shock' or 'damper' can describe any of them. Being a 'strut' has nothing to do with whether the spring is located on it or not.

A Macpherson strut is structural. It takes the place of an upper control arm. There are plenty of cars out their with a coil mounted on a shock, or a bare strut with the spring mounted elsewhere.

It annoys the hell out of me that people a) find the need to make this useless distinction and then b) get it wrong, anyway.

 

[JulesMaximus]

NM, I see that your car has struts at all 4 wheels.

 

[jagec]

No.

A 'shock' or 'damper' can describe any of them. Being a 'strut' has nothing to do with whether the spring is located on it or not.

A Macpherson strut is structural. It takes the place of an upper control arm. There are plenty of cars out their with a coil mounted on a shock, or a bare strut with the spring mounted elsewhere.

It annoys the hell out of me that people a) find the need to make this useless distinction and then b) get it wrong, anyway.

In the context of standard Japanese construction, the strut assembly is as I described.

You're right that I overgeneralized.

 

[996GT2]

The technical definition is that a strut is an integral part of the suspension (i.e. it is helping to hold the suspension together). The MacPherson strut setup is the most common example of this. If you remove the strut from such a setup, the whole suspension falls apart basically, because there is no upper control arm.

In a double wishbone setup, the shock absorber/spring assembly is not an integral part of the suspension, as the suspension geometry is determined by the upper and lower control arms. In this case, the shock/spring assembly should be called a coilover, not a strut. If you removed the coilover, the wheels would still stay perfectly attached to the suspension (the suspension would simply drop to its lowest point).

Here's a good link to explain the difference:

http://www.1aauto.com/content/articles/shocks-and-struts

 

[andylawcc]

TIL x1000

 

[kitatech]

Is the strut INSERT the same as a shock absorber in function if not in name?

 

[tracerbullet]

Let's just call them all dampers and then grab a beer.

Qacer I think that you're going to see that even the websites and parts suppliers get it wrong as well. As long as the front / rear left / right thing is sorted out you should be OK regardless of what their part description is.

If you're doing it yourself, buy locally and you will be able to see the part before purchasing and know that it is the right item (take a good look at what you have first). If a shop is doing it for you, then it's up to them to get it right.