Newb Car Question

2balls · Dec 30, 2010

I had a question dealing with my car's suspension. I have a '03 corolla CE which I recently took to the mechanic and he told me I needed to replace the suspension. I also have another car a '96 corolla which he was recently fixing and he replaced the suspension in that car (cost around $1000) which broke down and is no longer drivable. My question is could I take the suspension parts from the '96 and put it into my '03 before junking the '96.

What are the adverse affects of forgoing this replacement if I choose not to replace the suspension and keep driving the car?

Aaron · Dec 30, 2010

You won't be able to swap suspensions.

Suspensions have many components, can you be more specific as to what needs to be repaired and/or replaced?

If you chose to forgo a suspension repair worst case scenario is a wheel falls off.

MrGoodBytes · Dec 30, 2010

to answer your question if they are compatible: maybe. I dont know how much the chassy may have changed between those model years.

but just to give you a heads up, the bulk of the cost in replacing the suspension is labor costs... I cant image it'd be cheaper to double pay on the labor to swap between the two cars.

rjmaiorano · Dec 30, 2010

"suspension" can be a lot of different things and my guess is you don't have to replace all of it. What specifically needs work? If you don't know then make them tell you.

Like another poster said, suspension work is labor intensive which can easily push pretty basic work past the 1k mark.

As for swapping parts from the other vehicle, off hand its possible but I don't know the chassis differences.... This is not a repair you want to forgo, but mechanic could be bullshitting you and for all you know you need a shock re-valved. But tons of drivers are on bad suspensions now and don't even know it.

2balls · Dec 30, 2010

Thanks for the input guys. I'm gonna have a friend look at it to try and pinpoint what the issue was. I couldn't understand the mechanic when he was trying to explain the issue to me. It had something to do with it causing non-uniform wear on the tires.

MrGoodBytes · Dec 30, 2010

Originally Posted by 2balls

It had something to do with it causing non-uniform wear on the tires.

too much camber/caster: you'd be able to visibly see a bowing in the wheels like from worn springs, worn strut mount hats.

or more likely its a toe-in, toe out condition which is usually from worn tie rods. if you jack your car up, you should be able to notice play in the wheels if you try jostling them...

or it could be as simple as needing an alignment.

.... I'm not one to have much faith or trust in mechanics. definitely get a second opinion and don't mention anything the prior guy told you.

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