Also true, but again, I've been giving the mechanic the benefit of not having missed (deliberately or not) a wet strut assembly with dirt caked all over it... Plus, a blown strut will basically not affect whether suspension is able to be compressed easily or not (aside from the gas charge). My money would still be on blown out upper bushings, but as mentioned earlier, OP is likely going to be replacing EVERYTHING at once with take-offs from another car, so this is really just academic at this point..

Agreed. I wonder how "easily" it was really. If it were truly easy to move it a few inches, I'd also suspect bushing. I just don't like when a mechanic gives a blanket statement and a possible smoke and mirrors show.. instead of "come here and look at this bushing", etc.

I do have a deep distrust of most mechanics though ;)

Is there anyone in Toronto who can spend 30 min to help this guy take out his strut assembly and take pics?

I would like to see pictures of the top hat bearing, the rubber donut below the upper spring perch (spring isolator) and where the shock shaft enters its body.

Wish I had time to do it, too busy for the next couple months :(

so to update.

i brought my FRS to a friend of mine today and he took a different approach to checking the suspension, he bounced the car on the front left fender and front right fender and said its moving way too much... said he agreed something might not be right with the suspension

we put the car on the lift and both the front struts were leaking hydraulic fluid everywhere!!

It's odd because we drove the car before so i could show him the sounds i was experiencing over bumps.. and he said it doesn't drive bad at all

but the proof was in the pudding when we put it on the lift.


Luckily i purchased StraightOuttaCanadaEh's OEM 17 struts + end links that I will be installing next week.

I also noticed one of the rear bushings connecting the diff to the suspension on the rear was leaking... so will need to look into that as well.... it seems like it cracked

thought about replacing the ball joints but you can't even buy them separately from Toyota. hopefully these ball joints can last with the new struts...



To everyone in this thread saying they've driven cars 200k+ miles with stock suspension. This is clearly not the case on this car. Just DD duties + occasional spirited driving on roads similar to tail of the dragon...... and both front struts leaking.. Meh

I replaced my stock suspension with 2018 suspension around 85k miles. It hadn't totally gone yet, but was definitely worn. I'm at 103k miles now and am seeing similar wear with my diff bushings. Ball joints still seem fine, but I have started pricing out replacing all my bushings and ball joints too.

how was the upgrade to the 18 suspension?

I'm also a 13 FRS... can't wait to see what the new ride will be like!

How are you planning to do the ball joints? are you going to buy OEM front control arms? I read they come assembled with the control arms

I have 130K miles on my stock shocks with zero issues. Oh, and I am on lowering springs. My miles are almost all 401 though so that may make the difference.
Interested to know where these roads like Tail of the Dragon are located though!

the escarpment, forks of credit (lots of cops though), and up north near lake simcoe had some nice roads i cant remember the name. nothing like the dragon though i exaggerated

It's pretty great. Rides and performs better. Planning to get the updated rear sway bar, believe it's 1mm bigger, as well.

Yeah, I just priced it out with new control arms. Hoping aftermarket ball joints become readily available soon. Or I'll find someone parting out a low mileage car.

OK those I know. I thought there was some hidden gem I was missing out on. If you are ever south the Tecumseh Highway (2 and 36) between Windsor and Chatham are pretty nice. No cops either.

Havn't seen you on TV yet.

I'll wave when I do though.

On Heavy Rescue 401? I have drove past them while filming at least twice. I always watch for a hint of orange going by when I recognize the crash.

Guys I installed the OEM coils I purchased from another member here and it fixed all the issues.

Car rides nice and smooth now , no more clunks or anything.

I picked the gf up today without telling her what I did to the car, and she said the car feels more “normal” lol. That’s pretty much the seal of approval


Up next is my diff bushings... they are messed up. Does the subframe need to come out to remove those?