I've never done it before and my wife's '99 Camry needs them done. Should I do it myself or take it in? If I take it in how much can I expect to pay?

I did the shocks on a Miata not too long ago. I don't think struts are really much different. You'll need a spring compressor. Be careful with the springs and it should be very do-able.

Someone here like 1Ags has probably done this on a Camry.

Check if Monroe 'Quick Struts' are available for your car. Used them on my wifes car. 20 mins max per side. Two bolts at the bottom and three at the top.

http://www.monroe.com/products/Quick-Strut

Just coat all bolts/nuts with PB Blaster the night before you start.

Also, from everything I've read the hardest/worst part is using the spring compressor, esp. if you don't have a impact gun to set them in place (lots of hand cranking otherwise).

+1 on the Monroe Quickstruts. No special tools necessary and made the job easy. Lots of videos on youtube that walk you through if you need help.

I've changed out about ten sets of struts on varying cars. It really depends on the car. My 2005 Xterra was pretty easy.

My wife's Acura RSX was a little more difficult because of the tighter space, especially the rears. Had to remove interior panels and the top nuts were pretty hard to reach.

If they are MacPherson struts, strut integral part of stearing system, then you will need to have the front end re-aligned once you replace them.

If you have worked on cars before, and if you have a shop manual, factory or Haynes, you should be able to do it yourself, but be willing to give it a full day for all four.

Also, pay attention to how they came off the car. Some cars require all the parts to go back in exactly how they came out, but you don't realize it until you try to put the assembly back on the car and realize the top holes do not line up, even though the bottom does.

You can rent the spring compression tool at AutoZone or O'Reilly. Make sure when you buy the replacement struts that you buy all the wear parts along with the cartrdige, like the rubber bumpers, dust covers, etc. You won't want to reuse the old ones.

Not sure how much the dealer or a repair shop would charge, because I get satisfaction in doing these things myself.

Actually about to replace the wife's Acura TSX shocks/struts all the way around, along with brake pads.

QUickstruts FTW.

The Quickstruts are about twice the price of the replacement types (FYI).

I'm doing mine this weekend. The parts were $300 (less the $45 I get back from Monroe for their buy 3 get on free rebate).

$50 for the spring compressor, which O'Reilly will refund when I return it.

The dealer wanted $765 to do all four on my Odyssey. So with the Monroe MIR I'll save almosts $500.
(NOTE: OEM Parts would have cost me ~$400 but from everything I've read on the Honda forums, the Monroe Sensatrak struts are far supperior to the OEM).

Reload,

did the Odyssey this weekend.

The spring compressor are in deed a PITA. I did not get them compressed quite enough, so when I went to put everything back together the spring was not short enough.

No problem, just compress it more..wrong. With nothing holding the spring, the compressors started to slide along the coils and suddenly I have this bent sprint that won't install no matter what.

After screwing with it for an hour, I realized I'd scrooded the pooch, took it to a local shop and $50 later I had two new struts all assembled.

Taking the strut assembly apart was pretty easy, (even w/o the air tools). So, if you've got a good local mechanic, check with him and see what he want's to assemble the struts for you and let him do it.

It will probably take less time to drive to his place and let him do it than screwing with the compressors. The shops have a big hydraulic system that collapses everything together. There should be marks on the old strut parts that you will reuse so everything is alligned (don't worry if it's not, you can spin it in place if needed).

Oh, it took me longer to jack up the van and take the tires off than it did to actually remove and replace the rear shocks.

good luck.

[This message has been edited by agracer (edited 4/14/2011 3:11p).]

I replaced the shocks in mu Miata, which is essentially the same as a McPherson strut using just a pair of packing straps. Found it easier than a strut, or coil spring compressor.