Daox's Grey 2004 Prius

[Daox]

Nope, I did not. However, it has been rainy... and I should probably check it at some point.

[Daox]

Its time to fix the Prius again! Boo... I really can't complain though. This thing has given me virtually zero problems.

So, this morning I went out to take the Mirage out for a spin. My wife parked the Prius in the opposite direction as she normally does. When I walked outside, I saw this:





So, I jacked it up and found a busted spring.





Now I need to figure out the best way to go about this. I'm debating just putting in a new spring with putting in a new strut assembly, or do both sides to prevent the possibility of this happening on the other side. Not really looking forward to the project as there is tons of rust back there...

What are your guys experience with lower cost struts like Ultra-Power? They're literally half the cost versus KYB. Monroe is right between them.

[nemo]

Rust, forgot how bad the underside gets up north. Keeping the car for awhile? Don't cheap out on the parts and do both sides. I'd put the whole assembly, don't want to replace a leaking strut next month.

[ksa8907]

My experience with monroe quick struts (I assume that's what you're looking at); they last about a year or so then you're replacing again. I'd go with the better quality if you're planning to keep it.

[MetroMPG]

Oof! Looks like a Merceds with a saggy-butt air suspension!

Were those factory or lowering springs? I know you put an aftermarket stabilizer bar back there, but I forget about the springs.

I'd do both. I had a front coil spring fail in my money pit 1989 Accord, and I cheaped out and just did the one side. The other side broke later.

[MetroMPG]

Or ... chop the other 3 springs and reap the aero benefit!?

[Daox]

They are OE springs. I've got a set of replacement strut assemblies on the way. Thanks for the help guys.

[Xist]

Hey guys, two ads for second-generation Prii with bad brake actuators posted in two days, but I swear that I never saw this before. How much have you guys seen it?

[Daox]

Never seen it. However, bleeding the brakes on the Prius can be interesting because of the electric abs pump. I would look into that before pulling the trigger on one. I think you just need an inexpensive obd2 cable that hooks up to a computer and some free software to do it.

[Xist]

The work did not seem too bad, but I read the part was expensive.