SUPERSTRUT. FAQ.

[Mr Revhead]

Super strut suspension was developed for use by Toyota in the ST205 rally car, how ever they soon reverted back to conventional macpherson strut for reliability reasons.
However it was fitted as standard to certain ae101 and ae111 levin/treunos and st20# currens and celicas as well as zzt231 celicas
if a vehicle has stock superstrut, it also has stock LSD (except ae101 n/a)

Its purpose is to minimise camber change through out the travel of the suspension.
to do this is has some extra linkages. this causes some issues when trying to diagnose noises in the suspension as it can be hard to pin point which joint has worn.

All joints in the s/s system are prone to wear, usually the camber (A) and no1 control arm (B) are the first and most common to wear, although the lower control arm no2 (C) can also wear out the rear bush where it mounts to the body. this bush is not sold seperatly by Toyota.
The top ball joint (D) also wears.

with the ae101 the camber arm and lower arm no1 are sold as one unit.
with the ae111 and st20# the camber arm and lower arm no1 are sold seperately

For A and B typical replacement kilometres is around 80-120k. but driving style and suspension set up and roads driven on can alter that.
Aftermarket and rebuilt ball joints tend to not last as long, often requiring replacement within 6 months.

In the AE111 pic i have roughly drawn in blue how the arms bolt up.



AE101
AE111
ST20#

[RunningRich]

Pictures say a thousand words:

http://gtfour.supras.org.nz/superstrut.htm


How is the new Celica superstrut holding up to age?

[Mr Revhead]

awesome, good link.
thanks for that.

new celica, well untill you mentioned it and i double checked the EPC, i didnt even know they has SS!

only the JDM ones have it, 99% of the ones we service here are nz new ones.
the camber arm is listed as a fast moving part, so it looks like they have the same amount of wear.

[KinLoud]

Here a re post of some of my past comments on Superstrut suspension.

This is based on my experience with my s/s GTZ and driving other s/s cars with worn s/s joints. If you need to replace superstrut components talk to Mr Revhead as he can help you out with a very good price.

CHECKING SUPERSTRUT SUSPENSION
- Jack up front of car, remove front wheels.
- take hold of the spring perch (where the bottom of the spring sits) with both hands.
- try to twist the strut.
If the strut doesn't twist, the superstrut joints on that side are ok.
If the strut twists (you should be able to see movement in the short s/s arm joints)....
- 1-2mm (measured at the edge of the spring perch) means it will probably pass a warrant but will need replacing quite soon. You might be able to just notice the car wandering a bit when driving over changing road camber or when braking/accelerating.
- more than 2 mm it will probably fail a warrant, it will need replacing. The car will wander over changing road surfaces and change direction noticably when accelerating or braking. You will know something is wrong!

S/S joints have a huge load on them, from accelerating, braking and going over bumps. The front s/s control arm has a short arm that connects to the suspension strut. The suspension strut has a ball joint that locates the top of the steering knuckle/hub. If the joints at either end of the short arm become worn the suspension strut can rotate. If it rotates it causes the top of the steering knuckle to move forwards or backwards (due to bumps, accelerating or braking). This causes the wheel to point out a bit or in a bit, causing the car to wander left or right without you moving the steering wheel. This can be very dangerous!

STRANGE NOISES?
Creaking noise? Often in Superstrut cars the creaking isn't the lower link arm. I've driven a GTZ with superstrut with totally rooted lower link arm and it didn't make a noise! It just wandered across the road!

Other suspension noises can be caused by worn swaybar links, small stones getting stuck between the swaybar and the swaybar mounting brackets, loose bolts etc.

If the lower link arm is shagged - only put in toyota genuine new!!!
Anything else wears out in about 5,000km!!!
Cost might be a bit more but you won't regret it.

Ken
Hamilton
021 408 863

[Crucible]

if a vehicle has stock superstrut, it also has stock LSD.

ahh didnt know that!

that is all

[The Last Streetfighter]

I don't agree.
My Levin Front cut has superstrut but transaxle C56-15A. Non LSD.

[pjay]

I don't agree.
My Levin Front cut has superstrut but transaxle C56-15A. Non LSD.

youre in brisvegas... fail

[Mr Revhead]

I don't agree.
My Levin Front cut has superstrut but transaxle C56-15A. Non LSD.

full model and frame numbers and pics please.

If that is the case, congratulations, someone fitted SS to your car

[GTCRSHR]

if thats the case, what were they smoking, taking ss over a lsd

[Dirtbag]

Is the stock s/s = stock LSD relating to the ae101, ae111 or both? I've got superstrut, and from driving my car it doesn't feel like it has an LSD

frame info:
E-AE101-BCMZF
AE101-5047356
205 FU20
C52 -15A
M12

[Mr Revhead]

hmmmm

i'll have to relook then!

maybe its different for the n/a 101's
AE111's and GTZ 101's are definitly all LSD with s/s

[Dirtbag]

yea, from what I have seen, gtzs came standard with superstrut and lsds

[The Last Streetfighter]

Model E-AE101-BCMZF
Frame - AE101-5174205
Suspension not fitted, brakes only.

[Mr Revhead]

ok, upon further investogation, n/a ae101s didnt have any lsd in any model.
which makes them the freak! as all other s/s cars have LSD.

[neo]

Linky to a more detailed image of the SS parts off a AE101

http://ae101.tappsville.com/epc/powertrainchassis4/4802b/

and

http://ae101.tappsville.com/epc/powertrainchassis4/4803a/

[20v FX-GT]

Does anyone have a link to a page with pics covering replacing the shocks on superstrut cars? I've heard is a nightmare.

[AE82 FXGT]

Hardest bit would be the bottom ball joint, the rest is easy, you do have to undo brakeline though, which means a bleed afterward.

[touge rolla]

Model E-AE101-BCMZF
Frame - AE101-5174205
...... Suspension not fitted, brakes only.

huh? thats an AE92 Corolla.

[AE82 FXGT]

haha, i why didn't someone catch that sooner?

[Mr Revhead]

i did....

he's posted a pic of what he's transferring the ae101 bits into....