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Old 06-22-2017, 12:15 AM   #1
ccyaris
 
Drives: 2012 Yaris L 3 Door 5 S
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Pasadena
Posts: 25
Floating Strut Mount Fix & KYB AJX Install

This mod was finished last year and I just concluded testing. This is a major fix to address a problem that plagued Yaris especially if used in competition. The floating strut mount problems have been discussed in several posts and solutions tend to be very pricey. In doing my research I drew on the ECHO that has struts bearings bolted to the chassis. I tested the ECHO 3 bolt strut bearing but they failed during normal driving. This prompted me to seek a more heavy duty solution from the Toyota parts bin.

I settled on the MATRIX XR/S strut bearing paired with KYB Adjustable Gas struts 734021/2 for the Celica GTS. This with the GTS stock springs, seat and insulators gives a nice alternative to the pricey coil-overs. For the rear shocks the 07 FOCUS KYB 741067 Adjustable Gas Shocks worked nicely.

To mount the strut bearings one additional hole must be drilled in the strut tower, same dimension as the ECHO. The MATRIX XR/S strut bearing had to be trimmed further to fit the smaller space under the YARIS strut tower.
I opted to also cut off the strut tower hump to facilitate easy replacement without having to removing the entire windshield wiper cowl. This also make it easier to adjust the front KYB's ride settings.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg Left Strut.JPG (31.3 KB, 159 views)
File Type: jpg Right Strut.JPG (32.5 KB, 156 views)
File Type: jpg Left Shock.JPG (30.7 KB, 156 views)
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Old 06-22-2017, 06:36 AM   #2
tmontague
 
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Can you post more pics with context, I'm trying to better understand what you did but the pics are too close
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Old 06-22-2017, 06:26 PM   #3
ccyaris
 
Drives: 2012 Yaris L 3 Door 5 S
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Pasadena
Posts: 25
Thanks for your interest tmontague, so let’s explore the genesis of the problem and then the solution. In my first paragraph I introduced the floating strut mount problem. The first two images (OTB thread) below show the gap which normally occurs when the strut bounces up and down e.g. when driving on an undulating road, hence the term floating. This is the strut setup for Yaris; the ECHO on the other hand has struts bolted to the chassis (3 Bolts) for more control (3rd. image).

The solution then is to find an easy way to bolt strut bearing to the strut tower (chassis) to get better control i.e. no bouncing. In my first test I used the ECHO strut bearing (4th image). This requires drilling a 3rd mounting hole to mount strut bearings. On the Yaris the bearing does not line up plumb with the shock tower opening; the camber is off by about 8 mm. The work around is to add a spacer on top of the bearing to make it flush, for testing purposes. The Matrix bearing is machined with this in mind as seen in my first two images i.e. centered in the shock tower.

In OTB’s 2nd image you notice a hole in front, 2nd on right, the two of which are used for mounting shock tower braces, Tanabe in this case which is partially shown my first post. In the 5th image the brace is bolted to the strut bearings below the shock tower. The ECHO strut bearing worked for a while but failed in a short space of time with stock struts. Which leads me to the heavy duty Matrix bearing, 6th image. The Matrix bearing is machined to the dimension of the ECHO with camber offset to fit under Yaris shock tower.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg OTB_IMG_0733.jpg (7.9 KB, 142 views)
File Type: jpg OTB_IMG_0734.jpg (8.5 KB, 142 views)
File Type: jpg ECHO RS.jpg (50.5 KB, 142 views)
File Type: jpg ECHO.jpg (35.6 KB, 141 views)
File Type: jpg IMG_0017.JPG (46.0 KB, 142 views)
File Type: jpg MATRIX.jpg (13.0 KB, 140 views)
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Old 06-22-2017, 10:20 PM   #4
tmontague
 
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So to clarify, if I wanted to get rid of the stupid super soft upper rubber oem yaris bearings all i would have to do is order matrix bearings and just drill a 323rd hole in the shock tower of my yaris?

If this is correct it is great news to get rid of much of the play in the terrible oem yaris design

Or do you still have to use the yaris oem rubber bearing damper underneath the matrix unit?
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Old 06-23-2017, 07:27 PM   #5
ccyaris
 
Drives: 2012 Yaris L 3 Door 5 S
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Ok tmontague so you want directions to upgrade your existing floating strut mount to one bolted to the shock tower, I assume you have stock struts or similar. Stock struts use 12mm bolts but the Matrix/Celica GTS has 14mm, no problem you can add a shim.

You will need the following parts from 2nd picture:
20 48682-52010 Upper Support Upper Support, RIGHT/LEFT 2x$11.79
16 48044-52020 Spring Seat Seat, LEFT $13.10
16 48044-52020 Spring Seat Seat, RIGHT $13.10
17 90303-22002 Seal Dust Seal, RIGHT/LEFT 2x$6.08
MEVOTECH MP905957 Supreme; strut mount bearing 2x$28.79

These parts will replace those in the 1st picture; the 2nd picture is part diagram for 08 SCION xB is the donor. Upper support 20 is used as a template to mark the position of the 3rd hole before drilling, when windshield wiper cowl is removed of course. When you place the ring over the strut mount hump you will notice that the mound is not plumb on-center, so when machining the new strut mount it will be off-center right and left camber. Part 20 will later be placed on top of the 2 new strut mounts before installation to give it a little more clearance especially if hump removal is not planned.

Now if you did machine shop 101 you can figure the camber offset measurement to make the strut mount line up on-center in the hump using part 20, or have a machinist do the measurement before machining. The studs in the strut mount bearing must be removed and Part 20 used as a cutting template with center/camber offset. The studs are then pressed back matching the new bolt pattern.

I will have to remove mine to do the measurements at a later time and post-it, for now you can start gathering parts.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg IMG_0020.JPG (24.2 KB, 127 views)
File Type: png 2008 Scion xB Strut.png (18.6 KB, 127 views)
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