Avensis Gear And Suspension And Steering Question

[martron]

Hi,

Well i bought a 2000 model avensis. good comfortable car and quite economical. I do have a few Queries though

1. there seems to be a knocking in the steering. lets say for instance i drive into my driveway i have to go up a curb no bigger than 50mm . after i get up it i can hear a knock and if i am not imagining it i am sure i can feel it in the wheel too! Also because i noticed it and to prove to myself i am not going mad i tried to see if anything else may cause it. so when at low speed i stop suddenly i can hear / feel that knock again? Any solutions?

2. the rear shocks in my car got soft really quickly. (and no i am not rallying this car around as i have a company van to do that in) so i sent it in to the local garage he said the shocks were fine and that the rubber mounting on the top were worn out. he said these parts were hard to come by and expensive but he was willing to do it. How true is this or is he just making mountain out of a simple shock replacement.

3. and last but not least. i found out ( by accident ) that at 2000 rpm i can shift up a gear without using the clutch and at 2500 rpm shift down a gear. now before ever starts ginving out i just like to point out that i do not intend to drive like this the whole time i just want to know does it damage the gearbox if i do it wen showing off to my friends that toyota do a semi automatic gearbox. (that is a joke)

[gazza1286]

Hi

There is a well known fault with the steering of this model. It is a very cheap fix and is fully described by TREUNO towards the foot of page one on this link:

http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.p...grease&st=0

Fixed mine 2 about two years ago. The problem has never returned.

The shocks on the rear are not the rebuildable type so inserts are not available. If they are leaking then the entire strut needs to be replaced. The top of the strut is connected to the bodywork by means of an upper mount and spring seat. This component is made of extremely resilient rubber and is not meant to have any damping effect as far as I can see. If it were worn I would expect to hear a 'knocking' rather then any extra degree of 'softness' I really can't see how these could be diagnosed as 'worn out' unless there is a visible split. Even then it wouldn't be on both sides. I'd get a second opinion.

Point 3. Never tried it.........no intention of ever trying it!

[martron]

cheers dude i will look into it!!!! and next time you are about to change geras you will think about not using the clutch just to see if you can.