I was wondering if the front strut mount bearings could be purchased alone without buying new strut top mounts? If I do need to purchase new strut top mounts, where would be a good place to buy them with the bearings included?

From the toyota dealer

there are aftermarket (oem equivalent) ones around.. i dunno if you'd want to stick with oem mounts with an upgraded suspension...
or why not look for used ones? i think i have a few good sets (front and back) laying around...

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What's wrong with the OEM mounts for upgraded suspension? The only aftermarket ones I've seen that would be "better" than the OEM mounts would be the Cusco top mounts. I mainly need the bearing only, and figured that I might as well buy it new since it's a wearable part. If you do have a used one sitting around for sale, then that would work too though I suppose. I only need 1.

I would expect you will probably need the whole mount -- the rubber portions tend to take the biggest beating over time, even in the California environment (actually, the heat might accelerate such deterioration).

1sttoyotaparts.com is a good source for reasonably-priced Toyota parts. The most common aftermarket version are KYB mounts, which are essentially the same as the OEM design-wise. Rockauto.com offers good prices on replacement parts.

As an aside, if you're redoing your suspension, make sure to also replace the spring seat insulators. Those can only be purchased from Toyota.

well, I work at napa auto parts. That's where I bought mine. We have mount plates with the bearings, and we have them without. You can also buy the bearings alone. Anyway, mine work fine. I plan on getting KYB struts next but haven't had any problems with the mounts or bearig with the oem struts on there now.

Erich

Cool thanks for the replies. I actually just replaced the bearing. It was like $30 at work for 1. Much better now .