Rear Struts How or where do I access the rear strut to remove and replace? In the trunk or from the back seat area?

its in the trunk area over the wheel. you have to remove the trunk liner panel and then you can access the strut mounting bolts

You might have to remove rear seat and rear speaker cover...or from inside trunk

Push seat bottom rearward while lifting up. Fold seat back down and remove 13mm bolts. Remove push pins on rear speaker panel and lift out of the way. You have to be concern mostly of the bolts on the bottom of the struts, they tend to get rusted and might break off if you are not careful. Also remove the bottom stabilizer link bolts instead of trying to reach the top ones. These cars seem to be rust buckets, so use patience and heat if needed.

you shouldnt need to remove the seats to change out the rear struts, all of that can be done from the trunk

I suggest QuickStruts (r). Unless you have a spring compressor, they're the most user friendly. They come in the box as a ready to go, one piece, assembly. You can access the upper 3 bolts either behind the rear seat, under the rear deck, or through the trunk. There are 3 bolts on top and either 1 or 2 on the lower suspension. Make sure the rear of the car is fully suspended and, remove the rear tires. This will make everything a little easier to work with. When installing the new struts, make sure there is no metal to metal contact on the upper mounting area of the strut. Just adjust the strut bushing accordingly.The upper bolts should be torqued to about 60 to 100 ft.lbs.. The lower bolts need to be torqued to at least 135ft.lbs.. Hope this helps get you started. Feel free to ask for any more info.

Hello, and welcome to FixYa. I'll be glad to help you out.

When you had the struts replaced, one of two things happened.

one - the rear strut retention bolts were not tightened up properly at the tops of the struts

two- the top supports on the struts were not replaced. Whenever we change the struts, we always replace the top supports. More than likely, this is your problem. The rear strut supports are notorious for wearing out, and, when they do, they make loud banging noises.

2004 Camry rear support part numbers:

Left: 48750-33062
Right: 48760-33062

I would suggest replacing the top supports to cure your problem.

Thank for choosing FixYa for advice!

they're underneath the plastic deck cover in the back, where the speakers are. -just a few plastic fasteners and the wire connector for the rear light, and it'll pop right off. -just did it myself this weekend

The bolts are located under the rear deck (where the rear speakers are located) inside the car. First start by opening the fold down rear seats. There you will find 4 bolts holding the rear seat back. Remove them. Pull the seat back forward and lay it down on the rear seat. Next remove the rear deck. There are 2 plastic push-in clips that hold the rear deck. They located toward the front. Pull them out. Now the rear deck can be removed by sliding forward towards the front of the car. Under the rear deck is insulation which can be lifted out. Under the insulation are the bolts for each strut. Remove these bolts and the strut can be pulled out.

Here is a link describing your strut replacement. Autozone also has free tool rental for the strut spring compressor if you need it. Thank you, and don't forget to vote. http://www.autozone.com/shopping/repairGuide.htm?pageId=0900c152800681ba

behind the tires