2000 corolla -which plugs & better strut brand?

[mrsmarti]

Hi, I'm confused. This is my single-parent daughter's car: 136,205 miles. It runs well. Both of us are at the mercy of mechanics. And sorry, I'm not sure I trust them not to sell you things you don't need or use budget parts. So, I'm going to get parts at rockauto or anythingauto and hope for a decent local mechanic.

We need to replace spark plugs. Does she get platinum or double platinum? Is one better than the other? Why?

It has been recommended to replace the rear struts. Should she be buying a quick strut assembly from Gabriel, KYB or ??

The brakes have a bit of play in them, so we were told to first try to clean and adjust the discs/drums. The front are newer. If that doesn't do it, any ideas for brand of parts that would be best to look at.

She doesn't make much money and needs to keep the car going and going.

 

[Alanwagen]

Skip the struts unless they are leaking or have leaked. Platinum is fine. Iridium is the best. I like Napa parts, they are very good if not as good as the Toyota parts.

 

[Toyota for life]

Keep in mind that if you buy Iridium spark plugs, you’ll pay around $10 each. But they can last up to ten years. Definitely something you might want to buy original. If you want to go the rockauto way, buy Denso or NGK. Those are Toyota’s original suppliers.

Be careful with the breaks. If the brake shoes are worn out they can damage your drum brakes and find yourself in more money.

They want to replace the rear struts because the car is bouncing or why?

 

[Jperreault]

I bought a set of Munro complete struts from Amazon. They were cheap and worked well. Frankly Springs under tension scare the heck out if me and the price difference... was less than $20.00 / Strut. So do yourself a favour and by the completed assembly. What I didn't know at the time and forgot to order was the 4way sway bar links. I had to delay my change over when I destroyed the original 4way sway bar links trying to get them off as they are typically corroded on. In addition I had some difficulty reaching the back strut tower nut (there are 3). Since you're that far into it anyway and you have to disconnect the rear brakes it might be a good time to do a brake job.. My first attempt to fix this took me a day as I've never done this before... and I had my Haynes guide to show me. I replaced the struts and did my brakes at the same time. One final note. You will need to bleed the brakes, so get a friend to help you with this.