Parts for your 2005 Toyota Crown-Strut mounts

Are strut mounts used on the 2005 Toyota Crown?

Short answer: no, the 2005 Toyota Crown doesn’t use strut mounts in the MacPherson-strut sense. Technical sources such as Toyota’s New Car Features (NCF) for the S180 series (2003–2008), the Toyota Repair Manual front suspension section, and the Toyota Electronic Parts Catalogue for GRS18# and UZS186 variants specify a front double-wishbone suspension and a rear multi-link setup. With a double-wishbone front end, the damper and spring don’t act as a structural steering “strut”, so there’s no rotating strut top bearing or conventional “strut mount” assembly. Instead, the Crown uses an upper shock absorber insulator/mount and separate upper and lower control arms, with steering load carried by ball joints and arms rather than a strut tower.

Why Toyota didn’t use strut mounts on this model comes down to the Crown’s luxury brief. The double-wishbone layout gives better camber control, improved tyre contact over bumps and during cornering, and lower noise, vibration, and harshness—key goals documented in Toyota’s NCF for this chassis. Because the damper isn’t a structural member for steering, it doesn’t need a strut top bearing, the top interface is a rubberised shock mount/insulator whose job is to isolate noise and absorb vertical loads, not to rotate.

Owners and parts shoppers sometimes search for “strut mounts” and draw a blank. On this vehicle, the correct parts to look for are the front shock absorber mounts/insulators and the rear shock mounts, plus the usual suspects that affect ride quality: upper and lower control arm bushes, ball joints, and stabiliser links. Those are the components that will creak, clunk, or cause vague steering as they age.

• Typical wear clues: clunks over sharp bumps, perished rubber on the shock mounts, tram-lining or wander, and uneven or cupped tyre wear.
• Good practice: inspect shock mounts and control arm bushes every 40,000–60,000 km, replace mounts and dampers in axle pairs, torque suspension fasteners at normal ride height, and book a wheel alignment after any suspension work.

Popular questions about 2005 Toyota Crown “strut mounts”

Does a 2005 Toyota Crown have strut mounts?
It doesn’t have MacPherson strut mounts. The S180 Crown uses a double-wishbone front suspension and a multi-link rear, so there’s no rotating strut top bearing. It uses shock absorber mounts/insulators instead.

What should be serviced instead of strut mounts?
Focus on the front and rear shock mounts/insulators, control arm bushes and ball joints, stabiliser links and bushes, and the dampers themselves. These are the wear items that most affect ride and steering feel on the Crown.

Will fitting coilovers add strut mounts to a Crown?
No. Even with coilovers, the S180 Crown remains a double-wishbone design. The damper doesn’t become a structural steering member, so there’s still no MacPherson-style strut top bearing—just a coilover top mount that doesn’t rotate with steering.