The following is a discussion of the swappability of front strut components on 1980-1987 RWD Toyota Corollas. First off, the strut inserts for all Corollas in this range are the same, so you can put Tokico adjustable strut inserts from an 1986 AE86 GTS into a 1980 TE72 SR5 and vice versa. Also, the entire strut assembly from the top strut bearing down to the steering knuckle and control arm can be mixed and matched, with some caveats. The differences are slight, the springs on the later Corollas (AE86 and TE71) are smaller in diameter and the top strut bearing uses a different bolt pattern. The AE86 also uses thicker vented front rotors and a different caliper design compared to the TE7x models. I am not sure if the spring rates are the same between the models, but if you want to use aftermarket front springs designed for an AE86 (Eibach, Intrax, TRD, etc) in an TE72 then you will need the spring hat from the AE86 strut assembly. While you are at it, swap the whole assembly in order to get the better brakes. If you want to use pillow ball camber plates (Cusco, Tein, T3, etc) from an AE86 or TE71 in an TE72, then you will need to drill a new hole in the top of the strut tower. No big deal, one of the bolts is about 1/2" further out radially relative to the old position. Another choice is to use power steering knuckle arms from the newer Corollas on a older manual recirculating ball or rack car to quicken the steering ratio. The point of all this is that if you can get a mess of front suspension parts together from the 1980-87 Corollas you can mix and match to make the setup of your dreams on the cheap.

Once you have decided on the suspension components and springs, you will need to choose a strut cartridge. There are a number of expensive adjustable and short stroke models for the AE86 that will fit all the old RWD Corollas, but the focus of this document is to list strut inserts that are designed for other cars but can be put into the Corollas as a cheap upgrade. For example, you can put strut cartridges designed for the 1982-1986 Toyota Supra into your Corolla. The idea being that the Supra is a heavier sports car and thus should have stiffer valving and yield a substantial upgrade in performance in a lightweight Corolla. Of course, since the struts listed are designed for other cars and you have no way to know the valving specs it is kind of a hit and miss operation. The cheapest course of action is to try out a cheap set and see if you like the feel. Otherwise, you can take a mess of struts to a shock dyno and measure the valving and then choose. If you go this route, please share the data. You can also build your own DIY shock dyno to make comparisons between shocks and struts. The table below includes part numbers for Monroe Sensa-trac strut inserts (cheap). There are a lot of inserts that will work, but I have only included ones that I can guess would be an upgrade, for example leaving out inserts for Toyota Camry and Buick Skylark etc.

Swapping Rear Shocks for 1980-87 RWD Corollas

You can see the bushing and sleeve that needs to be drilled out of the white BMW shock.