Toyota Repair: Front rattle, technical service bulletins, uneven pavement


Question
Hello, I have a 1997 Camry LE 4 cyl. with only 22,220 (not a typo)miles.  About a year after it was bought new, I noticed that when going over uneven pavement, there would be a rattling sound from the front passenger side. During the scheduled maintenance (5K, 10K, etc.) at the dealer, I told them something sounded loose. Each time I was told nothing was wrong. The problem progressed to both sides of the front. Now that the warranty is expired, and the internet has proliferated, I've found that this front end rattle was a well known "defect" and a few technical service bulletins were written to address the problem specifically. I would like to know what specific repairs need to be done, and the estimated cost (hours shop time, etc.) of labor and parts, if any. Can this repair be done at any shop, or only at the dealer?

Answer
The cause of the rattle noise is the front strut upper mounts, they need to be replaced, maybe the struts as well, the normal shop time to replace these parts is 4.0 hours plus the parts, call the parts department at the dealer, I don't have that information.