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My mechanic says the right front strut of my Tacoma pickup truck is leaking oil.
Q: What do I need to consider if I postpone repairs until I save the money?
Q: What are tell-tell signs that I need to replace a strut to prevent damage, or further damage to vehicle?
the struts are a major part of your suspension and if ride quality has been poor of late, it's certainly time to look into replacing the struts if the coil springs are still in good shape.
If you're postponing the repairs, you really need to be aware that you could end up incurring a larger bill because of the delay, but that very delicate driving will make this less likely.
You need to try to keep to major roadways, no offroading, no load carrying with the Tacoma for a while, otherwise you're increasing the risk of furthering the damage. If the strut were to freeze it could be pushed completely through the strut tower and into the engine bay if you hit a large pot hole, etc. You could also damage the strut mounts which go a long way toward ride safety and quality.
Loosing hydraulic oil from your strut, you're not likely to be able to hold off too long before the problem gets worse. It's certainly something you can replace at home if you're concerned about the bill, but you will need a few less than common tools (spring compressors, pickle forks, etc).
