Which Struts? Stuttek, Gabriel, Monroe?

I've been reading a lot of posts on this site regarding replacement struts. I'm looking for recommendations. One side of my Ex sits about 1/2" higher than the other. When I tow, it's like riding a boat, bouncing up & down. Several people seem to like struttek, but I've seen pics and the rears seem to sit much higher than stock. That concerns me. This my DD and and I occasionally tow, but I don't want stiff, jarring ride. Suggestions? Gabriel, KYB, Stuttek, Monrone?

Thanks for the feedback.

Just did the fronts on my 02 V8 Limited with struteks. Easy to install, and they seem fine on a trip I recently made. NOTE: You can access the nuts on top thru the eng compartment rather than thru the wheel well. After they are loosened a few threads they start to bind, so I used an impact from the top & they zipped right off. Rears were easy when I did them a few years ago. I did compare new & old fronts and they were the same length.

Which struts to use??

icepickjazz said:

I've been reading a lot of posts on this site regarding replacement struts. I'm looking for recommendations. One side of my Ex sits about 1/2" higher than the other. When I tow, it's like riding a boat, bouncing up & down. Several people seem to like struttek, but I've seen pics and the rears seem to sit much higher than stock. That concerns me. This my DD and and I occasionally tow, but I don't want stiff, jarring ride. Suggestions? Gabriel, KYB, Stuttek, Monrone?

Thanks for the feedback.

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I just did my '03 Eddie on all four corners with the Strutteks. I measured ride height prior to doing the work and after and got exactly the same measurement. All four corners were 3/4" higher until I drove it a little bit and then they all settled back to the original height. They ride nice and were easy to install. Plus they are cheaper and I bought the lifetime warranty so I'm set.

+1 on my 02 Eddie Bauer 4wd, 4.0

Huskerbob said:

I just did my '03 Eddie on all four corners with the Strutteks. I measured ride height prior to doing the work and after and got exactly the same measurement. All four corners were 3/4" higher until I drove it a little bit and then they all settled back to the original height. They ride nice and were easy to install. Plus they are cheaper and I bought the lifetime warranty so I'm set.

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I'm running the StrutTEK's on all four corners and love them. The ride is awesome and the price is sweet.

Yeah, struttek price is hard to beat. I saw some early postings and rear end seemed to be higher than what I would have liked. How long did it take for the height to settle? My Ex has 103K miles and the upper ball joints are bad and I need to replace those and they sway bar bushings. Also need to figure out what is causing this below:

Suspension height settle time

icepickjazz said:

Yeah, struttek price is hard to beat. I saw some early postings and rear end seemed to be higher than what I would have liked. How long did it take for the height to settle? My Ex has 103K miles and the upper ball joints are bad and I need to replace those and they sway bar bushings. Also need to figure out what is causing this below:

dtDvJ7nYjN0 XCATdVwONog

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On my '03 Eddie 4x4 it took about 100 ft. of driving to settle the suspension back to the original ride height. I also replaced the front upper control arms, stabilizer bar bushings all four corners, stabilizer bar links all four corners and the rear toe compensator links complete with outer and inner joints. Rides like a new one.

I have no idea what's loose in your videos but it looks like nothing is moving except the wheel and whatever it's attached to. Wheel bearings?

that looks like a wheel hub bud. have your buddy hold the steering wheel and then try to move the tires. Is it just the one side? or does it transmit through the steering gear?

Since the first time i have replaced my struts on my 03 4.6l i have been using KYB and i have aways had good luck with them, after three years and more than 45K miles they were comparable to the new ones i was replacing them with when i lowered my truck with Ground Force springs. Needless to say i was impressed, that being said on both sides i did have to use a saw-za to remove the upper stud mount on each due to some corosion on the stud, easier to turn the shaft then the nut. Make sure you spend the extra $25 a wheel and get new bushings, isolators, and bump stops. Will save you a head ache looking for all those funny sounds later. If your not going to do that at least thoroughly clean and grease everything.

Struttek still the way to go?

I asked another member who purchased Strutteks and he had this to say..

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3248596#post3248596

For those of you who installed a few years ago, how are they holding up?

Did my front struts using struteks sep 2012. No problems at all.

turblown said:

I asked another member who purchased Strutteks and he had this to say...

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?p=3248596#post3248596

For those of you who installed a few years ago, how are they holding up?

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I have them on all 4 corners and the ride is still great!!

BigRondo said:

I have them on all 4 corners and the ride is still great!!

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Thanks BigRondo!

Bump. Anyone have experience with cheapo ones from eBay?

www.ebay.com/itm/Front-Rear-Strut-S...rd|Model:Explorer&hash=item3f1c12a59c&vxp=mtr

Manufacturing a strut assembly is no easy task. So most likely this is just a relabeled strut from one of the other major manufacturers. (Monroe, struttek, etc). It would be nice to know which one before you buy it. If you ask, maybe the seller will tell you. I remember a while back I bought some Moog Ujoints. When I got them one was in the nice Moog box and the other was in a generic no-name box. The units were actually identical right down to the date code on the forging. I paid double the price for the Moog.

ponkotsu said:

Manufacturing a strut assembly is no easy task. So most likely this is just a relabeled strut from one of the other major manufacturers. (Monroe, struttek, etc). It would be nice to know which one before you buy it. If you ask, maybe the seller will tell you. I remember a while back I bought some Moog Ujoints. When I got them one was in the nice Moog box and the other was in a generic no-name box. The units were actually identical right down to the date code on the forging. I paid double the price for the Moog.

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Looks like the no-name ones I liked to are FCS Automotive struts. Can't seem to find too many reviews but they've all been pretty mixed so far.