2002 Exp XLT - advice re: struts / shocks?

[jonstrong]

Hi all -

My son just bought his first car -- a 2002 Explorer XLT (147k miles). The body and interior are beautiful, everything seems to be working. Just did an oil change, and it's going into the shop in a week for a full workup (probably equiv to a 120k major service).

The transmission was rebuilt a year ago, and seems fine so far. Brakes seem fine sofar (we'll check them, though). Aside from the overall tuneup, the item that's caught our interest is the shocks. The car leans more than it should in turns, bounces and sways too much on bumps, and today - at 65 on the highway, any significant bumps left the read momentarily feeling it was "chattering" -- maybe the wheel not returning fast enough after a bounce? From the ride and other folks observations - our impression is that shocks will make a major difference.

After searching and reading a few dozen posts on as many sites (mostly here), my impression is that a combo strut / spring assembly may be best, such as a Monroe Quick Strut assembly. However I really don't know what my alternatives are: is the strut / spring combo the proper / only configuration for the Explorer XLT? What other configurations / parts might I consider instead -- and how would I be able to tell what / which parts need to be replaced, and what the pros and cons are for the various alternatives?

This initial "fix up" stage immediately after the purchase was expected -- but we didn't expect quite as much as this is starting to become. A "tune up" (misnomer, I guess, for a modern engine) is probably going to run $300 or more. The combo strut / spring assemblies seem to run at least $127 for the rear and $115 for the front (2 of each needed, in case anyone is keeping score), plus installation (a couple of hours for the set at a local shop?).

If we go with the full quick shock combos, the parts alone could be $500, and labor sounds like it could be another $200 or more.

Does this sound right? Are there good alternatives that would make a significant difference in cost, but still have a really good outcome?

Thanks in advance for thoughts / info that anyone might share on this.

Jon

 

[03WIExplorerLtd]

Here is what I suggest:

The pre-assembly, Economatic from Monroe. They are under a $100/ea from a place like Amazon, ebay, rockauto, etc.
Find a dealer/service shop that you trust, and that will install what you bring it. I do this with my Ford dealer, and save a considerable amount of money.

Whatever you do, do not re-use the factory springs - the factory ones are junk. They will crack, earlier than they should. Seperate (aka Motorcraft) struts/springs will cost $$$ vs the Monroe assemblies.

I have the blue (Economatic) from Monroe in the rear of my 03 Explorer, and they work fine. I am sure the Quick Strut (which costs more) are better, but they each cost 40-50 additional.

Good luck

 

[tenny]

the complete units are def. the way to go....

you get a fresh spring, a fresh top plate with bushing (these do go bad).
and new strut, of course.

in the long run, I comes out cheaper, and its less labor, as
you DO NOT have to compress the spring to change struts.
which is what everyone dreads.

you could do the quick strut in your driveway at home fairly easy.

to me, this is the most economic, and smarter way.

these springs breaking are very common occurance BTW.....
you could get in there (or the shop gets in there) and find the
spring broken, or plate bushing torn, it would cost more for
all the parts indivisually.

 

[ponkotsu]

When I did my Aviator I had far fewer options for struts than the Ex. I ended up choosing Monroe over the KYB, mainly because of price, and I couldn't find any definitive reviews comparing them. Seems like the ride is a bit harsher than it should be, but it does handle and corner great. If the springs are still at the original height and not broken, then no reason not to use them. But changing out the springs on these things can be extremely dangerous. Don't attempt it if you don't have the correct tools and have experience with it. If you can get complete units for less than $100 each, that's the way to go. Fairly easy do it yourself job. It's not as simple as changing standard shocks though. You will have to disassemble some suspension components so be prepared for an all day job or more. And if you are going to the trouble of disassembling suspension parts, check them careful and replace if they are worn or the boots are torn. They are relatively cheap parts compared to the labor.

 

[jonstrong]

Thanks all -- I appreciate the quick feedback.

Although I don't want to see my son spend money unnecessarily, I've read a number of articles / posts about OEM springs in the 2002 Explorers actually cracking eventually -- not just sagging, but cracking through. The truck is definitely swaying all over the place now, and shows a tendency to tilt unevenly when cornering (even slowly). I'm thinking the whole assembly is probably a good idea. Makes the cost a bit more, but will give him peace of mind that this is one part of the vehicle he doesn't have to worry about.

Looks like the best price on the Monroe complete strut assemblies is probably through Amazon right now (I've also got a Prime account, so there's 2 day shipping at no charge too). I've been reading up on the installation -- doesn't sound bad, although from what I saw, getting the bottom bolt open might require an impact driver if it's corroded on (I don't have the tool for that), and once the bottom nut and top 3 nuts are removed, there's some finagling needed (using a crowbar to push part of the steering assembly out of the way?) to get the old assembly out of the car. For the most part though, people report success, so it's a possible way to go.

Local Pep Boys service department tells us that if we bring in our own parts, they'll do the install complete for $30 per wheel, so that's a possibility. Also -- my son knows some of the teachers at our local County vo-tech school, and they'd probably do the installation free -- so that's another possibility. Not sure I'd want them to do a major engine maintenance, but replacing the strut / spring assembly might be a perfect job for them to tackle.

Jon

 

[BigRondo]

Welcome aboard jonstrong!!

Both my rear springs were broken & my front struts were leaking when I bought my Ex in Feb 2010.

Now I'm running the StrutTEK's on all four corners and have nothing but good things to say about them! The ride is awesome and the price is right. I can't compare them to the original struts since they were FUBAR when I bought my Ex.

The rears were installed on 11/29/2010 & the fronts were installed on 2/20/2012.

I love them. The ride is great.

Click here to find out more about the StrutTEK Struts.

Here are some threads for you to check out:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=309630
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=375910
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180806
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=370786
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=294593
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=362908
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=368015
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=293355
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=363452
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=360617
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=284280

Good luck. :biggthump

Please keep us posted as feedback helps others reading this post looking for a fix to the same or similar issue!

 

[rocco123]

I second the Strutek. Gret price & ride well

 

[jonstrong]

Hi again - Thanks for the info re: StrutTEK and all the thread links! Looks like a great price on the StrutTEK. Since my last post here, we (my son and I) started investigating some alternatives, read a few threads with pictures. I'm generally handy, but this part of a car/truck is something I've never worked on, and I was a bit concerned reading a couple of accounts of people who managed to get the parts out - and then had to call someone else in to the everything back to together. My impression was that I could *probably* figure it out (with all the resources and people here), but I wasn't really comfortable with the "probably" part of that. So...we checked into alternative approaches.

Turns out the quote my son *thought* he had for strut installation at Sears was wrong -- a friend had quoted him the price for shocks, and (no surprise), Sears Auto Center won't install parts unless they sell them to you. Turns out Sears sells Monroe parts at full list price, and their labor is only a bargain if you compare it to Pep Boys labor rates. In the end, Pep Boys also wanted to charge us list price for the parts, but said they'd install parts if we brought them -- but installation of the 4 struts would cost somewhere north of $400.

Sears finally came back with a quote -- over $1100 for parts and labor.

My son (20 years old) was in shock. So...we searched around some more. Finally, he remembered the offer made to him by one of the directors of the vo tech school when he finished -- he could bring his car in to the automotive group, and 2nd year students - under an experienced teacher / mechanic's supervision - would do the work. So - we wound up getting Monroe quick-struts (171321 front, 171322 rear) all around from Amazon (2 day delivery, best price I've seen on these). Dropped the Ex off at the school a week ago. Turns out the car needed sway bar (stabilizer bar?) end links replaced -- school got the parts (think it was an extra $40 or so in parts) -- that's something I wouldn't have known or recognized -- another reason I'm glad there was a mechanic supervising and guiding the work.

Picked up the Explorer today, and it rides like a new vehicle. Incredible difference. Sits higher, no wobble / roll, takes bumps and corners nicely. We also learned, though, that it needs front upper ball joints replaced. We'll get the parts and the school will take care of them as well in a week or two.

All in all - my son made out like a bandit - paid for the parts only, good discount from Amazon - and the school provided the labor free of charge, happy to have another vehicle for the students to work on.

I'll be in and around here a lot I suspect as we start going over the Ex carefully. Already found that I have to fix up the glove box light (hanging by a wire) and one or two of the upper rear brake lights (above the rear window), and a courtesy light under the drivers side rear view mirror.

All in all -- really nice vehicle for the price. Thanks again for all the feedback, info and recommendations.