Had struts replaced today

[94Eddie]

I had to get a lower ball joint replaced so I decided to do the struts and sway bar end links too. I have over 141k miles on my Mountsineer so I wasn't sure how much of a difference this would make. Well, it made a bigger difference than I expected. The ride is much smoother and there is a lot less roll and "floatyness" than before. Bumps are absorbed much better now. My wallet is lighter but I am done doing jobs like this myself and I'm also too busy working. One reason I replaced the struts is that Rock Auto had a clearance sale on Monroe strut assemblies so I got all four for less than $60 each plus shipping. I always wonder that when I do something like this does my mind make the improvement seem better than what it actually is to justify the expenditure? I'll probably never know. Has anyone else seen decent improvement from replacing all four high mileage strut assemblies at once?

 

[Fix4Dirt]

I had to get a lower ball joint replaced so I decided to do the struts and sway bar end links too. I have over 141k miles on my Mountsineer so I wasn't sure how much of a difference this would make. Well, it made a bigger difference than I expected. The ride is much smoother and there is a lot less roll and "floatyness" than before. Bumps are absorbed much better now. My wallet is lighter but I am done doing jobs like this myself and I'm also too busy working. One reason I replaced the struts is that Rock Auto had a clearance sale on Monroe strut assemblies so I got all four for less than $60 each plus shipping. I always wonder that when I do something like this does my mind make the improvement seem better than what it actually is to justify the expenditure? I'll probably never know.

get a kid friend etc to drive it before then after but don say what you did

 

[94Eddie]

get a kid friend etc to drive it before then after but don say what you did

The only one I can do this with is my wife and she pays no attention to such things. I am left to ponder this until I take a dirt nap and maybe beyond.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

The only one I can do this with is my wife and she pays no attention to such things. I am left to ponder this until I take a dirt nap and maybe beyond.

even better thats how you know you really made a difference if someone who dont pay attention notices

 

[DintDobbs]

@94Eddie The difference is real. Even one dead shock absorber or strut being replaced is going to make a noticeable difference if you have common sense and an understanding of physics (actually, just replacing one might be more noticeable to those devoid of observational skills, since driving mechanics would differ from the left side to the right). I have replaced 15+ year old shock absorbers more than once and the difference is humongous. I'd say the price-for-quality makes less noticeable a difference than old versus new, just cheap ones become old faster.

My Durango used to spin tires on the tap of the pedal, with dropped tire pressure. Rail road crossings could get sketchy. Forget traction on bumpy surfaces. Replaced the shock absorbers, and now she drives like a normal vehicle should.

Rock your truck left and right while parked, and see how many times it keeps bouncing back and forth before it stops. If it continues rocking left to right more than once, your shock absorbers are probably dead. Replace them, and repeat the experiment, and you can visually observe the difference. It will stop rocking as soon as you stop pushing and pulling on it. If you tried it on your truck now, you'd notice it doesn't bounce.

 

[07EddyB]

I replaced all four a little over a year ago at just under 130K. I went with the KYB quick struts. None were leaking - visibly they appeared to be fine. Rocking the truck didn't really reveal any issues either. I just felt like the Ex had gotten sloppy. It had gotten harder to drive 'smoothly' in town overall. In my case, it made a real difference - I felt like I was driving the same truck that I bought back in 2008.
These types of things do degrade and they do it slowly so you get used to it as it happens. It's possible that the KYB replacements provided a stiffer ride than factory and that's what I'm seeing but if that's the case then I'll take it.
It's not a particularly hard job on theses vehicles - if you have done bearings before then you're most of the way there. I ended up with close to $600 in all four but it was money well spent.

 

[94Eddie]

Sloppy is a good term to describe the way it was before the struts were installed. There was no visible issues with mine either but they looked well used. Funny you mention it driving like a new truck. I thought "This must be how it rode when it was new." I guess shocks and struts going bad is like a frog being boiled. I hate to say it but as I get older I just don't have the desire to do certain repairs and maintenance. I have paid my dues over the years modding cars and doing repairs and maintenance and I don't care to do it these days. It helps that I have access to a really good repair shop that does good, honest work for a reasonable price.

 

[Blackhawkxx]

I always wonder that when I do something like this does my mind make the improvement seem better than what it actually is to justify the expenditure?

I don't know but my vehicles always seem to run smoother after a oil change even though I'm the one doing it.

 

[94Eddie]

I don't know but my vehicles always seem to run smoother after a oil change even though I'm the doing it.

Absolutely!

 

[Josh P]

I don't know but my vehicles always seem to run smoother after a oil change even though I'm the doing it.

Glad I'm not the only one who notices stuff like that. Anytime I replace a worn or heavily used part on my car with a new part I usually notice a difference. In this case a lighter wallet would cause less body roll.

 

[94Eddie]

Just as a wrapup, I must say the new struts have made a big difference in ride quality, stability, vibration, etc. I took a two hour trip and this really made me aware of the improvements.

Also, if one is looking to replace old struts then shop around on Rock Auto for a period of time. They frequently have clearance sales at pretty steep discounts for items that are being replaced by newer ones. I found Monroe full strut assemblies for $55 each.

 

[07EddyB]

By full strut assemblies I assume you are talking about quick struts - not a replacement cartridge.
Keep us informed on how the Monroe's do - I did a lot of research and I didn't hear very good things about them. They seem to be the Fram oil filter of the strut world these days.
I used the KYB quick struts - my rears were about $145 each - the fronts were about $140 each. With tax I was right at $600 for all four - and that was ordering from Amazon. Locally they were over $200 each.
I would be very cautious at $55 each if they are loaded struts.

 

[94Eddie]

The ones I bought were complete Monroe Quick Strut assemblies. I can't compare them to another strut other than the 141k OEMs. I am sure there are better struts but I don't need anything more than OEM quality for my use case. My Mountaineer doesn't have a low range so any off roading for me would be very limited. Also, the roads where I live are nearly all smooth pavement so the new struts will not see heavy duty. All they need to do is last another 100k miles, if this long. My guess is that Monroe made some minor changes to the struts replacing what I bought and then changed the part number. Rock Auto was clearing out their old discontinued inventory at $55 each for front and rear assemblies. The ones I bought are selling on Amazon for $125 each so they aren't bargain basement strut assemblies. Rock Auto routinely sells discontinued items at steep discounts. I could see no visual changes between the old and new versions.