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Front struts: What has worked for you?

4K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  Jeremy S 
#1 · (Edited)
With 208k miles on my 2003, it was time for new front struts. The hydraulic dampers were no longer doing the job, and everything rattled and shook with every bump. I had replaced the front lower control arms, all the sway bar bushings, and all the sway bar links last year, so it was time to replace the struts.

I decided on KYB Struts Plus. I did price the option of reusing the old springs, but by the time you buy new mounts with bearings, you aren't saving much. I didn't want to play with coil spring compressors, either.

Parts were about $325 from Rock Auto, including tax and shipping.

Just installed the new struts today. The KYB's appear to be perfect replacements for my worn out original struts. Job took me about 5 hours, including a side trip to O'Riellys for another sway bar link--the passenger side, only a year old, had already failed. This was from Amazon, brand was Detroit Axle, and I was buying the cheapest parts available...

On a test drive, everything is great. No rattles on a bumpy road, and no more wallowing in the dips.

So, what has worked out for you? If you used KYB's, did they hold up? How about cheap generics? You can go cheaper than KYB. What has worked for you?
 
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#4 ·
Gordo, how long have you been driving on your new struts? I didn't want to buy Honda struts, the $ was crazy. I did look at complete struts on Amazon, but I just didn't trust the quality of some unknown Chinese stuff. I decided to go for KYB, hoping for a bit of longevity. I also considered 1A, but didn't have enough information on reliability.
 
#7 ·
I also opted for the KYB shocks and struts through a great deal on Amazon. They were a bit stiff when I first started driving on them but now, a couple of years later, my Pilot rides like a dream. They are still stiff enough to give me great performance but also smooth enough for me to confidently go 90-100 mph on HWY 485 around Charlotte NC on a regular basis. I know......"slow down!!!".
 
#8 ·
I used the KYB strut plus on mine. One of the strut mounts failed after only a few thousand miles. The manufacturer said I had to return it to Rock Auto, but RA refused to work with me and insisted that I had to pay return shipping for the entire strut assembly for the warranty claim. I ended up buying a strut mount locally and having Pep Boys install it since I didn't have a big enough spring compressor. The strut mount cost less versus shipping the whole unit back to RA and wait who know how many weeks until a replacement strut arrived, if they would even honor the warranty!

Other than the mount the struts have been great. I also used KYB's on my Camry when I replaced all of the struts last year.
 
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