Done! Bought 4 Monroe QuickStruts for killer price! (update - became a fiasco!!!)

[redgtxdi]

So Pep Boys has their 30% off Monroe struts this morning. I'm assuming this includes the QuickStrut (complete strut assembly) and while I like the idea of swapping out a whole assembly vs. compressing, disassembling, reassembling, etc................I also wonder about the diff between KYB/Monroe.

Typically QuickStruts cost $175 a piece. So, that'd be about $200 worth of savings after all 4.


EDIT: For the losers who must not have @$$holes..........(remember opinions are like a$$holes?)...........I bought 'em.

ALL FOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Should be a killer ride when I'm done! Will post back w/ results.

POSSIBLY LAST UPDATE 12/22/07-- I can no longer recommend Monroe Quick Struts as a good OEM solution. The struts alone (SensaTrac) I believe to be fine, but the assemblies are inconsistent at best. Use any strut you want, but I **HIGHLY** recommend using all other parts as OEM......mounts, bearings, stoppers, rubbers, etc.)

 

[Fenixgoon]

sweet deal :thumbsup:

car = red gtx w/ direct injection? i have no idea what car has a gtx trim though

 

[redgtxdi]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
sweet deal :thumbsup:

car = red gtx w/ direct injection? i have no idea what car has a gtx trim though

Wow..........haven't had someone come so close as long as I've held this name!!!


If you take a look at the machine in the background of the pic, you'll see how close you came!

Sea-Doo, GTX, w/ Orbital Direct Injection!!! A thing of beauty!

 

[sniperruff]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
sweet deal :thumbsup:

car = red gtx w/ direct injection? i have no idea what car has a gtx trim though

the one in the background looks like a jet ski or an ATV.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: redgtxdi

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
sweet deal :thumbsup:

car = red gtx w/ direct injection? i have no idea what car has a gtx trim though

Wow..........haven't had someone come so close as long as I've held this name!!!


If you take a look at the machine in the background of the pic, you'll see how close you came!

Sea-Doo, GTX, w/ Orbital Direct Injection!!! A thing of beauty!

i didn't even bother with the jetski.. i just looked at the struts

thanks AT for giving me ADD :beer:

 

[cardiac]

The shoes in the pic are pretty gay......... Are they yours?

 

[redgtxdi]

Originally posted by: cardiac
The shoes in the pic are pretty gay......... Are they yours?

It's OK, everybody now knows............you don't golf!



Anyway...............Well, they're in & mostly great. Feels like brand new again!!!

But.....one of em (driver/front) is makin' noise!

When I drive over dummy dots it starts sounding like a cartoon-style diving board. However, when I apply the brakes, causing the car to tilt forward, it goes away....(I assume because everything gets compressed).

I don't know what's making the sound....

P.S. I managed to burn 3 finger tips pretty good by touching a hot rotor!!! F'n great!!!!!!!! :|

 

[redgtxdi]

Thinking over this a while now, I'm wondering............

Dare I try to tighten the center nut of the strut???

I'm thinking that if the sound goes away during stopping, assuming it's compression of strut components creating the stoppage, then perhaps the strut assembly wasn't tightened well enough from the factory???

 

[redgtxdi]

Well, that didn't work. I gave it a good couple revolutions, but still acting the same. (something inside the assembly is resonating thru to the top 'cuz the rattle sound makes my bones jar.

Guess I get to do an exchange tomorrow.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Originally posted by: redgtxdi
Well, that didn't work. I gave it a good couple revolutions, but still acting the same. (something inside the assembly is resonating thru to the top 'cuz the rattle sound makes my bones jar.

Guess I get to do an exchange tomorrow.

d'oh!

 

[redgtxdi]

Ya, it'll suck, but at least the fronts are easier (to me anyway) than the rears.

Once I've got the car up & wheel off I can probably pull the strut in 5-10 minutes.

And fortunately, there are 2 other Pep Boys fairly near me, so I've got a couple shots at finding another one in stock locally here.

:beer: (May need some when I'm done)

 

[redgtxdi]

So I exchanged the "rattler" w/ a new one & tried again.

R & R went easy. (I've heard before that rears are easier than fronts, but I'll do fronts any day over doing rears)

Anywhooo..............double, triple, quadruple checked everything & THIS strut is silent!!

THANK GOD!!!!!!!!!

Would've loved to have taken the other one apart to see what was makin' noise, but I don't really care. It's done now & I can rest my back, knuckles, burnt fingertips, etc. :roll:

After my Prizm's alternator fiasco (3 alternator's to get a good one) and now this strut mess........I've learned more than ever.........DON'T EVER THINK THAT EVEN THOUGH SOMETHING'S NEW, TESTED, RE-TESTED, ETC........DOES IT EVVAARRRR MEAN THAT IT'S "GOOD"!!! You may be returning something............and more than once!!!!!! :shocked:

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

Did you make sure to get an alignment afterwards? Also, Monroe's are good for daily drivers at stock height. You should be fine. I would have went with KYB but only because I'm more partial to them rather than Monroe.

 

[redgtxdi]

Alignment's tomorrow. (though I'd love to see how close it still is 'cuz I gave it a good visual & she's mighty straight, plumb & true by eye)

Ya, this Camry is BONE stock, so nuttin' fancy here. I was more concerned w/ making things right again. (140K on original struts & mounts was about all I could stand anymore)

And being that the 30% off deal came along........that was all I needed to hear. (I'd been eyeballing the QuickStrut for quite a while, but kept trying to figure out a cheaper way)

Lifetime Warranty helps too!

 

[AMCRambler]

Nice. So the struts come with everything you need all assembled? Strut, bump stop, dust shield, spring and end cap? That's a pretty good deal for $175 a piece. I didn't realize they sold them already assembled. Figured a loaded strut would be too scary for a parts store to put on the shelf. I'll have to look for these next time I have to do some.

Is there any core charge on them for say the springs?

 

[redgtxdi]

Yes, they come w/ EVERYTHING!!!!!!! No need to even tighten the center nut when you're done. Already torqued to specs. (Plus, I really like the idea of new springs along w/ everything else being new)

And $175 is the *regular* price...........(Actually PepBoys regular price was $169.99 for mine 'cuz the $169.99 minus 30% was what brought it to $118.99 each.) There's also some folks on ebay who sell 'em for like $189 and then I also saw some rip off artists selling 'em for over $200 online as well.

During the summer Monroe had some rebate (like $25/strut or something) which would be a good consolation, but there was no way I could resist $118 'cuz I couldn't even round up all the parts separately near that price.

Just got 'er back from alignment & she's good to go! Unfortunately, now that it's back in shape............I gotta give it back to the wife now.............

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal
Did you make sure to get an alignment afterwards? Also, Monroe's are good for daily drivers at stock height. You should be fine. I would have went with KYB but only because I'm more partial to them rather than Monroe.

I just picked up a set of 4 Tokico blues, but I drive an MR2. Since those are just the shocks, not the whole strut assembly, it's going to be a lot of work to get them installed...but considering that the old shocks are getting on 20 years old, I expect a MASSIVE improvement.
New bushings, too. I might end up getting a sway bar, but that will wait.

OP, the money you saved by doing it yourself was FAR more than the money you "lost" by getting the entire strut assembly, rather than just the shocks. And the money you "lost" was probably worth a good deal less than the time you saved by going your route. But I'm a cheap bastard, so I'm doing things the old-fashioned way.

 

[redgtxdi]

Well, and actually I'm still ahead $$ 'cuz like I said earlier.........I don't think I could have pieced everything together like that & come out for under $118 per corner.

Strut -------- $75
Mounts ------$50
Rubber spring isolators (top/bottom) ---$10
Rubber stoppers --------$10
Boots/Jounces ------- $10

And that's times 4 corners........(I'm guesstimating on the rubber parts)

And, then consider that the whole assembly comes w/ NEW SPRINGS too!!

Heck, just the struts & mounts (both the *most* necessary in the equation) by themselves would run over $118 per corner.

Ya, I'd love to be able to compare........have 3 different cars set up w/ Monroe, KYB and maybe even some Tokico Blues & see how different all 3 feel, but this is the grocery getter & I ***AIN'T*** lowerin' momma's ride, so *new* was the priority!!

(I'm a cheap SOB myself, so I hear ya' loud & clear)

 

[cardiac]

Originally posted by: redgtxdi

Originally posted by: cardiac
The shoes in the pic are pretty gay......... Are they yours?

It's OK, everybody now knows............you don't golf!



Anyway...............Well, they're in & mostly great. Feels like brand new again!!!

But.....one of em (driver/front) is makin' noise!

When I drive over dummy dots it starts sounding like a cartoon-style diving board. However, when I apply the brakes, causing the car to tilt forward, it goes away....(I assume because everything gets compressed).

I don't know what's making the sound....

P.S. I managed to burn 3 finger tips pretty good by touching a hot rotor!!! F'n great!!!!!!!! :|

Yeah, I golf, but I like my plain black Footjoys

Bob

 

[redgtxdi]

So as fate would have it, it appears the passenger/front strut is makin' noise after all. (Yes, even the wife notices it!!!)

So, now I sit here on Sunday afternoon, trying to enjoy football w/ the back of my brain tellin' me........"You'd better get on the phone & start callin' around for another P/F Quickstrut".

But the front of my brain's sayin........"Come on, this is getting ridiculous now. Can't Monroe properly assemble a strut assembly, for cryin' outloud?"

The D/F strut has been perfect since I replaced it. Do I roll the dice again & try strut #3 for the P/F???????

As an update to *this* forum, I replaced the P/F strut once already as it had a "clunk" in it (unlike the "rattler") but now this P/F has turned into a rattler as well. Also, rec'd an e-mail from Monroe earlier, regarding "front" strut assembly problems but all they had to say was "Sorry to hear you're having these problems".

 

[1prophet]

Originally posted by: redgtxdi
So as fate would have it, it appears the passenger/front strut is makin' noise after all. (Yes, even the wife notices it!!!)

So, now I sit here on Sunday afternoon, trying to enjoy football w/ the back of my brain tellin' me........"You'd better get on the phone & start callin' around for another P/F Quickstrut".

But the front of my brain's sayin........"Come on, this is getting ridiculous now. Can't Monroe properly assemble a strut assembly, for cryin' outloud?"

The D/F strut has been perfect since I replaced it. Do I roll the dice again & try strut #3 for the P/F???????

As an update to *this* forum, I replaced the P/F strut once already as it had a "clunk" in it (unlike the "rattler") but now this P/F has turned into a rattler as well. Also, rec'd an e-mail from Monroe earlier, regarding "front" strut assembly problems but all they had to say was "Sorry to hear you're having these problems".

Are they (Monroe) going to pay to have it realigned if you run into problems after the alignment?

 

[Minjin]

I purchased a pair of Quick Struts for my father's Taurus since a spring let loose. Apparently, Ford made a whole bunch of bad springs for a number of years and they are failing on Tauri and Sables like crazy. Buying the whole package, ready to throw in the car, was definitely nice and convenient. Cheaper, also, than just buying new springs from Ford and reusing the old struts

 

[PCMarine]

Originally posted by: Minjin
I purchased a pair of Quick Struts for my father's Taurus since a spring let loose. Apparently, Ford made a whole bunch of bad springs for a number of years and they are failing on Tauri and Sables like crazy. Buying the whole package, ready to throw in the car, was definitely nice and convenient. Cheaper, also, than just buying new springs from Ford and reusing the old struts

There is a service bulletin out for that issue. Ford will pay for new springs, installation, and towing (if required).

 

[redgtxdi]

Originally posted by: 1prophet
Are they (Monroe) going to pay to have it realigned if you run into problems after the alignment?

Good point, though they'd actually have already had to pay for one extra alignment since I changed the P/F. (The D/F was changed the same day so I hadn't done the original alignment yet).

But now.......if I change this 2nd P/F, we're literally talking about alignment #3!!!!!!!!!

(I use the Big O Tires around the corner from me that handles work vehicles, so they're nice enough to throw it back up & make sure it's straight, but ya......what if I didn't have *friends* at Big O & I literally had done 2 alignments already. Are they gonna pay for a 3rd??)

And despite what they're thinking about "front only" problems, I can confirm 100% that the P/R also has a little rattle in it too. (Again, I don't know where it is, but it's either between the mount & upper retainer, or the spring and retainer) I think their struts are perfectly fine........I think it's the other parts in the "Quickstrut" that are the problem.

 

[Minjin]

Originally posted by: PCMarine

Originally posted by: Minjin
I purchased a pair of Quick Struts for my father's Taurus since a spring let loose. Apparently, Ford made a whole bunch of bad springs for a number of years and they are failing on Tauri and Sables like crazy. Buying the whole package, ready to throw in the car, was definitely nice and convenient. Cheaper, also, than just buying new springs from Ford and reusing the old struts

There is a service bulletin out for that issue. Ford will pay for new springs, installation, and towing (if required).

Only for fronts (these were rears) and only for certain model years. Trust me, I looked into this ridiculous situation quite a bit.