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Replacing struts on '03 Honda

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RedString

RedString

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I'm in the process of buying replacement struts for my car and since I know nothing about this sort of thing, I'm having some trouble figuring out what exactly needs to be purchased.

The website I'll be buying from: http://www.partsgeek.com/ymm/2003/honda/civic.html?wfvar=a

Has Strut Assembly, Strut Bearing, Strut Bellows, Strut Mounts, and the Strut Insert for sell. What do I need to buy to replace bad struts (only front end)?

I'm not 100% but I assume I won't necessary have to replace a mount? So what is a must have to replace the struts?

If you have any other websites to suggest that would be greatly appreciated.
 
Wow, I'm surprised you are replacing the struts for that car already. Mine has over 120k miles and still nice and tight. Why are you replacing the struts? Are they leaking? Did they fail the bounce test?

I would just replace the struts unless any of those other items are broken.
 
KIAman said:
Wow, I'm surprised you are replacing the struts for that car already. Mine has over 120k miles and still nice and tight. Why are you replacing the struts? Are they leaking? Did they fail the bounce test?

I would just replace the struts unless any of those other items are broken.
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Well it's more my friends car that I'm borrowing at the moment. He had it in high school and it went through some rough driving then. I think they ramped it at some point.
The front right wheel hops, left is extra rough as well but nothing like the right. It's getting to the point when I'm on a bumpy road that it's probably starting to be a bad idea to drive it. For my safety and the car.

I'm thinking about just going to ABC and getting them to give it a look. Hopefully there will be some things I won't have to buy new.
 
buy all your OEM parts from here: autohausaz.com, great site. and have the dealer install it. they'll warranty the work, but not the parts. that's what I always do.
 
KIAman said:
Wow, I'm surprised you are replacing the struts for that car already. Mine has over 120k miles and still nice and tight. Why are you replacing the struts? Are they leaking? Did they fail the bounce test?

I would just replace the struts unless any of those other items are broken.
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When my Mazda 3 hit 65K, the struts needed to be replaced. It's at 80K now and i still have not replaced them. When I ever I go over a bump....man i can really feel it.
 
When my car hits 100K, I'm replacing the entire suspension system. There are people here that are against that, but I don't care.
 
A lot of OEM struts are garbage. The struts in my RSX were shot by 50k of urban driving.

edit: meant shocks not struts
 
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If any of you have had to replace struts before, do you typically have to replace more than just the shock absorber? I'm not sure but it seems if the ride is bumpy it might just be that. Unless the bouncing broke a mount or the 'strut assembly'.

edit: Are shock absorbers even in struts?
 
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A strut is different from a shock. Struts have a coil spring wrapped around them and have a mount bushing and a bearing to allow them to turn with the hub as you turn the wheels.

A shock is just the hydraulic portion of the strut all by itself. No spring wrapped around it and no mount or bearing.

If you are replacing the struts its usually a good idea to replace the mount and bearing because its labor intensive to take the assembly apart while the cost of the mount and bearing are usually fairly inexpensive.
 
AMCRambler said:
A strut is different from a shock. Struts have a coil spring wrapped around them and have a mount bushing and a bearing to allow them to turn with the hub as you turn the wheels.

A shock is just the hydraulic portion of the strut all by itself. No spring wrapped around it and no mount or bearing.

If you are replacing the struts its usually a good idea to replace the mount and bearing because its labor intensive to take the assembly apart while the cost of the mount and bearing are usually fairly inexpensive.
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Ah, I see.

Well if the assembly will already be a large task, would changing the mount and bearing be practical if they weren't broken? If they are really inexpensive then I guess it couldn't hurt.

Also will replacing the assembly fix this problem, or are there additional internal parts for the assembly? Like having to buy a separate coil for each? I understand shocks but not so much struts.
 
There are coil over versions of both struts and shocks. What defines a strut vs a shock is: is the wheel supported or it's position changed at all if you remove the damper? If so, it's a strut. If you can remove it without the wheel geometry changing at all and even drive the car without it, but it would drive like a water bed, it's a shock. If you pull a strut out, wheel folds over on the lower control arm and becomes useless. In other words a strut is a structural shock that makes up half the suspension and takes place of the upper control arm, upper ball joint, and shock all in one.

You can identify a strut by it's much larger size, and dual bolt mounting ear attaching it to the to the wheel knuckle. There is no upper ball joint or upper control arm of any kind. This strut both locates the top part of the wheel and is also the steering pivot.

Typically if you are replacing the strut, you want to replace the top bearing/mount and the spring isolators and dust boots as well. If the strut is toast, likely all that rubber shit is rotted as well. You don't want to do all that work and spend money on new parts just to put it back together and have worse clunking than before due to the now working stiffer strut beating the shit out of your worn loose mounts.

Best bet are what are called "quick struts", OEM spec replacement cartridge units that contain the whole assembly. Three bolts under the hood in the strut tower, 2 bolts on the knuckle, swap it, and you're done. Don't even need a spring compressor, and all expendable wear parts like dust boots, spring isolators, and mounts, are all included.
 
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If you want to keep it simple then get the all in one. Monroe has the strut/spring/mount all put together. Just unbolt the old one and bolt in the new set.

Rockauto.com has the front right for $159 and front left for $171.
The rear has no all in one so they are $74 each.

There is a rebate right now so I think you get $74 back if you buy all 4 at the same time.
And don't forget you will need a 4wheel alignment after you install.
 
Maybe I have a different experience but my struts and shocks on my BMW were going by 80k miles and I replaced them with coilovers at 100k miles.

The honda has the original shocks with just around 122k miles on them and they still feel tight as new. I assumed that the honda came with quality struts and shocks.
 
KIAman said:
Maybe I have a different experience but my struts and shocks on my BMW were going by 80k miles and I replaced them with coilovers at 100k miles.

The honda has the original shocks with just around 122k miles on them and they still feel tight as new. I assumed that the honda came with quality struts and shocks.
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Struts/shock wear out so slowly, usually, that most can't really tell whem they are bad.
Kinda like tires. When you get a new set they fell great and as they wear down you lose some performance. But most don't notice until its completly bad or until they get new ones.
 
I see the pros have already responded with the correct answers
I will just reiterate

1. Best deal is the all in one front assemblies that don't require spring compressors
2. Best to replace mounts also if not included in the all in one pkg
3. Must get 4 wheel alignment after install

I strongly agree with Marlin that loss of performance with strut deterioration is so slow you won't notice it, but you usually see marked improvement in ride and handling when you do replace. Especially important with FWD vehicles IMO

I recently replaced struts all the way around and tires on my 2006 Impala SS with 60k hard driven miles and the difference was mind blowing, drives and rides like a new vehicle. In my case with a 325ci V8 pushing 300+ HP in a FWD configuration it has a tendency to eat front tires and is equally hard on the front suspension. I also had the front wheel bearing assemblies replaced under warranty just prior to the strut and tire job
 
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