Why is my strut mount bad again

[cmf21]

Have a 2000 Buick Lesabre. Over the past year they've had 3 strut mounts go bad and replaced. One on the drivers side and 2 on the passanger. Well both are bad again and the passanger side is the worst making the most popping noises and movement.

Does anyone know why they mounts keep going out? Also, would one bad mount cause the other to go bad as well?


We don't drive off road or on gravel roads or anyting like that. Just the street.

 

[cmf21]

I was also wondering if the control arm bushing might have something to do with it. They've never been replaced and look bad. I had the cv joints all replaced last year and the car has 215,000 miles on it.

 

[Homer Simpson]

is the lesabre a w-body car? if so, and you are using the monroe strut mounts, make sure you assemble them correctly before installing. after destroying a pair within a couple months, i realized that they come in the box assembled such that it fits in the box, not how its supposed to be assembled to install on the car. yeah, i felt dumb after that. anyway, just a thought.

 

[exdeath]

Is there an alignment problem with the car that is being corrected and hidden with camber/caster adjustment from the strut mount? Anything like that could cause the strut to be outside the mounts ideal range and cause excessive wear.

If you live in a place with a lot of bumpy roads and potholes, that could be a factor. But if one side is consistently going out more than the other, you likely have an underlying physical problem with the car's alignment that was simply compensated for with the strut mount adjustment.

You are doing an alignment every time you mess with the strut mounts, right?

OEM strut mounts are junk for the most part anyway. They use rubber or soft plastic strut bearings that provide a cushy quiet ride but degrade and fall apart after so long. But you think they would last at least as long as the originals did.

 

[cmf21]

An alignment been done everytime. Originals lasted over 200,000 miles but these last few sets don't last long at all.

The first couple of times, 3 different Big O tire have done they work but F'ed everything up. The last time, the Buick dealer discovered 2 pieces missing that Big O tire didn't reinstall and redid everyting. 4 months later problems again.

Car drive's great. No shaking or pull or anyting. Cv joints, ball joints, and all have also been replaced. Just this constant problem with the darn strut mounts and bearing.

 

[boomerang]

I'm thinking the problem is directly associated with the parts the tire store put on. All parts are not created equal. They may be putting on poor quality parts. They may be doing this to try and save customers money, it may be what their supplier stocks. In other words it is most likely not intentional - I think.

I'm a little confused about the work the dealer did. Did they rework the mounts that the tire store put on, or did they put new parts on?

If they put on new, my theory is all blown to hell.

 

[cmf21]

Dealer put new parts on for the third time.