Suspension question for REAL mechanics/technicians?

Question

I have an '89 Olds Cierra as a winter beater.It needs new front struts.Monroe has a "Quick Strut" assembly that costs $400 for the pair.I could do this swap myself and yes,I have the tools.What I don't have is the tools/knowledge to replace just the strut itsself.My question is would it be less expensive to take it in and have the stuts replaced,with struts being like $50/ a piece plus labor,or by the assembly and do it myself?The car has 150K on it,so I'm thinking the coils are worn out as well.

Answer 1

If you want to do the job yourself, you can spend the money for the quick strut, do the job and take it in for an alignment afterward. The quickstruts are nice since they have the new strut, coils and mounts/bearings all inclusive. Basically it is a remove and replace job, shouldn't take more than an hour to do both.

If you take it to a shop to have it done, it may be a little cheaper if you supply the struts yourself. Do not take the large nut off the top of the strut or you will be eating a spring, it is under a lot of pressure and will cause damage if not taken apart using the correct spring compressors.

My recommendation would be to use Monroe Sensa-trac instead of Gabrials. We used to stock Gabrials and found that they don't last more than a month before they start leaking so we changed vendors.

Answer 2

I work in a garage, and either way, i would suggest bringing the car in and having an alignment done with the job. Do what you like, but to have the job done properly take it to a garage, there are some tricky thinks that you need to know/do when doing struts. I'm not 100% sure on the set up of these, but some of them can be a pain to do. sometimes you need an air chizel to open up spaces so the strut can move free, sometimes on other styles you need an alignment punch to line up bolt hole. plus you have brake lines aroung, and if they are not done up properly you have a chance of breaking a line and losing your brakes. I would suggest taking it to a shop. I did a job on a 1990 cutlass cierra and i think that one ran about $500CDN for just the struts without the alignment. if you go with the quick strut, you'll pay more for the part, but you'll pay less in labour so it works out about the same. I would suggest taking it in that way you have a warranty.

Answer 3

To tell you the truth there is almost no way around having to spend at least the minimal amount of money on this repair because when doing suspension repair like front struts any of the above mentioned will also require a front end alignment following right after the installation of the struts. Now if you want to pinch some peenies the best route to go is to remove the assemblies yourself and have them install the inserts at the shop and then there after just drive the car back up to the alignment shop and have them do the alignment on the front. Doing it this way is cheating them out of labor to remove and to reinstall the units. I hope it works out for you.

Answer 4

Struts can be dangerous if not done properly. If its a beater, do 400 for the pair then have it aligned. I'm assuming you dont have alignment equipment. Especially if you need springs anyway. To do the struts you;ll need a compressor to take them apart, hand tools just wouldnt be enough. If you have them, then go to autozone and get the spring compressor and just disassemble them once out of the car. Be careful, thats the dangerous part. Put them back together and get it aligned. Thats about it.

Answer 5

well I am going to tell you if you go and take it to a shop you are going to be paying out the behind for labor much more I am sure than the car is worth.I would find a friend and you 2 do it together.you can but a car book just for your car that will tell you how to fix it.I work at a car dealer,I am just telling you the truth.