!8 years old SUV ,160,000 miles .First time replace shock ,lots of work today and take at least 2 days
Not an easy job without a lift. Good work!
Best, Fred
Got only one front left done ,strip the slot in strut mount can't remove the nut .May get the rest done tomorrow
I actually just had the back right one start leaking. I bought Bilstein shocks for my PRO4X Xterra 2.5 years ago. Contacted them, they agree it's an issue covered under warranty. sounds like I'm getting new ones.
Lemons are out there. The difference between a good and great company is what they do when you tell them about it.
Never try Bilstein I hear they're good but cost too muck. KYB is reason price and work good for me ,just change all 4 for my truck and drive like new .Bought all 4 shocks for my Lexus Suv plus shock mounts and boots,below for $700 ,reuse coil springs insulators
I put Bilsteins on my fish mobile (tundra) this past April. They were just a little less than $400 for a complete set of front and rear. I reused my coils as well. Tire wear has really improved.
I opted for quick struts (KYB) when I did mine two or four years ago. I noticed I needed to change mine when my car would sway really bad when I passed by a 18-wheeler semi.
I saw on YouTube the strut rebuild process and the spring compressor procedure scared me (and I didn't have one).
The ride quality was really worse than the original but after 5-8k miles of breaking in I would say the quality became 8/10 or that I got really used to it. So keeping original springs is actually good. But surprisingly quick struts isn't that much more expensive than buying all the parts to rebuild one.
Coil spring for car or small SUV are not bad to compress ,the trick is use hand tool and count ,compress even both side .After market strut normally don't match original one ,shocks are not as good as Toyota OEM even KYB .They will worn out quicker that I can accept but I can't accept if the height is change ,spring is too stiff that make the ride worse
Quote from: jzman on November 08, 2024, 10:55:46 AMI saw on YouTube the strut rebuild process and the spring compressor procedure scared me (and I didn't have one).
I rented it at Oreillys but, I agree with you. When putting the coil onto the new strut we were aiming it down the driveway just in case. :-[
Quang,
Which store did you acquire the KYBs from?
Quote from: Gobi King on November 08, 2024, 06:02:03 PMQuang,
Which store did you acquire the KYBs from?
I got from Rockauto .Did the front and test drive good ,the 2 front I took out are bad,the 2 rear are bad also as I never change them .Now I'm retired I have time to take care them .It start rain now so I will do that tomorrow ,no hurry . This is the spring compressor I use , the one we rent at Oreillys for heavy truck coil spring the screws are bented when apply too much pressure and very hard to turn . I clamp the sock on vise while compress coil spring
All done , all 4 are bad and test drive very good .All I need is alignment and take the all one to scrap metal as garbage truck don't take car parts .Should be done long time ago
Rock Auto is Hard to beat. I buy solely from them.
My Mom's Cherokee needs brakes. $70 a pair at Oreilly's.
Got both sets from Rock Auto Delivered the Next Day for $50.
Rock Auto's website/search function are First Class, and are usually my first stop for at a minimum identifying part numbers and vendors. - john
Quote from: Shark Hunter on November 11, 2024, 06:27:47 PMRock Auto is Hard to beat. I buy solely from them.
My Mom's Cherokee needs brakes. $70 a pair at Oreilly's.
Got both sets from Rock Auto Delivered the Next Day for $50.
Agree,
And you genuine Parts.
eBay Amazon are peddling fake parts.
Says oem Toyota on the box but are fake parts.
Op, Lyn makes good stuff, good choice
I don't go to autopart store anymore .In the old time when I need a bearing ,a seal , an o ring or spark plugs ... all I need is the size of it inside dia,outside dia thickness or part #,now they only stock by car model, year ,size engine .Lots of time i need spark plug for my lawnmower or generator ,I'm sure they have that spark plug for some car but they can't point out
At rock auto I can get them and sometime much cheaper
I have seen several posts here about ordering only from RockAuto. While I agree it can be cheaper and convenient for those not needing the parts ASAP. I personally shop parts from the local shops as long as they don't overly raise the price.
If the parts at the local Auto+Parts, O'Reilly's, etc. are reasonable and quality, I will buy locally to support my local merchants and for the convenience of exchanging the parts in case the parts don't fit.
I once purchased plug wires from RockAuto and it was a real pain to return them. The metal housing were 4 one-thousands too large to fit into the spark plug well. Had I not had a caliber to check the measurement, they would have accepted the return but shipping them back would have been on me. I had to add a comment stating why the parts were being because of fitment. Even then, it took them several days after receiving the item for them to credit the return.
Since then, I'm careful of the cheaper price and will check around locally, online, etc. before ordering.
After installed these shocks I got sick bad until today get well enough to bring car to do alignment .Found this place and I'm happy with their work .It's HOUSTON ALIGNMENT ,they have 7 stations to do alignment at same time ,take only 1/2 hour to do it and only charge $50 for 4 wheels