The price isn't too bad, but this is not the best value. You'll be overlooking two items and there is a big safety issue when using a spring compressor.
The first part is the upper mount. Those can bind after getting dirt in them or when the bearings fail, then you'll hear and feel clunking when you turn the steering wheel. Second, for a car even half this age, sagged springs becomes a concern. Correct ride height is just as important to good tire wear and handling as is the alignment. Many conscientious suspension and alignment specialists will not align your car, or they will not guarantee their work if the suspension ride height is not within the range published and specified by the manufacturer.
The safety issue is with the use of the spring compressor. I specialized in suspension service and alignments for many years, and as an expert, even I had a spring get away from me and fly across the shop, out the door, and across the parking lot. A also saw one get loose from a coworker, shoot up and take out an overhead light fixture. We aren't amateurs, yet we take risks every time we do this job.
Also be aware many applications include plastic dust boots that break loose and rattle, they have hard rubber bump stops that cause hard bottoming out such as when driving over a sidewalk into a parking lot, and there may be a rubber isolator under the coil spring where it sits on the plate. Those parts are hard to find individually and some only come through the dealer, when they're still available.
All of these problems are solved by installing what's commonly called "quick struts". You just unbolt the old assembly and discard it, and pop in the new ones, then it's ready for the alignment. Professionals prefer these too because it takes them much less time that they have to charge you for, there's no safety concern, and these quick struts insure a quality repair. Two of these on the front can be replaced in less than a half hour.
As far as quality, it doesn't cost the strut manufacturer any more to build a good strut as it does to make a bad one, so there's no point in cutting corners. In general, with shock absorbers and struts, the lowest-priced or lowest-quality is pretty close to the original equipment parts and will work just fine. More expensive replacements have some extra features, but they rarely improve the ride quality over what the engineers originally built in.
Thursday, April 18th, 2019 AT 5:22 PM
