Right front strut is going out possibly?

KIWASABI1

MEMBER
2001 MITSUBISHI ECLIPSE
2.4L
4 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
250,000 MILES

Whenever I go over a big bump, I get a big slamming sound from the right front side of the car. Based on my experience 6 years ago, this means the right front strut is going out. When this happened before, the whole mounting plate was busted out and the strut was very loose. Could you tell me what all to check to verify that the right front strut is going bad? Also, could you recommend some brand of struts to replace it with? I replaced all 4 struts in 2018 with a budget brand called Elite. Looks like it was about $240 for all 4 struts at the time. So I will probably get something similar this time around and replace all 4 again. I will go with the complete / quick struts that are already compressed and include the mounting plates. I was mostly just wondering if you knew of any brands that are affordable and also reliable.

1 Reply

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
109,755 POSTS

Hi,

The noise could be from the strut or other things. When checking the strut, see if there is evidence of oil leaking from it. Also, check if the coil spring itself has cracked.

You could also do a bounce test. Aggressively bounce that side of the vehicle. It should stop bouncing within three bounces. If there are more, it needs to be replaced.

As far as brand, I jumped on Rockauto and found Monroe Quick Struts. They are very fairly priced. If you are looking for the best bang for the buck, that would be my first choice.

Additionally, if you order from them, put this code (26569615779875049) in where it asks how you learned about their site. It will get you an additional 5% off the cost.

Let me know if this helps or if you have other questions,

Take care,

Joe

See pic below. Note: 2carpros and Rockauto are not affiliated with each other. I only made the suggestion to find a good part at a good price.

Image (Click to make bigger)