Obscurations

So a while back (~3 months ago), I was having issues with my suspension and I took it to a shop and they said that my rear shocks were blown and my front lower control arms are loose. I know it's probably not a good idea to drive so long on already blown shocks (struts? idk, my car just hit's potholes extra hard in the back but the car doesn't shake or bounce at all.) but after doing research, I can see it's a bad idea to use cheap aftermarket struts.

But here's my question: my car is 1999, at most with good maintenance, I could probably get 2-5 more years out of it max before it's totaled in repairs in my opinion (277k miles right now). Is it worth buying brand new $250 per, kyb struts (mechanic friend's recommendation) for both my rear wheels when I could get like $50 struts off amazon that will last until the car is done for? Or is it too risky to try that and potentially have to take them back off and send them back for being crap.

Also separate question, I've been told I do not need a alignment for just shocks/struts replacement but I do need it for lower control arms. But they shop said that they would not do an alignment partially because of bad struts, so do I need to put new struts on before I replace the lower control arms or is that just that particular shops problem?

Please keep in mind that I am a college student and don't have a lot of money laying around for stuff I can just deal with like extra annoying potholes.

Thank you in advance

maxSteel

RockAuto has a range of prices on quick struts https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...assembly,15174

If you want to rebuild the ones you have the KYB's are $80 https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...k+/+strut,7556 . I did that about 9 years ago. In addition to the strut you need mounts and such. Check the sticky on it.

Lower control arms: https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...trol+arm,10401 . I used the MOOG RK620052 and RK620051. They were cheap, we'll see how long they last.

There is no way to know how long the car will last. My 1999 has 357k miles on the original engine and transmission. You know I'm an optimist because I bought the Firestone "lifetime wheel alignment" at 331k miles. I've used it 3 or 4 times already.

I'm pretty sure no matter how many miles I get out of it the day it craps out I'm gonna be pissed off

fortitude

The dampening mechanism inside the strut assembly is what usually wears out long before the coil spring portion.

Signs of this are excessive bounciness of vehicle when hitting bumps. Another sign is scolloped tire tread wear

At the 2:29 mark it shows the bouncing tire

Obscurations

On the RockAuto struts, do you have any idea if they are decent quality for their price? $70 struts are giving me worries when I've been told it's a bad idea to use cheap struts.

I've also been told the spring is extremely dangerous to try and rebuild my own struts with KYB stuff. For someone who has never done that before, is it a good idea for me to try it at all?

Thank you for the recommendation on lower control arms, they look like they will do just fine for what I need.

Also one last thing, do you have an answer to that last question I asked? It would suck if I need to get 2 alignments because I did lower control arms first.

maxSteel

I would do all the work before the alignment, unless you buy the "lifetime alignment" and can go back whenever you need to.

It's definitely easier to use the quick struts.

I think some people here have used the Monroe quick struts that are about $80. They have a limited lifetime warranty. Search the forum

Obscurations

After doing a little bit of research, it appears as though the rear struts are no where near as important as the front struts for ride comfort and I can easily replace my rear struts with cheaper ones and it will not matter. I am not 100% sure about that but I have gotten that info from multiple people on multiple threads and different articles so I just wanted a final confirmation. If it's just rear struts, will it matter if I just get cheap $70 quick struts instead of $250 ones from KYB? All I care about is that it won't crap out before the engine does or before I replace the car, and that it rides at least as good as OEM ones with blown shocks.

maxSteel

I can't tell you there is no difference between an $80 Monroe and a $250 KYB. No way for me to compare them meaningfully. But even if there is a difference it may not be a difference that matters to you. As for how long they will last, they have a limited lifetime warranty.

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

On a car that old, I would get the cheapest compatible name-brand struts. The Monroes with a lifetime warranty would appear to fit the bill. I definitely wouldn't pay $1100 (plus installation) when the car is worth less than that!
And I would replace all 4 corners to maintain some semblance of proper handling.

Gerf

I've bought a few things for a 96 ls400 and a 12 corolla and all parts seemed to be of lesser quality. I ended up buying oem strut rod bushings for the 400 and haven't decided about the corolla parts because to return because of possible shipping costs so I might try to sell them where I live.

salimshah

RockAuto is a retailer and they offer products from different brands. Experience with them does not mean anything about the product, other than completing sales and solving issues after sale.

Salim

Gerf

Experience with them over a few purchases absolutely means something when the goods you receive are consistently poor quality. However the price does reflect in quality of the parts. If you're going to flip a car they are excellent but I would never buy their stuff for a car I liked.

Obscurations

My dad is saying that he would only replace the rear struts since the lower control arms are only causing vibrations in the steering wheel at high speeds (65 mph+), as of about a week ago. I think it's probably a better idea to replace both at once but he is cheap. Does anyone have any advice that I could use to convince him that the control arms are needed? Or is it not needed and I can just deal with that for a while?

salimshah

I prefer evidence based determination as to what needs replacement.

Struts should show a leak and preventative ripped boots. Just don't be in a hurry to replace seats with a lower quality after market.
Control arm should show play or ripped rubber. Cracked/webbing does indicate wear but a separated center piece is a clear evidence. It can be safety issue. [expected life is about 200K but lot of it depends on driving environment]. If unattended you will see inside tire wear.

You can do without alignment, but most [practically all] suspension work needs to be followed up with an alignment. I always have premium tires and had the alignment done after suspension work. With this in mind, I prefer chaining things in pairs, specially if the issue is age/wear. No sense in paying for alignment again in few months.

Salim

maxSteel

I don't understand this: "lower control arms are only causing vibrations in the steering wheel at high speeds (65 mph+)". This sounds more like wheel balance.

You can usually see obvious play in the control arms when they are worn and also feel the car swerve a bit to one side under certain circumstances like when easing off the accelerator.

When you jack up the car and pull the wheel do you see play?

Obscurations

Yes, I assumed that the lower control arms were causing the shake because I knew they were bad from a mechanic telling me they were bad. I guess not. But I did check and the arms are bad but I don't feel any issues with it (while driving) and there is no difference in tire wear between the 4 wheels, so that is why my dad is asking if we really need to replace the control arms.

Also completely unrelated question but I doubt it needs an entire thread for it, Would I need some kind of adapter kit to replace my headlights with LED's? Or would I need to know anything about that? Or is it just unplug old and plug in new and bam it works?