Where to buy Struts online?

"zeontestpilot" (zeontestpilot) 10/21/2014 at 08:30 • Filed to: Question

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The last thing my car needs is new struts, then it'll be ready for the winter. Now I'm not made of money, my last car repair bill was via credit card. So I'm trying to think of a cheap way to get new struts.

Then I thought, why not investigate how much struts are, perhaps buy them, and give it to a mechanic who knows what they are doing? It needs a new alignment anyways.

My car is a '08 Pt Cruiser, base model. Does anyone know where I can buy struts for my car, via online? Possibly quick struts? Any other info would be awesome.

Thanks, ztp

ly2v8-Brian > zeontestpilot 10/21/2014 at 08:32

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Rockauto. They sell stuff on the cheap.

thebigbossyboss > zeontestpilot 10/21/2014 at 08:43

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Tire rack. I wish I was near you, I'd come over and help you change them, it's fun.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > ly2v8-Brian 10/21/2014 at 08:47

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This.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > ly2v8-Brian 10/21/2014 at 08:51

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They might even sell them pre-assembled

ly2v8-Brian > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 10/21/2014 at 09:04

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That would be awesome.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > zeontestpilot 10/21/2014 at 09:05

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Why not wait until after winter? No point getting salt all over the new ones.

nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul > zeontestpilot 10/21/2014 at 09:08

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They have Monroe quick-struts (preassembled) for $100. Just make sure they look the same as the ones you take off as I got some quick struts and they were missing the bump stop. Easy fix but a pain considering they were purchased because I didn't want to worry about taking the strut appart.

zeontestpilot > thebigbossyboss 10/21/2014 at 09:12

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Thats for the offer though, :).

JGrabowMSt > zeontestpilot 10/21/2014 at 09:16

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Rock Auto or Amazon.

Monroe Quick Struts will work well, thats what I put on the Neon, no complaints.

zeontestpilot > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 10/21/2014 at 09:22

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The front tires are all over the place, they won't go straight. From what I'm told, the bearings at the top of the struts are no good any more (did I say that right?).

My concern is driving on snow with my tires having a mind of their own.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > zeontestpilot 10/21/2014 at 09:33

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If they're turning on their own, struts alont aren't going to fix the problem. The struts only dampen vertical movement. If they're saying that the bearings are no good, you just need a new top hat/strut mount, but it doesn't sound right that they're turning on their own. That sounds to me more like a busted wheel bearing, control arm, steering knuckle, or something not attached correctly. Does it wobble when driving straight, or does it just randomly decide which way to go?

Pixel > ly2v8-Brian 10/21/2014 at 09:54

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They have them pre-assembled for $65.79 per side. 5 bolts each and you are done(you'll need an alignment afterwards).

put 58706B0C3F9D33 in as a coupon code and get 5% off your order

http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/rafram…

ly2v8-Brian > Pixel 10/21/2014 at 09:59

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Wow what a time saver.

Captain of the Enterprise > zeontestpilot 10/21/2014 at 10:52

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Sorry I couldn't stop myself and this is all I could think about when hearing pt cruiser and winter

zeontestpilot > Captain of the Enterprise 10/21/2014 at 12:05

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Psh, I can personally confirm that does not happen. I've hit a patch of black ice, spun off the road doing a 360, and crashed into a 3' ditch; and it didn't set on fire.

No, anything electronic just completely and utterly turned off, leaving me in 1o degree weather waiting for a tow truck to come.

This is a true story.

zeontestpilot > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 10/21/2014 at 12:08

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Well, it's a bit of both. It really wobbles when I press the brakes going onto a exit ramp. the car has 90k+ miles, and I found out they are the original struts as well. I recently got a new tie rod, if that helps....

NaturallyAspirated > zeontestpilot 10/21/2014 at 12:15

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I like to at least check shox.com first. Sometimes they don't have parts for your specific car, but when they do, they generally have a set of all 4 at a good price.

Otherwise, go with Amazon for the free shipping. Bonus points if you have Prime and can make Amazon ship four heavy and bulky struts via 2nd-day air.

Autozone, etc. will usually loan you a strut compressor tool so that you can change the struts yourself. You can sometimes also take the old strut assemblies to a mechanic, and for a reasonable change, they will move the springs to your new struts.

In my case, the only thing I can't do myself is an alignment, and you will need an alignment after you change the struts.

My first choice of struts is usually KYB. I've used Monroes before, any they are OK too, but my impression is that KYBs are better. Sometimes you can get Koni Orange ("Street" or something) for ~$10 or so more than KYB's, and the Koni's will give you a sportier ride. Quick struts can really make things easy, since the whole thing becomes five bolts to get the old one off, five bolts to get the new one in.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > zeontestpilot 10/21/2014 at 12:28

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That sounds like a tie rod not connected or a loose wheel to me if it's wobbling but will occasionally catch and pull you in a different direction. I don't think that your struts are the problem. Does it get worse when you step on the brakes, or does it only happen when you brake?

zeontestpilot > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 10/21/2014 at 12:42

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It gets worse while using the brakes. Otherwise, the car just randomly pulls in either direction.

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > zeontestpilot 10/21/2014 at 12:47

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Yeah, that all sounds like a problem with the way the wheel is connected to the hub or the hub is connected to the suspension, not the struts unless the struts physically snapped, which isn't likely.

zeontestpilot > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 10/22/2014 at 06:12

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So...if I take my car to a mechanic, what exactly should I ask them to look at then ?

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > zeontestpilot 10/22/2014 at 08:05

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I'd just tell them that the wheel it wobbling, which one it is, and that it gets worse when the load is increased on it. Chances are that they should be able to see it as soon as they get it up onto a lift.

zeontestpilot > SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie 10/22/2014 at 08:45

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Well, the issue has been persistent for months, it's just now got worst. Whenever I bring it in, no one could find anything wrong with it. Maybe know that it's worse, hopefully they can find the issue.

I thought it was the struts because one mechanic said the bearings that turn the struts with the tires were bad, and had a lot of 'play'. Thus why I had the issues. What are your thoughts about that?

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > zeontestpilot 10/22/2014 at 09:02

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If there's play in it, it means that it's moving left and right on its own. It's supposed to go left and right on its own, but is meant to be stabilized by the lower control arm, steering knuckle, and whichever other parts are attached to the wheel with your suspension configuration. I just took a quick look online, and it seems that people have problems with the tie rod, ball joints, and lower control arm bushings completely failing on these cars. If your bushings disintegrated and are no longer there, that would cause the issues described.