| Newsgroups |
alt.autos.subaru |
| Organization |
A noiseless patient Spider |
| Message-ID |
<[email protected]> |
On 2020-12-04 14:55, VanguardLH wrote:
> T <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> I was told now by two mechanics that they were "leaking". My old tires
>> show no sign of cupping. Both had the the car in the air and checked
>> with a flashlight. I did not have any reason to believe that they
>> both were being dishonest.
>>
>> And the old tires had about 50K miles on them.
>
> Hydraulic fluid on the piston is okay, but "leaking" usually means there
> is a trail of fluid (which has gotten dirty from road grime) along the
> tube, and that means the struts are defective. Less fluid means less
> control of the bumps, even the tiny ones you sense as road noise. All
> it takes is a flashlight to see there are leak trails along the tubes of
> the struts.
>
> Start saving up money to replace a pair of struts at the same end (they
> get replaced in pairs) along with an alignment. I suspect they leaky
> ones are the fronts since those take the most abuse. While I found
> cheaper struts at online auto parts stores, they're brands I've not
> heard of or suspect aren't as durable. I've heard of Monroe, but don't
> remember which brand went into a Mustang I had before (the only car I've
> owned that needed struts, and boy did it bounce). Subaru struts have a
> reputation of lasting longer. You could ask the shop which brand they
> suggest, but they might have their own skew based on who is their
> supplier, while you should be skewed to the Subaru brand (i.e., it's
> Subaur or BETTER). Subaru's brand might just be re-branded KYBs. If
> you demand the shop use Subaru parts, you might have to wait longer for
> the parts order through Subaru. My shops don't ask me to prepay for
> ordered parts while waiting for them, but I don't know about your shops.
> Some Subaru genuine prices are at:
>
> https://parts.subaru.com/productSearch.aspx?searchTerm=strut&ukey_make=5806&ukey_model=89955&modelYear=2006&ukey_driveline=53364&ukey_trimlevel=106443
> (didn't know exactly what you have)
>
> A pair would cost around $400 just for the left and right front struts.
> Add in the mounts and other miscellaneous parts, and add in the labor,
> and you're looking at around $800 per pair. If this was happening to
> me, I'd be saving up to replace all 4 (both pairs), and get them all
> done at the same time. Then I don't end up paying twice for an
> alignment. If the leak trail isn't too dirty yet, and you've
> experienced none of the other symptoms that I mentioned before, you have
> some time before they get bad enough to cause tire or suspension damage.
>
> Did the shops quote a price on replacing a pair or for all 4 struts, and
> without and with having to replace the mounts? For the alignment, they
> should have a schedule of standard costs to quote for you vehicle
> (probably about $140). Now might also be a good time to decide if you
> want the stock handling and ride, or if you might want softer or firmer
> struts, and perhaps a combo that use a varying piston diameter, if
> available for you vehicle.
>
I am going in next Wednesday to get them fixed.