replacement strut advice needed......not happy with monroes

[grey3800]

Greetings all, looking for some advice on a recent suspension overhual job. With a newly rebuilt engine and trans a few years ago, I'd to get the best ride I can. Last summer I replaced both front and rear springs and struts, using these parts:

Front spring: moog CC658
front strut: monroe sensatrac 71822

rear spring: moog CC653
rear strut: monroe sensatrac 71799

The ride was excellent for about 2 months, it was a real blast driving around during that time. The next month or so the ride quality noticeably declined. Now the ride damping is nearly non-existent, especially in the rear. Ride height and stiffness are still there, which leads me to believe the springs are still good. The ride gets "hoppy" the in the rear with light loads and fast speeds on the freeway.

Should I switch brands or give monroe another shot?

[FasGP]

If you have your receipt for the Monroe's, I would get into a discussion directly with them about what you have done, and the results. These do carry a lifetime warranty, and maybe they were defective. Contact Monroe though, not the seller.

I agree if ride height has remained, you still have good springs. Springs typically are good for the life of a car (with the odd exception of guys like us that run them to 300k miles...)

[Jrs3800]

I would not use Gabrielle...

Possibly KYB or AC Delco...

I have Monroes on all of my cars, and all of my friends / customers cars... No issues.. I have 100,000 miles on the monroes on my 95 Bonneville and they are shot..

I have 5 years on the rear monroe Max Air shocks on my van( that loaded to the gills many times over, towing and hauling and the like... They are worn and I can feel it.. But thats to be expected after 5 years..

I used monroes on the back of my 03 almost 4 years ago due to an air bag leak, they are due to be replaced... But again thats 4 years...

On my van I am going to install reflex front struts( got lucky to find a set ) and new Monroe Max Air shocks in the back..


Not really sure what to tell you... I have had good luck with Monroes..

[94SilverSSEi]

I don't know. I bought some gabriels and they were complete junk.

Then got a set of "gasmatic monroe" the cheap ones. Those are junk after a year. (Soon have known better).

Put some monroes on our 1996 maybe 6 months ago and one of the front struts is clunking around already.

[grey3800]

@94SilverSSEi - Ive purchased gabriels too in the past....garbage after a week.

@Jrs3800 - Ya ive heard nothing but good things about monroe and its reputation. I wonder if i got a bad batch. I do recall the two rears I got had same p/n but different packaging, even the metal tube housing wasn't exactly the same between the two.

@FasGP - good idea on warranty, ill have to look into this.

Upon closer inspection I also need to do a rear ball joint too, so I'm likely going to pull the trigger on some sort of strut replacement.

Looking on RockAuto's website, I noticed the 71822 are priced much lower now at ~$29, I recall paying $75 last time, rear looks to be same price still. I saw the AC delco front 505397 says "strut-gas charged" priced at $124, don't all these struts (for our cars) have a gas charge in them?

The price difference between Monroe & AC Delco really makes me wonder if paying $$ would get me a longer lasting strut solution. Often times paying the extra $$ makes a noticeable difference in quality.

[MattStrike]

I would get the KYB struts or the "monroe-matic plus" (I have these on my SSEi). Mine have lasted longer than 2 months, and the KYBs on the LeSabre were a few years old with no problems.

[repinS]

Add another one to the list.

More and more I'm believing that Monroe's quality is NOT what it used to be. I am not sure if they were always made in North America - perhaps they've been recently outsourced to you-know-where. Several members on this forum, my family's Volvo 850, and a few of my friends who have non-Bonnevilles have had terrible luck with Monroe within the last year, whether with Sensatrac or the OESpectrum line (which is mainly for imports, but I would put the price/quality level on par with the Sensatrac). Poor ride quality and clunky, noisy struts are common complaints. Degradation within a few months is another one. I'm starting to recommend KYB, or if you can fork over the extra cash, AC Delco. As Don said, avoid Gabriel.

I ran Sensatrac all around on my 95 SSEi 3 years ago and I had no complaints.

[reb]

Being that my struts are still original. And after reading this and other struts thread complaints. I would cast my vote for AC Delco.

[reb]

grey3800,

I just did my suspension - after 16yrs and 120k on original struts\springs it was time.

For convenience cost issue I wound up going with the Monroe Sensatrac quick struts. But I used the Moog CC661 in the rear, while you installed the MoogCC653. 653 vs 661 has a much higher load capacity. Maybe thats why you are getting "hoppy" ride in rear?

Ride quality is great so far, rides pretty much like a stock Bonneville SE. Does corner much better which I attribute to the new Moog rear springs.

[Jrs3800]

I have the same CC653 springs on the back of my Bonneville, all I can say is my ride is firm but not bouncy or anything strange... and thats with 100,000 miles on the Monroe Matic Pluses( They are more than done..LOL )

Even with bad struts my car still rides good with the stiffer springs... But a new set of struts would make mine feel more attached to the road..

Not sure what he can do to get the ride he is looking for.. Or why those struts are not functioning properly..

[1oldman]

The ride was excellent for about 2 months, it was a real blast driving around during that time. The next month or so the ride quality noticeably declined. Now the ride damping is nearly non-existent, especially in the rear.

I had the struts replaced on our ole Bonneville at 150K with Monroe "quick struts" with the same results you had. It didn't bother me too much 'cause I've pretty much given up on the stiff ride. At 250K miles, I had the Monroe "quick struts replaced again along with the rear springs. Same result. At around 20 - 30K miles, the struts softened up a lot both times. I would not recommend Monroe "quick struts" for the performance minded. - BC

[reb]

On a side note, the rear ride height looks to be a good 1.5-2" higher. As a result, I noticed that the gas gauge appears to be more accurate on the first half of the readings... Hope it stays that way!

[renchjeep]

I am installing a set of 4 KYB GR-2's on my 94 SE tomorrow. Plus Monroe "Strut-Mate" front upper mounts, and MOOG rear uppers, along with 4 new KYB boots. Then an alignment, of course. Should make a drastic difference in my ride, as the 4 Sach's struts I put on have been crap for a while now. They lasted maybe 6 months. Sach's of sh......do not buy those, for sure!

[reb]

Just passing along some maintenance advice for those replacing struts and springs. Check your steering rack bolts and make sure they are tight. Alignment shop discovered my rack bolts were loose and snugged up the bolts for me. Our cars have a crappy subframe design with the rack bolted to the subframe. Any movement of the subframe from worn bushing and vibrations from driving can cause the rack bolts to loosen making consistent alignment impossible.