Long story short when I got new tires I was told they could not do an alignment because my front passenger strut is broken. What can actually break on a strut? Also 3 of the 4 corners still appear to be the stock shock/strut @ 103k. Car clunks over speed bumps so I want to replace them. What do you guys suggest for a cost efficient decent performance option? Car is lowered on Eibach pro kit I believe (black springs.) Would someones low mileage ones be fine if I could find some? I'm not very knowledgable on the subject. I'm slightly confused on the difference between shocks and struts honestly. Any help, suggestions, or reccomendations would be greatly appreciated. Also can the swapping be done at home fairly easy? My step dad and I do 90% of the work on my car including clutch swap, TOB swaps, wheel spacer install, intercooler removal, etc. Thanks guys.
Shock and strut replacemet
- Thread starter Jensanity
- Start date
Struts are in the front and support the spindle. Shocks are in the back and are just absorbers. I can't recommend a specific brand since i still have my stock ones on @25k. However, i did just do my front LCA bushings and ball joint. If you can do a clutch swap you can easily do struts.
I recommend while you have it apart you should change your LCA bushings and ball joints unless they are not original. Do you have CC plates or stock plates?
I recommend while you have it apart you should change your LCA bushings and ball joints unless they are not original. Do you have CC plates or stock plates?
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Do you caster camber plates that might be your noise with the lowering kit. You can also take them off and send them to be rebuilt by Bilstein but you would be without your car.
No CC plates right now. I'm thinking about removing one iso at each corner when changing the shocks and struts so I bet CC plates would be a good idea. I found a couple sets of used OEM Cobra struts on Corral. Is 30k miles high for a strut or would you think there is a good amount of life left at the mileage? I appreciate the help guys. Suspension work outside of lowering springs is foreign to me haha. I'd like to get some FLSFC and the FTBR IRS kit sometime after reading how big of a difference guys are getting with both mods.
Bilstein can rebuild your OE units if you like, they can even upgrade them to HD's. Bilstein HD's are probably the most popular unadjustable upgrade if you don't have time to remove the units, ship them to Bilstein, wait, and reinstall.
On another note you should have installed FLSFC long ago.
On another note you should have installed FLSFC long ago.
FLSFC make that big of a difference ay? I've had the car about a year so no excuses ha. I'm going to get some soon. Are FLSFC something you can get by a little cheaper on or should I stick with big name like MM? If the housing isn't actually broken on my passenger one I may just go the rebuil or upgrade route. Can you explain to me the benefit of upgrading to the HD? I guess it can't be too much other than smoother ride over rough terrain?
Stock bilsteins
I had the stock Bilsteins up to about 97K miles. I took them to a local shop to install some D-spec Tokiko shocks/struts I bought as replacements. I am unhappy with the ride even when compared to my previous worn out Bilsteins, they just don't measure up to the quality. That was a few years ago. I made the mistake of not keeping the old ones. Now, after only about 5k miles and 2 years later, I decided I want to put in the Bilsteins again and have purchased Part# 35-041382 for the front and Part# 24-185356 for the rear in the B6 HD series which from what I can tell, are either really similar or the exact models that came on the 03/04 snakes. What I'm baffled at is that the shop that currently is doing the installation for me called me and said the bellowed strut boots for the front weren't going to work because of some bushing issues. He asked if it was okay to use the boots that the car currently has on with the Tokikos. I called Bilstein and AJParts.com and both of them said they weren't sure but that their supplied boots should work. Anyway, long story short. (1) are these in fact the original shocks/struts? (2) Has anyone had that issue with the strut bellowed boots? For now, I told them to go ahead and use the boots that are currently on the car. PS: sorry if this has been asked before. I searched everywhere in this forum and really couldn't find the answer I was after.
I had the stock Bilsteins up to about 97K miles. I took them to a local shop to install some D-spec Tokiko shocks/struts I bought as replacements. I am unhappy with the ride even when compared to my previous worn out Bilsteins, they just don't measure up to the quality. That was a few years ago. I made the mistake of not keeping the old ones. Now, after only about 5k miles and 2 years later, I decided I want to put in the Bilsteins again and have purchased Part# 35-041382 for the front and Part# 24-185356 for the rear in the B6 HD series which from what I can tell, are either really similar or the exact models that came on the 03/04 snakes. What I'm baffled at is that the shop that currently is doing the installation for me called me and said the bellowed strut boots for the front weren't going to work because of some bushing issues. He asked if it was okay to use the boots that the car currently has on with the Tokikos. I called Bilstein and AJParts.com and both of them said they weren't sure but that their supplied boots should work. Anyway, long story short. (1) are these in fact the original shocks/struts? (2) Has anyone had that issue with the strut bellowed boots? For now, I told them to go ahead and use the boots that are currently on the car. PS: sorry if this has been asked before. I searched everywhere in this forum and really couldn't find the answer I was after.
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Do you have stock CC plates or aftermarket?
Maximum motorsports CC plates are not compatible with the stock boots. Not sure if this is your issue.
Maximum motorsports CC plates are not compatible with the stock boots. Not sure if this is your issue.
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From what I can tell is that these are the stock CC plates on the car. nothing fancy. I bought the car with 21K miles and pretty much stock with the exception of a Steeda intake and Flowmasters. I'll take a look though when I get home.
Bilstein charges $75.00 each for the rebuild, I had a set done earlier this year.
What was so bad about the D-Spec? There adjustable do you drag race or auto cross? Just asking because I was think of ordering them! I drag race & my stock stuff is at it's limits.
I run some MM custom valved Bilsteins, I think they are based off the HD series... combined with H&R race springs car is great fun both autocrossing and drag racing (but not on drag radials, need a slick)...
Sorry for the late reply man. Hadn't gotten back on in a while. Truthfully, right now it's a weekend driver and honestly, the D-Specs were okay. I adjusted them to what Tokico considers "stock" similar firmness but they still didn't compare to the Bilsteins in my opinion. I honestly didn't play with them much to give you specific details. I'm sure that I could have adjusted the firmness but at the end of the day, I just felt like going back to stock. I will say that to the naked eye, the Bilsteins seem to have a larger diameter vs. the Tokico but I don't know that for a fact. I'm sure some quick research could give us the answer. If you're interested in purchasing my Tokico, I'd be willing to ship them anywhere in the USA for 500.00. I paid 700+ and I estimate that I have less than 5K miles on them. It's been garage kept for a couple of years now and I'm just now working on getting her show and street rod ready.
I think you need to learn to adjust your D Specs better. They have endless amounts of adjustment. I love mine, quick turn of the screw and its a completely different ride. 1/2 turns and you can feel the difference. I love mine. Perfect for the street and auto x. Haven't drag'd on them yet but I will soon enough, loosen the front all the way and the rears 1/2 way and let it rip.
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