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Do I need new struts?

K

Korben

New member
Hey there folks, I have a 2001 Grand Prix GT with 165k on it. I bought it used with around 60-70k on it, and don't know what was done to it before that. I'll try to best describe what I experience and see if someone could guide me in the right direction with what to do...
Vehicle has had balancing/alignment and new tires all within the last 6 months. Driver's front wheel bearing was replaced 8 months ago, as well as the sway bar(if I am remembering correctly about the sway bar). Vehicle drives fairly smoothly on highway, etc, very minimal shake at highway speeds, not noticable by passengers.
However, any potholes or bumps are causing considerable slamming/crashing noise(much much more than other vehicles are), noticable in both sides, seems more the front end than the rear. Also, my driveway has a steep slope at the end, and when pulling in, even at extremely cautious speeds, I can hear a creak/pop as I go up and over it.
In talking with friends, we've guessed with about 50% confidence that it is likely my struts are in serious disrepair. Naturally I want to fix this. I was made aware specifically of Monroe's QuikStrut and told that is a quick/easier(and safer apparently) solution than having to rent a spring compressor and reuse the old springs. I may be getting ahead of myself with the assumption that my struts are bad, but if so, I'm hoping to do this job myself with roughly an 8 hour timeframe, to include some head scratching.
I appreciate and encourage any constructive feedback on this matter and thank you for the reply.
 


Well either way it goes, your struts should be replaced around 80k miles or so, at least with our struts. I'm at 111k and I need em. So it's time you get some.

But to me it sounds like you might have a broken strut mount that you are hearing. Keep in mind on that driveway thing, wbodies tend to creak on surfaces like angled driveways. With mine, if it's cold, the sunroof and rear end area creak. Once warm it doesn't do it.

The highway vibration might be an error in the tire balancing or your lower motor mounts.
 
brandonl2000 said:
Well either way it goes, your struts should be replaced around 80k miles or so, at least with our struts. I'm at 111k and I need em. So it's time you get some.

But to me it sounds like you might have a broken strut mount that you are hearing. Keep in mind on that driveway thing, wbodies tend to creak on surfaces like angled driveways. With mine, if it's cold, the sunroof and rear end area creak. Once warm it doesn't do it.

The highway vibration might be an error in the tire balancing or your lower motor mounts.
Click to expand...

To elaborate on the vibration, the speed of the vibration changes with the speed of the vehicle, on an even ratio.

For the struts, if I had a broken strut mount, is this something I would buy and replace separately from the QuikStrut? Or does it include the mount? Also, how difficult would you rate the entire job, for a guy of average skill and toolset?
 
The quik strut would come with a new mount, strut, spring as one unit. and for quik struts where you dont have to compress the spring, it's a total of 5 bolts... so i'd say not that bad, but you might want to watch a few vids.
How to Replace Front Struts Part 1 - YouTube

Honestly, if you feel comfortable, save some money and buy some KYB GR2s/Excel G's struts and some mounts from Rockauto or something and install it on your own.
But if you can afford it, a quick strut of some sort is nice and easy lol. I've done the KYB complete strut assembly before. Convenient.

As far as the vibration, describe in detail what's going on, what speeds, under power or not, etc.
 
brandonl2000 said:
The quik strut would come with a new mount, strut, spring as one unit. and for quik struts where you dont have to compress the spring, it's a total of 5 bolts... so i'd say not that bad, but you might want to watch a few vids.
How to Replace Front Struts Part 1 - YouTube

Honestly, if you feel comfortable, save some money and buy some KYB GR2s/Excel G's struts and some mounts from Rockauto or something and install it on your own.
But if you can afford it, a quick strut of some sort is nice and easy lol. I've done the KYB complete strut assembly before. Convenient.

As far as the vibration, describe in detail what's going on, what speeds, under power or not, etc.
Click to expand...

I'll look into the video and other such things tomorrow, on my phone atm.
The vibration occurs at all speeds, powered or not. If I am doing, say, 65mph, the vibration will stay constant until I change speeds. If I go past 75, the vibration starts to increase more dramatically, but still doesn't become too bad really, just a bit more noticable. At low speeds, the vibration is there, though hard to detect. If memory serves, at 65mph, it is roughly about 3-5 cycles per second(the vibration), and can be felt in the steering wheel, and slightly noticed on my arm if it is completely relaxed and holding the wheel. Generally the car drives straight, with no noticable drift in either direction(aside from perhaps what I imagine in my head).
 
First I would have the balance checked, most common vibration and the easiest to have checked. But I had some vibration before from bad lower mounts. If you haven't replaced them since you got it at 60-70k miles, it's time!

It doesn't really sound like cv axles because you'd be complaining about it on acceleration.

Good luck!
 


brandonl2000 said:
First I would have the balance checked, most common vibration and the easiest to have checked. But I had some vibration before from bad lower mounts. If you haven't replaced them since you got it at 60-70k miles, it's time!

It doesn't really sound like cv axles because you'd be complaining about it on acceleration.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

A side note on the balance I forgot to bring up: Last July, I was noticing the vibration was pretty bad. I had an alignment, balancing and rotation done. Was told my right front tire(not sure if it was pre- or post-alignment though) was wearing unevenly, and was cupped. Christmas I got new tires, and had them mounted and balanced. The vibration was less noticeable after this, but it was still the same exact vibration. It FEELS like the vibration is coming from the passenger front tire though, my best guess after hours of studying it during normal driving.
 
My plan basically is going to consist of the following:

Since it's been over 80k miles since I've been on these struts, and brandon suggests they will wear after around 80k to begin with, I'm going to look into either Monroe's QuikStrut, or if I'm feeling really adventurous, buy KYB GR2s/Excel G's struts and mounts, [and get a spring compressor?] and do it myself. I feel comfortable doing this, and best of all it's substantial savings(Sears quoted me at $1155 to do all 4).

Brandon also suggests that I may have a broken strut mount. Is this gonna be the mount?
2kes10.jpg


I've also been told that when taking the strut off the knuckle, I need to do a special procedure for the ABS cable and brake lines, or I can damage them... something involving dangling them some special way and letting them rest on the knuckle. He mentions in the video that you need to "be careful" of ABS lines and brake lines, but doesn't really seem too concerned. Also worth noting that it is a '99 Grand Am, and perhaps has slight differences than an '01 Grand Prix? But perhaps there is no difference and my friends are just worrywarts?

The video made me pretty confident in what lies ahead of me, doesn't seem too terribly bad, and aside from renting a spring compressor, I have everything I need to do this myself.

Anything I might have missed?
I will need an alignment after this? That's something I've heard.
Any unforeseen complications I may run in to that you've seen happen?
 
Here is what I would recommend. Buying struts and strut mounts. Renting out the strut spring compressor from Autozone or whomever, and you can return it for credit back. Do the job yourself if you feel comfortable about doing so. This will save you a decent amount of money by doing it yourself. After everything is peachy, get it aligned. Then while your at it you can get the tires balanced again.
 
The way I replace struts is exactly like this:

Jack and support the front of the car.
Take both front wheels off
Remove the two bolts holding the strut to the knuckle
Unbolt all three of those 15mm nuts you see on top of the strut tower, (holding one of the spring coils as I finish taking the last one off.
Pilot the strut assembly ouf of the car.
Compress the spring and remove the nut on the strut mount
Place the parts in the order they came off the old strut.
Take new strut and put the parts on, changing the mount for the new one.
Tighten the nut that holds the mount on top of the strut.
Guide the new strut into the strut tower of the car
Holding the strut up, put one or two nuts onto the mount studs that stick up.
Now the strut holds itself and you can reconnect the knuckle to strut with the two bolts.
Then finish the three 15mm nuts on top of the strut tower and move to the next corner of the car.
For the back struts:
Nearly the same as the front, except the sway bar is connected to the strut. Hold the endlink with a 13mm wrench (right behind the tab on the strut, kinda outta sight) and using I think an 18mm to remove the nut.
Now remove the two large bolts holding the strut to the knuckle and then crawl into the trunk to remove the three nuts on top of the strut mount.
Guide it out
Swap the parts over
slide it back into place and reassemble.

I never mess with the brakes, brake lines, balljoints, or tie rods.
 


i'm not sure if this already got addressed, but i had the EXACT same problem with mine... i priced top mounts alone and they ended up being like $125 bucks. what a rip off. my friend told me about quick-strut assemblies and after some research I found that I could replace the ENTIRE ASSEMBLY for like $170 and change. no brainer. ordered the parts online from a website and had a beer party one day in my driveway. literally took less than an hour to replace both left and right.
 
Listen to Aaron (Negativeone) and Billboost, they know what they're talking about. What you screen shot in the video IS indeed the strut mount. Don't worry too much about the abs cable, as on the Grand Prix they run along the control arm anyway. Those videos are very general and he's just giving warning advice. As far as the brake line, just watch out for it when you pull the strut assembly out and you should be fine.

Just follow the instructions given and you'll be set. Good luck and report back!
 


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