Did my strut die?

[Jayce]

So one day I'm driving and, hmm, ride seems a little rough... I get out and press on the fender to kind of bounce the front end of the car. Driver side seemed good, passenger seemed to be locked up.

One day passes. I go outside today and... hmm... looks like the locked up side is now sunk a little bit compared to the other side...

Well, this is a bummer. I was hoping to put Christmas money into savings for a down payment on a house, not fix a **** car. Is there any helping this strut or should I just cut the BS and get a set of new ones? My car has 145k on it... not sure how respectable that is or not in regard to how long they should last. I've never had a car with this many miles on it.

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

Believe it or not, struts and springs should be replaced every 75,000 to 100,000 miles, if your car is sagging, the spring is worn, or busted, which is incredibly DANGEROUS to drive in that condition.

What make/model/year is it? If you are brave, and have a good hammer, some time, a Haynes manual, and a torque wrench, you can buy a kit that has the strut, spring, strut mount, isolators, and all other needed hardware, the kit only does one side at a time, and isn't available for all cars. But, it takes maybe 20-30 minutes with two people, one person to get the complete unit up inside the wheel well, and another person to put the bolts/nuts on top.

EDIT: I have always heard you can try pressing down on the car, and see if it returns to normal level in two bounces, but, I find this flawed, as on the last three cars I did this, that I knew the struts and springs where shot, it returned in less than two bounces. Also, if your in a really cold climate, it IS possible that enough water/ice has formed up inside around the springs, and strut it self to make it seem like it has locked up. Also, look around the strut piston, and sides of the oil chamber, and look to see if it has lost the hydraulic fluid.


NOTE: NEVER EVER TAKE THE CENTER BOLT OFF WITH OUT A PROPER SPRING COMPRESSOR PROPERLY INSTALLED!!! Doing so can cause serious injury to you, your precious baby (car) or even death for you.

 

[Jayce]

Yeahhhhhhhhhhhh me thinks I should just get new ones and bite it and be done with it. I'm not quite sure I trust myself doing it because it's not something I've done before, and me without a car is kind of.. ehh...

I'm wondering if I could just order some online and then take them to the shop to pay labor. What all do I need if I buy them online? I saw some were coming with just the mounting brackets and others were the entire units, etc. Do I need everything or are the mounting brackets salvageable for a new set?

What can I expect to pay for two new front struts on a 2001 Elantra GLS?

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

I don't see any full kits available, but, in general, a cheap set of struts, spring, isolators, and mounts will run upwards of $350 $400 just for the parts.

Gabriel Ultra Struts: $70.00 USD
Strut Mount: $40.00 USD
Coil Spring: I can't find ones for your car. :-\
Coil Spring Isolators: Same as the coil spring.... How... Odd?

I don't have a manual for your car, so I can't say for sure on anything. But, after getting the new parts installed, on top of that, you need to have the front end re-aligned. I would honestly, take it into a shop, that is more familiar with imported cars and see what they say, don't let them pressure you into buying new parts or anything, just get some estimates from around town, and see what they all say, and try to find the best deal.

I am still surprised I can't find much of any parts for your car. x_X

 

[Jayce]

Yeah I called a few auto part stores today to get some quotes on parts alone, and what they told me was within 5 bucks of what you listed above. I plan on calling a local shop that I normally get work done at tomorrow to see what they say. They normally give me some pretty solid deals and I'm a big fan of the mechanic. Seems to be a rarity these days... a guy who's honest and is very black and white, even if his advice doesn't mean it'll get him more money, he'll still let ya have it. So we'll see what him + a few others say and go from there...

Just sucks I have to do this 2 days after getting the timing belt done. But ehh, I guess I can't complain. That little car has served me so well. I'm just glad I happened to have 3 clients in a row + Christmas money to easily cover these costs... Just a bummer that it cuts into my house down payment fund.

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

Yea, once a car hits 100k-140k major work needs to be performed, as that's when a lot of the more major components fail, but, keeping up on such work, and keeping records helps with your re-sale value if you ever happen to sale it later on in life.

 

[Jayce]

Re-sale? Not me man. I keep my cars till they're flat out toast. This car will be a 200k car, I'm sure. I'm prepared to spend a few bucks, it just kinda bites I did preventative maintenance with the timing belt AND now all of the sudden I have something that is immediately required. Ah well, the price I pay of driving the same car that has saved me money over the years.

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

Yea, it does suck, and I know the feeling all too well, while your favorite mechanic is under the car, have him check the ball joints, and tie rod ends, and if applicable, grease all the joints, greasing the joints every year or two will help keep dirt eating them up, if they are grease-able that is.

 

[Jayce]

You mentioned it's dangerous to drive like this, but I have to wonder - what is it that really makes it dangerous? Is it just the fact it's rough as **** and makes the car a bit less predictable with its handling? I just don't want to break anything further BUT I'm not sure I can get the car in the shop till next wednesday due to not having another car handy...

Just trying to be smart about it. I'm kind of stuck but if it's a necessity to get it fixed asap I might be able to swing something.

 

[C0RR0SIVE]

If a spring is worn, the chances of it exploding = high, and that is when things become really bad, you have no real control in turns, and the spring has enough force behind it to bust through sheet metal, and kill people, on top of that, you could have damaged sensors/brakes/tire/rim, anything in that area could be broken, and require replacement. This happened to me not too long ago.

If a strut is worn, it's just the unpredictable pitch/roll when stopping/turning that makes it dangerous, it will also speed up tire wear.