New struts and shocks....OMG..what a difference.

[Buzzman]

Well, for the past 6 months, the ride on my Pathfinder had been deteriorating quite noticeably. Even hitting a small bump would shake the steering wheel quite badly.I knew one strut was completely shot, so I bit the bullet and had the struts and shocks replaced today, with KYB's by the way, as so many of you here have recommended.I cannot believe the difference. It's like riding in a new vehicle. I'm amazed.I guess I was so used to the old ride that I didn't really notice how bad it had gotten.I also had it aligned, and some other minor work done on it.After 7 years and over 200,000 kms of wear and tear, I guess it was due for some work. (No complaints though. This truck owes me nothing.)Driving home on the freeway at 80 mph, I let go of the steering wheel, and it kept a perfect straight track. Smooth as butter too.I am a freekin' happy camper. Had to share. Thanks for reading.

[Qxxx4]

where did you get it done and how much did it cost you?

[Buzzman]

I talked to 2 independent repair centres where I had done business before, and I also checked the dealership as a comparison. The dealer was going to be way more expensive, and would only use OEM parts. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing, but I'm not sure who makes the OEM struts or shocks. I wanted GR2's.You probably won't know this particular shop that I used: Parker Auto Care. He's a large Firestone dealer, as well as an 8 bay repair facility. I've used him for years and does honest and good work.Struts, shocks, alignment, plus some annoying exhaust heat shield rattle repairs, labour and taxes, was just over $1,000.00. The dealer wanted $400.00 just to do one strut, as a comparison.I'm happy with the price. I think it's pretty fair.I could not have done it myself.Hope that helps.

[Empty V]

I talked to 2 independent repair centres where I had done business before, and I also checked the dealership as a comparison. The dealer was going to be way more expensive, and would only use OEM parts. Not that it's necessarily a bad thing, but I'm not sure who makes the OEM struts or shocks. I wanted GR2's.You probably won't know this particular shop that I used: Parker Auto Care. He's a large Firestone dealer, as well as an 8 bay repair facility. I've used him for years and does honest and good work.Struts, shocks, alignment, plus some annoying exhaust heat shield rattle repairs, labour and taxes, was just over $1,000.00. The dealer wanted $400.00 just to do one strut, as a comparison.I'm happy with the price. I think it's pretty fair.I could not have done it myself.Hope that helps.

Most places charge about $160-$200 to do the struts and $20-$40 for both shocks. My old mechanic wanted to charge $360 for the struts and $90 for the shocks, total rip. Of course that's all USD. It's about 1.5hrs of labor for the struts and about 10min for the shocks, an alignment should run about $80.

Billy

[Buzzman]

Most places charge about $160-$200 to do the struts and $20-$40 for both shocks. My old mechanic wanted to charge $360 for the struts and $90 for the shocks, total rip. Of course that's all USD. It's about 1.5hrs of labor for the struts and about 10min for the shocks, an alignment should run about $80.

Billy

That's about right. I was charged 2 hours labour for both struts (one hour each side).One hour for the shocks, plus the alignment.He fixed my exhaust for free. Labour prices here are probably a little higher (Cdn $$), but not a whole lot.I probably could have bought the parts on-line a little cheaper, but the shipping costs are much higher than in the U.S., and honestly, I just didn't have the time to spend on it.Like I said, I'm very satisfied with the work done and the overall price.FYI, my wife dropped me off at the garage to pick up the truck, and her Altima has had a burnt out brake light for weeks.As I was leaving, I asked the owner if he had a bulb. Not only did he have one, but he had one of his mechanics run out to her car, take apart the tail light assembly, and change the bulb...for free, while my wife sat in the car.Now THAT's good service.

[InfiniteQ]

What struts did you get? Link?

Thanks!

[QxMan01]

Buzzman, what exactly are you referring to when you said "exhaust heat shield rattle"? What type of noise does it make...I have an eerie feeling my car is doing the same thing. The sound is very hard to explain and it's very difficult to tell where the sound is emanating from; my best guess is right/rear right of the vehicle. Thanks for any clarification!

[Empty V]

What struts did you get? Link?

Thanks!

Read his first post, KYB's.

Billy

[Empty V]

That's about right. I was charged 2 hours labour for both struts (one hour each side).One hour for the shocks, plus the alignment.He fixed my exhaust for free. Labour prices here are probably a little higher (Cdn $$), but not a whole lot.I probably could have bought the parts on-line a little cheaper, but the shipping costs are much higher than in the U.S., and honestly, I just didn't have the time to spend on it.Like I said, I'm very satisfied with the work done and the overall price.FYI, my wife dropped me off at the garage to pick up the truck, and her Altima has had a burnt out brake light for weeks.As I was leaving, I asked the owner if he had a bulb. Not only did he have one, but he had one of his mechanics run out to her car, take apart the tail light assembly, and change the bulb...for free, while my wife sat in the car.Now THAT's good service.

Sounds like you've got a solid mechanic, they are definitely hard to come by. I had a good mechanic until last week when I went in with a broken top mount and the mechanic laughed at me when I told him I did my own strut and spring replacement. He was basically mocking me suggesting that the top mount broke because of shotty work, not because it had 195,000 miles on it. Then his underling walked up and asked who did the lift he smirked and said I did, again blaming the broken mount of poor mechanics work. Really sucks because the dude is cheap and doesn't over diagnose any issues.

After I did the strut and spring replacement my QX4 rides 100x better, isn't the difference amazing?

Billy
Modified by Empty V at 1:07 AM 7/24/2009

[QX4dahuneys]

Buzzman, what exactly are you referring to when you said "exhaust heat shield rattle"? What type of noise does it make...I have an eerie feeling my car is doing the same thing. The sound is very hard to explain and it's very difficult to tell where the sound is emanating from; my best guess is right/rear right of the vehicle. Thanks for any clarification!

QXMan01, I had this same issue as buzzman did, the heat shield tends to loosen after a couple of years, it will rattle when you accelerate and sometimes when reversing and it will sound like you're driving a broke down truck. My local mechanic which is also a friend of mine (very good at his work) looked at it for me, the guys nutz though, he told me to give him 2 metal clothes hangers, he twisted those hangers and used only a needle nose plier and and got to work on it. Took him probably 15-20min to complete what he did, told me to go test drive it, the rattle was gone! I was like ......didn't charge me at all for that, he said to me, that's nothing major, just needed new fasteners...I was like with clothes hangers???, most importantly......rattle disappeared!

[Buzzman]

QXMan01, I had this same issue as Buzzman did, the heat shield tends to loosen after a couple of years, it will rattle when you accelerate and sometimes when reversing and it will sound like you're driving a broke down truck. My local mechanic which is also a friend of mine (very good at his work) looked at it for me, the guys nutz though, he told me to give him 2 metal clothes hangers, he twisted those hangers and used only a needle nose pliers and and got to work on it. Took him probably 15-20min to complete what he did, told me to go test drive it, the rattle was gone! I was like ......didn't charge me at all for that, he said to me, that's nothing major, just needed new fasteners...I was like with clothes hangers???, most importantly......rattle disappeared!

Would have replied sooner, but I've been out of town for a few days.The heat shields are pretty much installed above the entire exhaust system. They are really nothing more than thin metal plates....that rust really easily and quickly (especially up here in snow country). I've had pieces fall off already, and the rest just come loose due to rusted bolts, etc. In this case my mechanic just removed one hanger that had rusted through, and tightened a few other plates to get rid of the noise. Quick and easy. I'm sure they'll rattle again in 6 months. Irritating, yes, but it's normal on these trucks. The funny thing is, my exhaust system is OK. Still original. It's just those stupid heat shields. Go figure.