I like many others need some struts for my Q and I wasn't liking the price of coilovers so after a bit of digging I stumbled across this listing that's been up since 2015 from Amazon. It's an independent seller so be wary of any returns/warranties. After a bit of googling it appears that struts don't really have a shelf life but obviously there's always a risk. Also its aftermarket, but at nearly half the cost of the alternatives it may be worth a shot.....

Anyway, these part numbers have been phased out of the current Monroe catalog so I had to dig even deeper to find cross references and these appear to be correct for the application. It includes all 4 BARE struts so anyone buying these will have to purchase all the rubber bits and various pieces of hardware to complete the set.

https://www.amazon.com/MONROE-FRONT-Mon ... B00DTL464I





Im already set with some fronts and will be ordering the rears off of Amayama so I have no use for these but I figured a couple of you could take advantage. It was a PITA figuring it out

This isn't a for sale ad, it's more of a PSA. Similar to this post by Heath.
post6835812.html

So. Amayama may reject your order brother....

BCC93QT wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 13, 2023 8:49 pm

So. Amayama may reject your order brother....

Well, I haven't heard back yet.... In that case guess I'll be a guinea pig for these monroe struts

I'll be interested to hear how all of this goes with Amayama. Thank you for the post - unless something was edited out, I don't think anyone took this as a for sale type post. At this point parts availability is a big part of keeping one of these dinosaurs on the road.

Q451990 wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 16, 2023 10:05 am

I'll be interested to hear how all of this goes with Amayama. Thank you for the post - unless something was edited out, I don't think anyone took this as a for sale type post. At this point parts availability is a big part of keeping one of these dinosaurs on the road.

The post had been moved to the classifieds for a brief time so I had to appeal to have it moved back.



UPDATE, the good:
Amayama has confirmed my order! The rear shocks are officially on the way

Now that I have these shocks in hand I'm seeing that they are stupid simple. Its literally just a straight tube. Im shocked
(ha, get it?) none of you guys have ever attempted to make your own. The aftermarket ones have a mind numbing two spot welds securing the spring seat to the tube and on the bottom is just a bracket with a hole. Im absolutely positive there's a simple and cheap solution to this problem. I can already imagine a few things that don't require welding directly onto the tube itself but rather around it. I'll tinker with the idea.

The bad:

I'll break the worst news first. The "fragrance catridge" is now officially EXTINCT ..... I got these as the cherry on top of a larger order just for fun and I am disappointed that they are no longer available

Whoever said shocks don't expire doesn't know what they're talking about. Or possibly didn't have to deal with what I imagine to be ~20 year old stock. These struts are DEAD and dying. I took a gamble and bought the last ones on rock auto (yeah I know dont roast me too bad) the 1 rear strut is completely blown. I can manipulate this s*** like an accordion. The 2 fronts seem okay - ish. They're slow to extend but have a decent amount of dampening ability as far as hand tests go. However I don't think I'll even bother to mount them. Mind you they were all in their respective sealed boxes.

Shipping costs for Amayama were nearly double what was estimated. Keep this in mind when ordering in the future. I got quoted about $170 and after it was all said and done shipping alone set me back $350

If these shocks are bad and share the same obsolete part # as the listing on amazon I cant imagine those are any good either

The ugly:
my bank account * badum tss*


TLDR: The age of OE style struts is over, go buy some coilovers (or bags, maybe even fab your own)

You got the new monroe front shocks in hand? Can you post a pic of them?
A lot of the original parts are EXTINCT for these cars. At this point if you can find anything even resembling oem I consider that a win.

fontana dan wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 16, 2023 8:11 pm

You got the new monroe front shocks in hand? Can you post a pic of them?
A lot of the original parts are EXTINCT for these cars. At this point if you can find anything even resembling oem I consider that a win.

For your viewing pleasure
At most I could probably salvage the brackets and spring seats to mount them on another set of struts but my old ones on the car are not corroded and would serve the same purpose. Might be best to get a refund on these unless I can figure something out.
The limited edition are newer part #s, I believe it was the final run before stopping production altogether. I can't really find a date on when they were discontinued.





This is the rear, 100% Dead


All 3 together

May your Amayama shocks arrive in good condition without any more damage to your bank account! I had the same experience with their shipping costs doubling when I was ready to pull the trigger on a rear power window regulator.

I decided to wait until I could put together a bigger order to combine shipping - which really means I'll screw around until they're gone forever and then moan and whine about the fact that I have one window that can't move anymore.

I was happy with my experience importing JDM parts through Streeter Corporation this past year. Opted for the DHL shipping which was very quick and around $150 for 4 shocks if iirc.

Just looked at my shipping from last year. $115 for 2 struts and some misc smalls

Ok guys, another update. I've left the shocks extended over a few days and there seems to be an improvement! the rear is still gone and will be sent back but the 2 fronts may be usable for a short time.
ASSUMING the rears from Amayama are in good condition and the Monroes don't hold up once they are in the car I will attempt the following:
I've got a few of the older interchange threads open. this one specifically by gniknave states that the front shocks from a 300zx will fit, however they are roughly 2 inches too short. Looking at pictures online the bottom end (below the spring seat) is noticeably shorter. I can easily get some KYB shocks from the local parts store for less than $100. The simplest way to go about it is just using shock extenders to get the missing 2 inches. I doubt I'll be able to find some with the required measurements so those will have to be made. Here is an example of something that may be used. Truth be told I'm not too sure how well this would hold up I'm worried about it shifting off to one side but welding it onto the strut itself would fix that.
300zx-z32-springs-struts-on-a-90-q45-g50-t124899.html



For the seats Ill need both sets on hand to see how I'd go about swapping them. There was some talk on the other thread about modifying the top hats, as far as I can tell they tried to use 300 struts/300 springs/Q strut mounts. They did not want to drill out the bolt holes on the Q. I agree with them on that. I prefer to make things fit the car rather than the other way around in this instance.
The 91 Q FSM states the springs are 14.53 inches long uncompressed and the 300zxTT specs say 14.57 inches. This should work as far as rod length is concerned. I have some new strut mounts that I ordered so there is some room to experiment should that be necessary.

If the shipment from Japan turns out to be a bust then I have one more thing I want to try before throwing the towel in. Recharging the struts. I'm not breaking any new ground here, as you can see people have done it plenty with success.
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/show ... k-absorber




The struts all have high pressure gas warning labels on them so I think it's safe to assume they are monotube. Here's a diagram showing what the internals look like


The goal is to drill below the dividing piston, tap some threads and insert a Schrader valve. There are kits available to do this for motorcycle shocks/forks, also I found a thread of some guy that rebuilt his coilovers this way. Granted he was able to reseal them using new orings since his coilovers were technically rebuildable (my fronts don't show any indication of leaking fluid and I assume the rears won't either). This may be a short-term solution judging by the loss of pressure. However the leak may be small enough that it's still a viable option just needs a recharge every few months or so. This would be cheap too; a tap+drill bit+valve kit is $20, plus $30 for a high pressure bike pump. If this works out I will take out the oxygen and fill it with argon since I would need this exact setup to recharge the 95 active accumulators. If it doesn't then I'll just cut my losses and get some coil-overs.

Any and all suggestions are welcome

Very interesting! I guess this is where we are on these cars. I have asked before what the guys with really old Datsuns and classic cars do for shocks - for example, are there shock rebuilders, and I got crickets. Seems like a good cottage industry for someone.

Interesting and creative! I agree that the business part of the shock is almost universal, and it's just the mounting of the tube that will be the fabrication challenge.
Recharging is a good idea, if the seals internally are in good condition (but those will eventually wear out too--not just the gas and hydraulic oil). Cleanliness (think active accumulators--same idea) is the key. No metal shavings can get inside. I don't know where they got 40psi gas pressure from. seems plausible, but might look into that some more. Regardless, expect the gas pressure will be higher during transients as the internal piston does some work. Accordingly, you might consider aircraft strut grade schraders if you go this route. Pricey, yes--but built for 1000+ psi.
One more thought-- I can almost guarantee you that the RA struts (or any other from the warehouse) were not stored vertically. But as you found out, keeping them vertical for a few days and then exercising them should bring them around (barring any actual failure of course).
I like where you are going, keep us posted!

Whoever was looking forward to watching me experiment and jerry - rig a few things you might as well bail out now. Maybe check back in 2028 when my new shocks go out.

The solution to my suspension problem was rather boring and straight forward. My front shocks (in vehicle) still have some life left in them despite leaking a bit of oil. I'll likely run them until they get worse.
The order from JP was good, it all worked out like it was supposed to and I even got refunded $185 for shipping costs. I popped in the rears, 1 FUCA and she was (mostly) good to go. There are a bunch more parts sitting around waiting to be installed but those 3 items were my biggest concern.

for anyone who cares this was my order:
FUCA x2
Rear shock assy x2
FLCA x2
Fragrance cartridge x2 (2 different part #s, both discontinued)
Various bushings
tie rod ends, etc, etc

Call me a troglodyte but the hardware included with the new OEM shocks was pitiful. Right off the bat I noticed they were the shiny grade 5 looking nuts. I didn't see a torque spec in the '91 manual for the strut assembly. I was tightening them by hand and still managed to strip the nut halfway down the threads. Fine, no worries I'll just use the old one with loctite. The Original nuts had this gold tinge to it commonly found on grade 8 hardware and surprise surprise it held up much better than the new nut. The second shock was the same story... Regardless anyone planning to drag out the use of an OEM system might as well stock up now

Overall I'm glad to have finally taken care of this. I believe they sell some coil-overs that have replaceable cartridges and I'm planning to just buy those next time.

If the replacement fronts are trash once they get in the car I'll update with what I've done but I wouldn't count on it. They feel pretty good for now.

Just my $.02: I once installed a set of Monroe struts on a 95 G20 and was seriously disappointed in their quality, both ride and construction. The ride was soft and floaty, completely unlike even the worn out stock OEM struts that were being replaced. Quite obviously they were in no way tuned for the specific application, rather they were given a generic valving, probably based solely on the weight of the vehicle. If they were going on an average commuter car it wouldn't be such an issue, but for any vehicle with any sort of sport suspension they're a complete waste of money.