Guest Double M Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 (edited) I just called my local Monro Brake & Shock place. They want over $700 to put a new set of Front stuts in my Reatta! I asked how much they were charging me for the stuts, they said $185 each and that they were Monroes...Monroe list 2 different struts, 1 is listed as a premium stryt, the Sensa Track. I found them on Ebay for $69 each, BTWhttp://www.ebay.com/itm/Monroe-71854-SENSA-TRAC-PREMIUM-STRUT-/250925411055#vi-contentHas anyone used these? Has anyone else come across these outreagous charges?Is it an extrodianarly hard install? Edited December 9, 2011 by Double M (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry yarnell Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Apparently they don't want to fool with it. Instead of saying they don't want to do it, they price it high enough so that you'll go away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Either that or a boat payment is due.BTW when replacing front struts always replace the strut mount & bearing also (goes on top of the strut). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Double M Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Either that or a boat payment is due.BTW when replacing front struts always replace the strut mount & bearing also (goes on top of the strut).Is that a common part I can or a mechanic can get? Or is something I have to hunt for?:confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handmedownreatta Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 i just put monroe sensatrac struts on the front of my camaro.i bought them on closeout at rockauto for 26 dollars a piece.they seem fine to me.my car has 150000 miles on it but the strut mounts turned freely and didn't wobble so i didn't change them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Double M Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 I just got a quote from Firestone... $650. They all want to include an Alignment. They want $175 each for just the struts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonlabree Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 So buy the struts and take in and have them put them on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry yarnell Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 An alignment is required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Double M Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 My mechanic says he will charge me $100 a side and he also recomended replacing the strut mounts. Maybe I can find those on ebay too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Recian Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 strut mounts are hard to find. Try rockauto.com. Dont go with dealer they cant get you the right ones, Ive tried. Those prices are crazy. If you were to go through my shop it'd be $127 per side then $65 for an alignment. And those are dealership prices. Indipendents shouldnt be nearly that high Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 Poor guys are just trying to make a living...... they are not in Congress.Try this breakdown, it makes the original, Firestone and your mechanic look pretty close. $370 for struts ($185 per side)$100 alignment$230 labor, all those shop fees they throw on the bill$700 total from the first guy.You mechanic wants $100 per side and the first guy is getting $115, Around here you can get an alignment (4 wheel) from $69 (sale price) to $89 and up.Buy the struts and install them yourself and then take it in for alignment. Check Ebay, maybe you can find some self-installing struts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 $100 labor per side is fair. There is a lot of work involved in removing the strut and changing the spring. (See video below). $185 is way too high for each strut. $75 or less is more in line with average cost.Strut Replacement Instruction Video*-*ReattaOwner.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Recian Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 yeah it is. Dealership prices are usually highest and im in a military town ad retirement town so our cost of living is pretty high and i thought we had high prices o.o.. and our algnment at $65 is pretty low priced too it seems. Trust me the reatta's front springs are by far the toughest FWD springs i've seen. Its rare to work on a set of struts where you've gota push the knuckle DOWN to put them in the strut instead of picking them UP to put bolts in. The lower arms and stabalizer make it's front suspension very very tough. Last ones I had apart the springs are almost twice as tall uncompressed which puts you at a pretty high compression rate meaning you better have your machine set right when you take the nuts off the struts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted December 10, 2011 Share Posted December 10, 2011 90 Bonne can't be that different and other than needing to be very very careful clamping the spring (and I use two on each spring) it was not that hard. I did disconnect the sway bar.Anout the strut mount and bearing, if I am going that far in, they get replaced. A strut bearing can make the most unbearable squeek you ever heard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rawja Posted December 11, 2011 Share Posted December 11, 2011 I've gone to Sears a few times with struts and tires I've purchased elsewhere, never had a problem.Mounts aren't expensive, Rockauto definitely has 'em in stock, and yes an alignment is mandatory. I usually replace all 4 struts at the same time, but that's just me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest spiering.lucas Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I went to the wrecking yard and got some struts off an eldorado for 35$ a piece. Complete with springs, bearings and strut mounts. They were almost NEW prolly had less then a years worth of driving on them. I replaced them in my friends driveway in about an hour and a half. It would be worth your while to go scout your local wrecking yard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Double M Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 (edited) Check Ebay, maybe you can find some self-installing struts.Now that IS funny! I have decided to wait on this project. It is just too costly for me at the moment. You see I suffer from Old Car Disease (OCD) and I am trying to save for another car, a 1966 Plymouth Fury II. If I bought another Reatta, I guess I would have Reattaitis. Which I hear is incurable.If you read that thread about our stories, you'll see many of us have the Old Car Disease, of which I was re-infected by this Reatta. For more on this horrible disease see this thread of mine in the General Forum...http://forums.aaca.org/f169/there-has-cure-315008.html My Reatta rides & handles nice, but the front is a little bouncy, but after all it's a Buick and isnt it supposed to ride like a boat?! Edited December 13, 2011 by Double M (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 Yes, a Donzi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 It's got to be an Allison. A friend of mine Darris Allison builds them not far from here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
padgett Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 That does not look like a V-1710, suspect it would sink with one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 The Allison will fly but only needs a V-6 instead of a V-12 to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest crazytrain2 Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Just thought I'd mention that when they (struts) start to get "bouncy" you'll start to eat up tires in a hurry, especially if you drive highway miles. One final note is you probably should replace the Bellows while your at it. They are relatively inexpensive ($15-$20 a set) and cover the exposed strut shaft from dirt and debris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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