struts

[Budtee]

I hit a bump this morning and am now convinced that my struts are bad.  Only 9,800 miles but 26 years old.  Struts look good but everything underneath looks good. Does this seem reasonable?  

 

What advice can you offer on replacement struts. Complete units including springs are a little easier to install but I wonder if the springs are the right ones for my car. I would think that the top strut mounts are OK on a car with low mileage.

 

I guess the rear shocks are questionable also. 

[ghostymosty]

"Hit a bump" doesn't give enough description to comment on if the struts are good or bad. What did the car do that makes you question the struts? I would question the tires WAY before the struts unless they are less than 5 years old.

[89TC-16V]

Mine are shot at 26 yr old and they look fine but dont cushion and rebound for a comfortable ride anymore. They bang over bumps

[Budtee]

Tires are new and inflated to the proper pressure.  "Bang over bumps" is what I mean. 

 

Any opinion on best replacement?  

[Digger914]

Bad struts and shocks sounds reasonable, for a good smooth ride you can always justify replacing shocks and struts every 24 years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first.

 

You won't find quick struts for this car. If you are going to do this yourself and if you reuse the rubber bottom mount, use some masking tape to help hold it in place. I recommend shopping rockauto.com for shocks and struts. Don't forget new bellows with the bumpers and while you have it apart it's real easy to replace the control arm bushings, for less than the cost of a wheel alignment if even think you might need them a few miles from now.

 

With less than 10,000 miles on the car your strut bearings should OK, but ordering in advance and  replacing now will cost less than a second wheel alignment a couple hundred miles from now. Not to mention that doing the same job twice isn't worth the money you save by not doing it when you do the struts.