struts, kyb, yes?

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Nayov

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The struts on my 'baby' are finally starting to show signs of failure. 1993 Sentra with 277,000 miles. I took it out of hibernation yesterday for an exercise and the rear end felt like riding in an ox cart. They are binding.

How are KYB struts? They cost about $90 each. I gather I should stay away from the cheaper brands (eg, Monroe). I hope the KYBs are made not in China. Doubtful.

Do I need new top bearings (when and if I do the fronts)? What about dust boots? The originals are torn of course, but they've been torn / missing for a couple of hundred thousand miles so I'm thinking they are essentially useless, anyway.
 
hmmm. How much longer are you planning to keep the car? I just bought bilsteins for my car, but Im doing mounts at like 75k miles. If it was much higher I might consider another choice. Is the car rusty?

Id do mounts or at least the bearing when I had it out.
 
Originally Posted By: Nayov
The struts on my 'baby' are finally starting to show signs of failure. 1993 Sentra with 277,000 miles. I took it out of hibernation yesterday for an exercise and the rear end felt like riding in an ox cart. They are binding.

How are KYB struts? They cost about $90 each. I gather I should stay away from the cheaper brands (eg, Monroe). I hope the KYBs are made not in China. Doubtful.

Do I need new top bearings (when and if I do the fronts)? What about dust boots? The originals are torn of course, but they've been torn / missing for a couple of hundred thousand miles so I'm thinking they are essentially useless, anyway.



Hibernation! Is this Sentra stored winters?

Do they use salt in your area?
laugh.gif


227K for a '93. It should have been a pile of Rust 10 years ago in ME!
smile.gif
It would have been disinigrated in my area a long time ago!

If it's in good shape, put the money into it! Those were good little cars from what I remember. Check out the Loaded Strut from Monroe and KYB. Both decent replacement struts IMHO. I've used both!
 
Last edited:
Check Rock Auto. Front and rear struts for this car around $50 each. Monroe and KYB. I started a thread a couple of days ago inquiring about shocks for my Xterra. Someone pointed me to Rock Auto and I'm glad they did.
 
KYB's are stiffer than the cheaper quick struts. We had a 92 sentra and I actually liked the longer travel, almost bottomless feel of that suspension.
You can look at the mounts in the trunk. They will be hardened abit but I didn't replace them in the Neon when I did the rear struts with kyb's as I was looking for a stiffer more controlled suspension anyways.
If you don't really care about handling too much, I'd be tempted just to do quick struts of decent quality. If you do care, then disassembling 4 struts and putting in KYB's with some good bump stops and mounts will be a rewarding project. Maybe find some SE-R springs as well if you want to really sharpen it up.
 
I was hoping the KYBs were on the soft side. No quick struts that I can find.
 
I just put the KYB loaded(Strut/spring/mounts) in the front of my daughters Mazda3. No change! Very decent ride
smile.gif


I put Monroe OE Spectrum in the rear...It's all good!
 
Apples and oranges but I did struts on a 05 sentra. They bolted up inside the wheel well and I used the cheap blue ones from Advance.

The spring compression was a cinch.

Like you, the boots were trash. I looked up replacement pricing and they were nearly as much as the struts.
lol.gif
 
Monroe are not what anyone (except you) thinks of as a "cheaper brand". They are made in USA and are good quality. Even the chep blue ones lasted 100K miles on my car.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
hmmm. How much longer are you planning to keep the car? I just bought bilsteins for my car, but Im doing mounts at like 75k miles. If it was much higher I might consider another choice. Is the car rusty?

Id do mounts or at least the bearing when I had it out.


Forever. No rust (winter queen). I bought it new. Willing to spend what it takes, but my sanity is intact, because I am not spending what I saw on line Nissan dealer : $200 plus for each corner, which probably is old rotten OEM stock, anyway.
 
I have run KYB Excel/GR-2 struts and shocks on 3 vehicles (full size truck, compact car and a full size car) and have always been satisfied with the handling they provide. Take a look at your other suspension bushings while you're in there as they're typically pretty easy to replace and can give you a much quieter ride if replaced.
 
Originally Posted By: Nayov

How are KYB struts? They cost about $90 each. I gather I should stay away from the cheaper brands (eg, Monroe). I hope the KYBs are made not in China. Doubtful.

Do I need new top bearings (when and if I do the fronts)? What about dust boots? The originals are torn of course, but they've been torn / missing for a couple of hundred thousand miles so I'm thinking they are essentially useless, anyway.


$90 is crazy expensive. Somebody will make a fortune off of you at that price. The LIST price with 16% sales tax already added in is $62 here in Mexico for the KYB Excel-G. The installer or re-seller gets them here from the jobber with a 45% or 50% discount off of the list price.

They should be made in Mexico for your car. If not probably Japan or Brazil. I really doubt they would be from China.

I would definitely change the dust boots and their respective bump stops. The strut mounts and bearings last a long time on your model of Sentra. Check them for play or strange noises if you are still on the fence about changing them.
 
KYB is the OE supplier to most Japanese cars. Your OEM struts that are shot may very well by KYB. It is a good choice. They are most likely made in USA, Mexico, or Japan. Supposedly they are 10-15% more firm than stock to account for wear in other suspension components (springs, etc). If you don't like that, then consider Monroe or Gabriel.

I have also heard very good things about Sachs/Boge. They are the OEM to most European cars.

There is nothing systematically wrong with Monroe and Gabriel. They are just stock replacements, nothing more, nothing less. The reason most people on car-related forums dislike Monroe is because they usually lean more towards performance, which Monroe isn't. However, if you do buy Monroe, ONLY get the black OESpetcrum strut; DO NOT get the blue Monro-Matic because it won't last beyond 30k and there is no warranty on it, either.

I have Gabriel struts on my car, and they are fine.
 
Originally Posted By: tommygunn
However, if you do buy Monroe, ONLY get the black OESpetcrum strut; DO NOT get the blue Monro-Matic because it won't last beyond 30k and there is no warranty on it, either.


Mile lasted way past 30K miles, but I can confirm the no warranty part.
 
If your sentra's body and frame are in good shape and sinc you would be keeping the car for a long time, I would change out both the struts and the srut mounts and replace the strut boots at the same time. I have even very happy with the KYB in my cars and they'e oem for many Nissans.

Rock auto has good prices on the struts and strut mounts. But their shipping is a killer if they ship from different warehouses, YMMV.
 
Originally Posted By: Lolvoguy
is there an expiry date on suspension parts?


I did a lot of research on this and Rockauto even has a news letter on the subject.. They said there really isn't as long as they are somewhat modern. I put their Motorcraft shocks on my Bronco (were on wholesale closeout) and best I could tell they were from the late 90's. They all seemed to be in good shape and have been working fine.
 
Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
Monroe are not what anyone (except you) thinks of as a "cheaper brand". They are made in USA and are good quality. Even the chep blue ones lasted 100K miles on my car.


I too was wary about Monroe initially but installed their Quick-Struts all the way around in my I35. I haven't had any problems in the past few months and they ride fine. I also considered KYB but they didn't have loaded struts available for my car.

At 277K miles, all your strut components are probably shot so a loaded strut from Monroe or KYB would be the best way to go.
 
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Oh sweet, a couple of wonderful surprises. I just received the struts: Made in Japan. Strut boots and bumpers: Made in the US. What could be better? Can't wait to install them.
 
Originally Posted By: Nayov
Oh sweet, a couple of wonderful surprises. I just received the struts: Made in Japan. Strut boots and bumpers: Made in the US. What could be better? Can't wait to install them.


The struts came with free strut boots and bump stop? But no strut mounts right?
 
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