Struts lasts over 168k miles?

[fiddler2068]

Originally Posted By: Tundraz
OP, thats what you get for buying a quality vehicle- seriously i wouldnt sweat it, my Wife's Toyota Rav Rides like the day it came out of the shop, no slop at all in the suspensions, corners just as stiffly as it did before when new , i cant get it to rock either, this is a 2004 RAV4 with 192,000 miles.
be concerned about the thud sound you hear though, this could be just bushings which can be replaces cheaply withing doing any shock changes.


Once i replaced the broken sway link bar, the car has no sway at all. I'm not sure about the thunk. Hit any bump, especially those giant speed bumps in parking lot fast enough and you will hear stuff, especially since this generation CR-V doesn't exactly have much road noise dampers. I guess i will jack it up when the jack gets here and see if i can move anything in the suspension. Thanks.

fiddler

 

[Hokiefyd]

My old '97 Cadillac Seville still had the original dampers when my brother traded it off for a new CTS with something like 190k miles on it. They were all electronic, and the rears were even air shocks, to compound it even further. There was some float on the highway, but no electronic codes, no noises, no nothing. It was in the family since it was 2 years old with 40,000 miles on it.

Modern dampers last a lot longer than they used to.

 

[Hokiefyd]

Originally Posted By: fiddler2068
I was really paying attention to the noise the suspension makes going over speed bumps, not a squeak, more like a low freq. road noise. Not sure how to describe it.


Does it sound like more of a squawk or a groan? It's possible that the upper strut mounts are worn at this point. I would definitely replace the strut mounts/bearing plates when I do the struts next spring.

 

[Samilcar]

Originally Posted By: mechanicx
Sometimes worn struts bind up. The strut rod can get slightly bent. If you can't push 168k mile strut down, I'd be inclined to believe that they are binding up rather than that they are not worn.


I just replaced two original front struts with 93,000 miles and 18 years on them that were both bound up. It was really hard to perform the bounce test, as the struts were trying to prevent the spring from moving at all. No problems during normal driving, but after driving over large dips, the handling would get very squirrely, as the strut would grab the spring and try to hold it in one extended or compressed position, causing the springs to jerk around a bit until they finally settled back into a normal load position.

 

[meep]

I've seen honda struts last forever, and I've seen them age gracefully. I've never been on worn honda struts that gave out miserably. You may be fine with struts, but the rubber fits may be failing. the strut mounts into a ball bearing encased in rubber up top if it's a mcpherson setup. if that thing is aging, you'll get some harshness and road noise.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: fiddler2068
I just did the rocking test on my 2000 cr-v with 168k miles on it with original struts. I could barely get it to rock. I am 200 lbs and lift weights. This is front and rear.

What's going on? I didn't think that struts lasted this long. The suspension makes a noise when i go over speed bumps ( the large kind that you have to really slow down for otherwise you get air time). Other than that it seems to be working fine if a little soft. When going over bumps or pop holes, the vehicle does not bounce on the springs.

Needless to say, i am a little confused by this. I expected the rocking test to show that I need new struts.

fiddler

I just replaced the first strut on my Neon, one of the rears went and puked out all its oil. I just bought a spring compressor and bought a pair of KYB's as the strut mounts looked fine. The other strut had no leakage and tested fine so I'll keep it as a spare. If I wasn't autocrossing I would've just bought one cheap monroe...
IMHO just replacing struts on mileage or time isn't needed. I think they are a part that works well and then fails relatively quickly to not providing significant damping. And even then its predominantly spring rates and sway bars that provide the typical factory understeer. Don't drive around with 4 blown struts, but letting them go and replacing them by the axle as one fails can save you some money with no real risk.

 

[Trav]

I see struts and shocks last almost the life of the car in some areas that have nice roads, i imagine many southern U.S. states are the same.
It 100% depends on the roads, regardless of make or model if the roads are like these in Mass they are going to die many times sooner than a state that has decent roads.

Shorter lifespan on shocks/struts, ball joints, tie rods, springs, hub/wheel bearings as well as rotten rotors/calipers, exhaust and frames are the norm up here.

 

[mechanicx]

Originally Posted By: fiddler2068
Originally Posted By: mechanicx
Sometimes worn struts bind up. The strut rod can get slightly bent. If you can't push 168k mile strut down, I'd be inclined to believe that they are binding up rather than that they are not worn.


I can push them down, just a few inches, then they come back up and that's it. no bounce at all.

I was really paying attention to the noise the suspension makes going over speed bumps, not a squeak, more like a low freq. road noise. Not sure how to describe it.

when going over regular bumps, i can't tell if its making any more noise than usual. It's been 10 years since the car was new and i don't remember what it sounds like then.

fiddler


It sounds like they are working OK then and don't need replacement.

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: daves87rs
You have really, really smooth roads?



R U kidding? The North East!

 

[antonmnster]

I don't think the bounce test is relevant. By the time the car bounces, the dampers probably failed two years prior.

I'd feel pretty good about replacing them along with any other suspension that's easy to get to in the same job. You can then have confidence knowing the car is performing as it should.

It's worth it to be proactive on a critical safety system. It horrifies me to see cars going down a smooth road with their wheels bouncing like basketballs, the drivers totally oblivious. Don't be that guy!

 

[PandaBear]

The only way I would trust is how do you feel the car driving along roads with dip that would "resonate" with the bounce. Does it feel like the car dip then go higher and hit your head on the roof or can you feel that the strut is smoothing the dip out.

Also depends on how you drive as well. The car I drive with full load I can wear out a set of strut by 120k, the car that I drive with myself only seems to last fine into 200k.

 

[SteveSRT8]

you can't do the 'bounce test' on every car.

On mine you get nothing. No bounce at all. Yet the ride is firm but nicely muted, never harsh.

I've seen Bilsteins that were still good with over 100k miles on them.

 

[FL_Rob]

No bounce on a tightly wound spring.This isn't a '75 buick after all.New coilovers would be nice ,if affordable.

 

[buster]

I have 150k on the 05 Accord. Probably needs struts, but it still rides good.

The Mazda 3 only has 55k but needs struts I think. It has been driven a lot in center city Philly. Poor quality roads. It's expensive to replace them.

 

[JTK]

If there's no ride/handling issues and no weird tire noises or wear, I'd leave it alone until other front end components need attention.

Chances are, once you start tearing into it, a ~12yr/old daily-driven vehicle is going to need a bunch of other stuff anyway.

 

[dgee]

changed out my struts on the camry at 205k. mainly to change out the mounts that were making noise when i drove over little bumps

 

[fiddler2068]

Thanks guys. I really appreciate your advice.

No handling issues that I can tell. Brakes even work great, i think they were serviced last at a dealer. The rotors look great too. No marks or anything.

about the only noise is when i go over a pothole, a fairly large one, i can hear suspension noise. I just don't know if that is supposed to happen or not. This thing has no noise dampers at all. You can hear everything. So I am guessing that when the suspension absorb the shock, it is not out of the ordinary for it to make some kind of noise.

Looks like i am gonna replace the rear right CV shaft after doing some testing when i get back home. Leaving for a couple of weeks out of town.

gonna get some calipers and measure the rotors while i am at it.

I imagine you get some warning when the suspension starts going? like handling issues? Once that happens I will start changing them out.

fiddler

 

[mechtech2]

The bounce test is only valid if things are way beyond shot.
Otherwise, it is very tough to tell.

Car struts/shocks can last 75k to 250k, depending on road conditions and speed when you hit imperfections.

 

[fiddler2068]

So its not the struts, but the suspension does make a dull sound when going over a pothole or speedbump or any kind of bump.

Something is worn out but it sounds like it would be a pain in the [censored] to figure out what. It looks great from below the car. Nothing is leaking, the rubber looks good around the joints.

i guess i may have to live with the bump noise.

fiddler