Aftermarket Strut Mounts - question

[JC1]

Hi guys,

I need to replace the strut mounts on my 1998 Toyota Sienna. I bought some cheap mounts (O.E. brand) a few years back off of Ebay when I was on a trip to Pennsylvania. I also picked up some Sensen shocks from APX auto. When I did the strut job the holes on the new O.E. mounts couldn't take the upper thread and nut from the new Sensen shocks. The hole was too small to install the nut and get a socket into the hole. I had no choice at the time, but to reuse the Toyota Mounts. Now they need changing.

The question I have is, how can I find the hole sizes for an aftermarket Strut Mount? The Toyota mounts will cost me close to $100 each, but I was considering Moog's or Raybestos to save a few bucks including Shipping.

They kill us with shipping in Canada. Any advice would be appreciated.

Regards, JC.

 

[tommygunn]

Your Sensen struts will fail soon, too. You should get quick struts. Gabriel Readymount, part numbers G57097 and G57098. If you buy the rear shocks as well, they are having a rebate promotion "buy 3 get 1"

No-name Chinese [censored] often has problems like you describe. Those cheap parts seldom make it past 10k.

If you don't want to get the whole quick strut, consider Gabriel, Monroe, Raybestos, Corteco, KYB and Sachs mounts.

 

[asand1]

I have the APX auto Sensen struts with no problems on the Maxima. I don't think they are the typical Chinese Junk.

In the case of maximas at least, I have heard OEM only for strut mounts, as even KYB and MOOG fail early. IDK about Toyota applications though.

 

[Johnny248]

Originally Posted By: tommygunn
Your Sensen struts will fail soon, too. You should get quick struts. Gabriel Readymount, part numbers G57097 and G57098. If you buy the rear shocks as well, they are having a rebate promotion "buy 3 get 1"

No-name Chinese [censored] often has problems like you describe. Those cheap parts seldom make it past 10k.

If you don't want to get the whole quick strut, consider Gabriel, Monroe, Raybestos, Corteco, KYB and Sachs mounts.


Really?? That is a highly unfair statement. I've heard from many, many, many people who have had great results with the Sensen struts. I installed a set on my better half's car and they have been great. I've seen plenty of failures from Monroe, Gabriel, KYB, and OEM. To target one brand based on one negative experience is not fair.

 

[yesthatsteve]

It seems that SenSen's quality is inconsistent. I've seen reports of them failing within 20k in a few vehicles here and on other forums. On the other hand, I've seen other reports of people having no problems at all over a normal life span. Do they have a higher failure rate than more expensive brands? I don't know. The price difference was enough for me to take a chance and put them on the xB in my sig 15k miles ago, and I've had no problems. If they fail early, I'll probably bite the bullet and switch to KYB.

 

[JHZR2]

Garbage low bid stuff often means doing a job twice.

I'd have at least looked to figure out who the oe supplier was and bought that. Though sometimes even that is missing the corrosion protection or some element that the oe part has...

 

[pbm]

KYB is not perfect.
I had (ratchety noise) problems with KYB replacement strut bearings in my 2005 Saturn that were fixed when I went to Monroes.

The KYBs were made in Thailand while the Monroes were made in Taiwan IIRC.

 

[hypervish]

OEM mounts only.

There are many complaints of those that use aftermarket strut mounts in Toyota applications (at least definitely on the Camry, ES, and RX line). I'd suspect the same with the Sienna as well, although I have yet to replace the strut mounts on my Sienna. I believe the struts were replaced by the previous owner. Usually aftermarket strut mounts after a short period of time sound like a box filled with marbles when going over bumps. Or if you buy the cheap ones, they literally fail and the strut shoots up through it (i've seen 2 threads related to that).

 

[JC1]

Thanks Everyone.

I guess I will stick with OEM.

Regards, JC.