The spring on the driver side of my nephew's 2003 Camry was found to be broken awhile back. In hindsight, we should have just replaced the spring but since the car had almost 90k miles at the time we decided to replace them and installed a set of Gabriel Ultra ready-struts. Since installing them there is a persistent clunk...more noticeable on the driver side than the passenger but noticeable on both. We have checked everything else that could be causing the noise...sway bar and control arm bushings, ball joints, etc. Everything is tight and in good condition ( the noise didn't start until the strut assembles were installed). We thought the Gabriel mounts might be the culprit and installed new (other brand) ones which seemed to help some but there is still clunking. All the nuts were tightened to spec (including the center top nut which my research indicated could be a problem if not torqued adequately). At this point I want to help the kid out so have offered to buy another brand to install (he's a poor college student). I'm considering either Monroe or KYB. Although I've used the inserts from both on my vehicles in the past, I am reading about their ready-struts and they are a mixed bag. Some claim both brands were OK...others complained of noise afterwards. At this point I'm deferring here for help. So...any personal experiences, good or bad with the Monroe or KYB's?... appreciate any advice...
Good brand of ready-struts?
- Thread starter oilmaven
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AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2024
We have Monroe on our 2004 Camry. KYB is the OEM those two brands I’ve had excellent luck with. The Monroe take a little while longer to set from my experience.
IMO its better to do it right once and put it to bed.
Rock has Sachs struts and mounts and Lesjofers springs all are excellent parts are all are OE on many cars. Build your own, assembling the parts is no big deal, it doesnt take the best spring compressor for these, they are not very high rate spings.
I had poor results with Monroe in my old Mazda van, and won't use them again. I installed KYB Strut-Plus units in my friend's Sonata a few months ago, and he's very happy with them.
OEM is always safe, and I appreciate Trav's recommendations above. I'll check them out when the time comes.
OEM is always safe, and I appreciate Trav's recommendations above. I'll check them out when the time comes.
I always build my struts, reuse my oe springs, and just add mounts and the new struts, i generally reuse the struct rod boots, easy to clean them if needed.
If i had sagging springs, i'd still build them with new springs vs a quick strut.
If i had sagging springs, i'd still build them with new springs vs a quick strut.
I had a set of Sachs on the old Villager and my old Honda Accord...they were awesome...best ride/handling compromise...just wish they made a ready strut. I'm not sure I want to buy a bunch of diverse components (although it may be the best result as Trav said) and build them out. My only concern with KYB is the units I installed years ago (not ready struts) on a minivan were REALLY stiff and uncomfortable. I'm assuming these are better?
You stated that "( the noise didn't start until the strut assembles were installed)". It might be that but it could also be an application of the logical fallacy cum hoc ergo propter hoc. That is correlation does not imply causation. Before shooting the parts cannon at the car again, look for another cause for the noise.
Maybe check the tie rods, inner and outer, engine/trans mount, loose battery, loose radiator mounts. Keep in mind that clunking noises are telegraphed all over the vehicle through solid steel and can be ghost like.
My choice would be KYB quick struts, since KYB is the OE supplier to your Camry and most Japanese cars in general. They are the largest company that makes shocks 
Sachs quick struts are a good choice if they make them for your car, but their application selection is very limited.
Sachs quick struts are a good choice if they make them for your car, but their application selection is very limited.
gathermewool
Site Donor 2023
I was only able to diagnose bad enlinks (they rattled) by removing them. both were tight, but one was just a liiiittle bit looser than the other.
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My guess is that the new quick struts aren't the problem.
Most likely you need to replace the sway bar end links and the noise will go away.
It could also be the sway bar bushings.
Thinking this as well.
We put in the Monroe QuickStrut(front) & Monroe OESpec(rear) in my daughter's previous Mazda 3...2X in 2 yrs. IMHO, for this car, they're complete rubbish. No where near the quality product, nor the longevity that they used to have in the past. There is no way that I'd use their product again based on this when in fact, Monroe shocks & struts were my go to brand and outlasted the vehicle.
In the salt belt we see a lot of broken springs on many makes and models. Most of the springs you see for sale other than OE are all coming from the same company with a different name eg Moog, Raybestos, Delco pro (not OE), and a few others.
Lesjofers springs are made in Sweden and OE on Saab, Volvo and many other Euro cars and recently some Japanese, these are not the usual one size fits all they even spec the same color combo in some cases.
I have not experienced anything but OE ride quality and ride height unlike some quick strut springs that bump the car up and inch or two.
Another OE manufacturer but not as well known in the US and are available for many German models is Suplex, they are also good quality.
Unfortunately, the original struts are gone so there's no way to rebuild them. I am pretty much limited to ready struts at this point. I'm leaning toward the KYB but am concerned about harshness. The set of inserts I used on a minivan were so stiff and rough riding I took them off. Maybe these units are valved a little softer due to being spec'd for a Camry? Whatever I purchase, they will have to be "final" as we can't keep "experimenting" considering the age and value of the car.
AutoMechanic
Site Donor 2024
The Monroe are quite stiff as well. And take awhile to set in. We put the Monroe on ours back in November and so far so good. Rides very stiff now but still feels like a car.
Strangely, the Monroe's on our Mazda 3 that I mentioned above, were nicely comfortable and not stiff. Unfortunately neither set lasted very long in this application. Actually with the Monroe's, the ride was very good and was a nice addition to an already very good handling car. The car was so nice handling in fact that, it could have used a bit of softness for the every day commute. So in that regard, the Monroe's were actually a benefit.
And when I say soft, I don't mean mushy. It was just better than stock while still handling nicely and offering good control & stability. These Monroe's just may not have been optimal for the absolute hardest type of driving, which wasn't how the Mazda 3 was driven anyway. Just used for daily commuting & traveling out of state and being in a nice car.
And when I say soft, I don't mean mushy. It was just better than stock while still handling nicely and offering good control & stability. These Monroe's just may not have been optimal for the absolute hardest type of driving, which wasn't how the Mazda 3 was driven anyway. Just used for daily commuting & traveling out of state and being in a nice car.
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It's not the struts. Check everything else.
