scoobiedubie Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 I was quoted by the shop I use regularly that they (would) charge $732 to replace my suspension (struts all around), and that is with me buying the struts elsewhere & supplying them. I almost fainted. Is that price out of line or am I behind the times? I don't imagine it's easy to replace struts, but still... I suppose this should be a separate topic? Subarule You don't replace clutches, until they go out completely. You can get 125,000 miles out of a clutch. You don't replace struts until your car gets bouncy in a corner that the strut has gone out on. You will notice this while driving. They do not all go out at the same time. You measure how many bounces you get after pushing down on a corner of the car. If one has noticeably more bounces that that strut is bad. By jacking up each corner and removing the tire, you can look at the strut for leaking oil, or a lot of dirt buildup from an oil leak. You should be able to get 200,000 miles out of your factory struts. How many miles do you have on the vehicle? A mechanic will have no problem in finding an endless number of items to replace on an older subaru. If he gave you the list all at one time, you might realize that your car was already a total loss. So they give you one item at a time, that does not necessarily need replacing. Some people will sell their car before being caught in this scam. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarule Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 A mechanic did not tell me that I needed new struts. It's my idea, because the car has dropped over the years. It does not sit as high as it did from the factory. It's been a long, slow, subtle settling as the gas in the struts finally disappeared (I'm assuming it is now depleted, just like my hatch lift was). I want that taller ride it came with. I don't like sitting down at sedan level. That was one of the things that initially enamored me of the '86 GL wagon, the way it sat up, like a truck (at the time). I've lost that lovin' feeling....errr....that height. My shop does not try to find things that need correcting on my vehicles, not that I've noticed. It's me telling them what needs to be fixed. The Subaru is almost 30 years old and needs attention in areas that have never been addressed. I want/like it to be in tip-top condition, like new as far as is possible. Subraule Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarule Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 I don't remembering saying I think the clutch needs to be replaced. In fact, I'm pretty sure it doesn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbosubarubrat Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 (edited) You don't replace clutches, until they go out completely. You can get 125,000 miles out of a clutch. You don't replace struts until your car gets bouncy in a corner that the strut has gone out on. You will notice this while driving. They do not all go out at the same time. You measure how many bounces you get after pushing down on a corner of the car. If one has noticeably more bounces that that strut is bad. By jacking up each corner and removing the tire, you can look at the strut for leaking oil, or a lot of dirt buildup from an oil leak. You should be able to get 200,000 miles out of your factory struts. How many miles do you have on the vehicle? A mechanic will have no problem in finding an endless number of items to replace on an older subaru. If he gave you the list all at one time, you might realize that your car was already a total loss. So they give you one item at a time, that does not necessarily need replacing. Some people will sell their car before being caught in this scam. After 30 years the shocks and struts on these cars are pretty much shot since gravity and miles always take a roll in that. Edited May 19, 2015 by turbosubarubrat 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naru Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 I was quoted by the shop I use regularly that they (would) charge $732 to replace my suspension (struts all around), and that is with me buying the struts elsewhere & supplying them. I almost fainted. Is that price out of line or am I behind the times? I don't imagine it's easy to replace struts, but still... I suppose this should be a separate topic? Subarule $732 is TOTALLY OUTRAGOUS! Especially since your car only has 2 struts(front only). Flat rate to replace them is 1-1.5 hours each At $100/hour shop rate that is $200-300. More to the point. Struts do not have anything to do w/your lowered ride height. They do not support the weight of the car.Springs support the front.Torsion bars support the rear. I would find another shop. This one sounds terrible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarule Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 After 30 years the shocks and struts on these cars are pretty much shot since gravity and miles always take a roll in that. Yep. $732 is TOTALLY OUTRAGOUS! Especially since your car only has 2 struts(front only). Flat rate to replace them is 1-1.5 hours each At $100/hour shop rate that is $200-300. More to the point. Struts do not have anything to do w/your lowered ride height. They do not support the weight of the car.Springs support the front.Torsion bars support the rear. I would find another shop. This one sounds terrible. Hmm, I will look into that. I will get some second and third opinion from other shops. I had one of the shop guys take a look at the suspension while the car was on the rack and he swore that it's struts all around. That is impossible? No way am I paying $732 (and then the tax) for shocks. Subarule Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subasaurus Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 (edited) oh wow, im so glad i did my own work on the shocks, each rear one took me about 30min, so an hour on both rears, the fronts, man those were a pain, i didn't have a shock compressor so i was doing it another way (the wrong way) that caused the washer thats between the frame of the shock tower and the top of the strut to not cooperate since it has a bearing and it keeps spinning on you when you try to move it, very frustrating, about an hour each front one, and i had to cut some sort of holder for the brake line thats attached to the strut, weird. but $732 is absolutely ridiculous, it really is, i mean i can go buy 2 more loyale/GL wagons with that and the chances of finding one with good shocks are somewhat there. i swapped from my 1990 loyale donor to my GL, all 4 shocks. took me about 3-4hours to do. Edited May 19, 2015 by Subasaurus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subasaurus Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 (edited) I was quoted by the shop I use regularly that they (would) charge $732 to replace my suspension Subarule I would find another shop. This one sounds terrible. Maybe since your so loyal to that shop, they are overcharging you? because they know you woun't go anywhere else to get them done. i would try multiple locations before you make a definitive answer.. Edited May 19, 2015 by Subasaurus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jono Posted May 22, 2015 Share Posted May 22, 2015 disregard the comment re a torsion bar on rear for spring body hold up function as the torsion bar went out with the new model you have, Coil springs mounted within the rear shock form a sort of strut arrangement. Very little tension in those rear springs is released when they are undone by top nut. Rear struts have three 17mm headed bolts to remove completely from a jacked up car. No need to even remove wheel. Care needs be taken to ensure bolt threads are clean and oiled and threaded back into threads in captive nuts before the final fit to make sure no stripped threads happen - so a little extra time needs be taken. No rattle guns either. To avoid stripped threads I also do top pair up by hand first with low eyelet dangling in place, then wrestle the lower bolt to thread up. Very little effort is required to decompress rear coil springs to swap the shocks. All up maybe an hour, maybe 30 mins for both if on the ball. I agree, an hour per side at the front so long as no dramas like broken or stripped stuff occurs. Genuine front coils are also marked in coded colours to ensure the correct spring goes to the correct side - likeluy blue dot and white dot on your beast - should be on drivers side, blue and yellow on passenger side. Award the job to the shop that knows this !!. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
two85s Posted May 24, 2015 Share Posted May 24, 2015 Seriously you should read through this great post from JesZek when considering suspension updating: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/106807-improved-shock-absorbers-and-spring-coils-on-loyales/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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