problem with new front struts

I Just Had New Struts Put On The Front Of My 01 Gp Gt. The Struts Are Monroe Struts From Advance. 1 Day Later I Heard And Felt Front Popping. Took It Back To The Shop And They Said It Was My Bearing Plates. They Replaced Both Bearing Plates. Later On That Day Popping Started Again. I Took It To The Dealer They Said It Was My Bearing Plates Again. THEY REPLACED BOTH BEARINGS AND IT CONTINUED AFTER THAT. TOOK IT BACK TO DEALER AND ONCE AGAIN THEY SAID IT WAS THE BEARING PLATES. They Seem To Think That I Need To Put New Factory Struts Back On. But I Know The Monroe Struts Are Practicly The Same Thing. Or Am I Wrong????

I Just Had New Struts Put On The Front Of My 01 Gp Gt. The Struts Are Monroe Struts From Advance. 1 Day Later I Heard And Felt Front Popping. Took It Back To The Shop And They Said It Was My Bearing Plates. They Replaced Both Bearing Plates. Later On That Day Popping Started Again. I Took It To The Dealer They Said It Was My Bearing Plates Again. THEY REPLACED BOTH BEARINGS AND IT CONTINUED AFTER THAT. TOOK IT BACK TO DEALER AND ONCE AGAIN THEY SAID IT WAS THE BEARING PLATES. They Seem To Think That I Need To Put New Factory Struts Back On. But I Know The Monroe Struts Are Practicly The Same Thing. Or Am I Wrong????

I've heard about GP owners having problems with the Monroes struts. Something about a popping or pinging sound coming from the upper strut mount/load bearing.

Based on your description it does not appear to be the stock upper strut mount. However, from what I know there appears to be a discrepancy with Monroes mating up properly to the upper strut mount. One remedy is to use the Monroe brand upper strut mount/load bearing. Another is to can the Monroes and go back to the stock OEM AC Delco or a better aftermarket such as KYB GR2 or GMPP Koni.

The Monroes are too soft for my taste and the handling will not be as good.

I have KYB GR2s on my GTP and no problems with the install or any weird noises.

Here is a nice link for a DIY in replacing your struts.

Make sure the spring was placed in relation to the rubber stops at either end. It's important to get the new spring into the same orientation. Reassemble of the strut and spring is very important to be sure that the new spring falls into the same orientation as the original spring.

You may want to check with the people that installed the struts to make sure no other part is causing the noise.

http://rmcgp.clubgp.com/struts.html

i have heard a lot of good about the KYB's. also, maybe they put the wrong monroe's on?

I find it hard to believe the mechanic and dealer twice failed to properly install the struts including coil spring and load bearing orientation. To replace the upper strut mount/load bearing the complete strut must be disassembled.

It is possible the wrong strut was installed. If it was a Monroe Sensatrac the part number is 71661 which incidently is the same strut Regals use. :shakehead

All of us that have KYBs are quite happy with them. :bigthumb:


Gabriel Ultra G-Force strut install:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/lizzywiz/strut02.jpg

Photo courtesy of Club Bob...lol. :lol:

I Think I Beter Stick With The Factory Struts. The Dealer Is Going Through Alot To Help Me Out And They Already Ordered The Struts For Me. Dont Want To Annoy Them By Changing Things Around Again. Thankfully They Are Going To Replace My Bearing Plates Under Warranty Agian. After All Cant Go Wrong With Original Parts Or Am I Wrong.lol
HOPEFULLY ADVANCE WILL TAKE THE MONROE STRUTS BACK SINCE THEY APPARENTLY DONT FIT RIGHT.

Thanks Alot For The Help And Suggestions

I Think I Beter Stick With The Factory Struts. The Dealer Is Going Through Alot To Help Me Out And They Already Ordered The Struts For Me. Dont Want To Annoy Them By Changing Things Around Again. Thankfully They Are Going To Replace My Bearing Plates Under Warranty Agian. After All Cant Go Wrong With Original Parts Or Am I Wrong.lol
HOPEFULLY ADVANCE WILL TAKE THE MONROE STRUTS BACK SINCE THEY APPARENTLY DONT FIT RIGHT.

Thanks Alot For The Help And Suggestions

Sounds like a good battle plan. At least you can hold the dealer responsible now since they suggested using only the OEM GM struts. Important thing is to get it repaired properly even if that means using the OEM struts. A lot of times to save money we wind up spending more. We've all been through the school of hard knocks on our Grand Prixs.

I believe you made the right decision. On the Monroes tell them like it is....they don't fit correctly and make a popping sound which is abnormal. Good luck!

Does the popping noise represent a safety issue or is is merely an annoyance?

I had KYB's installed and noticed that noise immediately after they were installed.

Does the popping noise represent a safety issue or is is merely an annoyance?

I had KYB's installed and noticed that noise immediately after they were installed.

What year and model GP? Never heard of anyone complaining about KYBs giving off a popping sound but there is aways the possibility. I would say it is more of an annoyance. What are the circumstances around the noise?

What year and model GP? Never heard of anyone complaining about KYBs giving off a popping sound but there is aways the possibility. I would say it is more of an annoyance. What are the circumstances around the noise?

My car is a 2000 GTP 2dr Coupe.

I had the original struts repalced at about 125,000 miles and as I drove away I noticed the popping. The place I had them installed is not a really large shop and I never took it back thinking it might go away after everything settled in. They are KYB's I checked them and that is the name on the struts.

The noise is most noticable when accelerating from a stop or low speed when braking gently. I always thought of it more as a groan, but I guess popping would be another way to describe it.

My car is a 2000 GTP 2dr Coupe.

I had the original struts repalced at about 125,000 miles and as I drove away I noticed the popping. The place I had them installed is not a really large shop and I never took it back thinking it might go away after everything settled in. They are KYB's I checked them and that is the name on the struts.

The noise is most noticable when accelerating from a stop or low speed when braking gently. I always thought of it more as a groan, but I guess popping would be another way to describe it.


Is it actually a popping sound? The noise I've heard about is a distinct sound like a pop when accelerating. Some have complained it sounds almost like a thump and even a pinging metallic sound or resonance. It will be felt in the steering.

When you had the KYBs installed did you install new coil spring cushions and an upper strut mount which has the load bearing? At 125K miles that should have been replaced. The signs are more like a groaning or creaking sound.

One step I noticed on strut installs is the failure to replace the upper strut mount or cushions. What I do if they appear to be OK visually is coat all metal to rubber contacts points in the strut assembly with polyurethane bushing grease. I apply liberal amounts to the load bearing. The same stuff used for stabilizer bar bushings. It is silicone based and waterproof. In the pic below the coil spring cushion and upper strut mount/bearing are coated with the special grease. This was a recent strut install in my wife's '99 Regal LS using Gabriel Ultra G-Force struts. The DIY install went smoothly and no problems noted afterwards. No noises but restored ride and handling like when new.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y186/lizzywiz/strut02.jpg

I Talked To Advance And They Said For The Mech Who Used His Acct To Pay For The Struts To Return Them And I Can Get My Money Back.
Dealer Ended Up Ordering Delco Which Is 99.00 Campared To 167.00 For Factory. They Are Also Not Charging Me To Install Them Since They Are Already Pulling Them Apart To Put New Bearing Plates On. Plus After Adding A Reprogrammed Pcm From Pfyc They Relearned My Crank Position Sensor For Free.