Monroe Quick Strut repeated problems?????

[redgtxdi]

First off........Hi to Mike Gerber. Finally followed your advice & installed all 4 QuickStruts.

Unfortunately.............they've been nothing but TROUBLE!!!!!!!!

Pep Boys ran a Black Friday ad for 30% off Monroe. I wandered in to see if it included QuickStruts & it did! (yea!) $118.99 per corner. (Nice price).

First, the driver's side front rattled when run over dummy dots. Everything was as completely solid/tight/checked/double-checked as it could be. Exchanged that strut & the 2nd strut was perfect. 1 week & not a peep outa that sucker!

Next, I had suspected the passenger front was 'clunking' and sure enough, it was. This last weekend, I exchanged that one. Once again.........replacement is good.

(Yes, I checked/doubled checked links, bushings, brakes, etc. etc....it ain't gettin' any tighter than my Camry, plus I think the fact that the *replacements* are quiet, would suggest the strut's the problem.)

Lastly......it seemed to take a few days, but if I really aggrivate the passenger-rear,(dummy dots or rippled road) it wants to rattle similarly to the way the driver's front did. (I described the sound as a cartoon-version of a diving board, but it definitely resonated up thru the top of the strut and is doing so similarly in the rear)

My guess is one of 2 problems............

#1.) The parts being used (specifically the MOUNTS) are just not up to snuff. (I've read rumors that even KYB falls short of OEM & I think they **ARE** the OEM for Toyota struts) Perhaps, too, it's also a shortfall in the springs, seats, rubbers......I dunno.....but that's my guess #1.

#2.) Perhaps the folks putting them together are doing a half-ass job & that's where all of my problems are coming from???

All this & more posted over at TN, but most there don't seem to care much except to bash Monroe, so figured I'd post here.

TIA ~Red

[xfeejayx]

i had a similar clunking sound. i know you said everything is tight, but check the connection of the tie rod to the sway bar in the rear. its easy to overlook because its really hard to tighten since the allen head at the end of the bolt strips really easy. Thats what was causing my problem.

[redgtxdi]

Originally Posted by xfeejayx

i had a similar clunking sound. i know you said everything is tight, but check the connection of the tie rod to the sway bar in the rear. its easy to overlook because its really hard to tighten since the allen head at the end of the bolt strips really easy. Thats what was causing my problem.

I assume you mean the sway bar end link?? (tight like a mofo)

And for the situation in general, keep in mind......

#1.) D/F made rattle sound, replacement fixed it

#2.) P/F made clunk sound, replacement fixed it

#3.) P/R makes rattle sound like D/F. (Haven't bothered with yet as it's not as bad as D/F was)

And in the case of #1 & #3, the rattling *definitely* resonates via the top of the strut. I'm about 99% sure it's something to do w/ the strut mount. (quality or assembly).

Oh, I also forgot to mention that I e-mailed Monroe about this yesterday & still have not heard back from them.

[Mike Gerber]

redgtxdi,

Sorry you are having all these problems. I didn't have any problems when I used them in the rear of my 98. Everything was as quiet as can be and it was much firmer than the OEM struts, at least after 100,000 miles of driving on the OEM's. I got mine at Pep Boys too, back in the Summer of 06. $119 a corner is really a great price. I think I paid about $170 a side. Let us know what you hear from Monroe. I would be interested in finding out what the end result is.

Mike

[redgtxdi]

Whew......3 days later. A bit much for customer service, but at least I *did* eventually get a reply..............

Hello Red,

I am sorry you are experiencing difficulties with our Quick Struts. The
front units we did have some assembly issues back in the middle of last
year that we corrected. It may have been that you initially received some
older units. Regarding the rear, we have not had any reported issues with
noise or fit other than they were incorrectly listed in catalog for the
Lexus ES300 or the Toyota Avalon. These two vehicles use a different coil
springs so our Quick Struts don't work for them. We do differentiate and
offer separate Quick Strut part numbers for models that have the 4
cylinders vs the 6 cylinders.

Sincerely,

J
Monroe Team Member

So, it sounds like I might be doing yet another swap this weekend. The folks at Pep Boys are gonna think I'm a total idiot & don't know what the !$*^# I'm doing.

[Mike Gerber]

"So, it sounds like I might be doing yet another swap this weekend. The folks at Pep Boys are gonna think I'm a total idiot & don't know what the !$*^# I'm doing."

Show the people at Pep Boys a copy of your email if they give you any grief, but I doubt they will. Sounds like you will have a very quiet ride, very soon.

Mike

[redgtxdi]

Well, as a short-term update, I took her for a test drive this weekend. NO NOISE from the P/R strut.

I don't know whether to be happy or scared.


Anyway.............I've got about an hour drive to make this afternoon so we'll see what happens when I do that one.

I'd actually prefer that things to stay quiet, though, being mechanically minded, I've never liked the idea of things "fixing themselves". However, maybe this is something more related to "break in" or "seating" than a true problem.

I'll post back later after today's drive.

[redgtxdi]

So as fate would have it, it appears the passenger/front strut is makin' noise after all. (Yes, even the wife notices it!!!)

P/R seems to be staying fairly quiet. (I can hear the mount rattle on very rare occasion, but I'm just so tired of replacing struts, I think I'm just gonna live with it)

So, now I sit here on Sunday afternoon, trying to enjoy football w/ the back of my brain tellin' me........"You'd better get on the phone & start callin' around for another P/F Quickstrut".

But the front of my brain's sayin........"Come on, this is getting ridiculous now. Can't Monroe properly assemble a strut assembly, for cryin' outloud?"

The D/F strut has been perfect since I replaced it. Do I roll the dice again & try strut #3 for the P/F???????

**link removed per TOS**

[Brian R.]

I don't know if this is relevant, but have you seen this post in the FAQ thread?

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...4&postcount=19

[Mike Gerber]

Originally Posted by redgtxdi

So as fate would have it, it appears the passenger/front strut is makin' noise after all. (Yes, even the wife notices it!!!)

P/R seems to be staying fairly quiet. (I can hear the mount rattle on very rare occasion, but I'm just so tired of replacing struts, I think I'm just gonna live with it)

So, now I sit here on Sunday afternoon, trying to enjoy football w/ the back of my brain tellin' me........"You'd better get on the phone & start callin' around for another P/F Quickstrut".

But the front of my brain's sayin........"Come on, this is getting ridiculous now. Can't Monroe properly assemble a strut assembly, for cryin' outloud?"

The D/F strut has been perfect since I replaced it. Do I roll the dice again & try strut #3 for the P/F???????

**link removed per TOS**

Sorry you are still having problems with the Quick Struts.

I would replace it again, but there are a couple of things I would do first.

First, I would make absolutely certain the noise is not coming from anything else on that side. Check the sway bar end links and the sway bar bushings very carefully. Jack up the front of the car and try to move them around and duplicate the noise.

Second, I would call or email Monroe again and try to find out if they have some way of identifying that bad batch of struts they mentioned in their email back to you. Tell them what you have been experiencing. They must have some type of production number or manufacturing date on them. That way, when you get the new replacement, you can first check it to see if it is from the same batch or period of manufacture, before you install it. Places like Pep Boy may have large quantities of these in their distribution center stock for some time. I would take a copy of Monroe's email response to Pep Boys with you when you go to reorder it.

Again, sorry you are still experiencing the problem.

Mike

[redgtxdi]

Mike,

Thanks again for the replies!

I've definitely tugged & jiggled & tried my darndest to make either the sway bar, bushing, link ends....heck ANYTHING to make noise......but alas........they're all solid as can be!

And to be brutally honest.........I know where the sound is coming from. It's EXACTLY like the rattle that was present in the D/F that went away 100% when I replaced it. (Same rattle that is also present but very rare in the P/R....again, I'm just too exhausted to care anymore about the rear, but I know it's there.)

I will forward more info to Monroe & see if they can help, 'cuz I don't want to break down & just give up 'cuz then I've just spent a lot of money for inferior suspension.......imho!!

[redgtxdi]

Well, it's been 3 days since I sent the e-mail. (I simply replied to the e-mail I originally got from them) And no response.

I wonder if they just put me on "ignore".

[redgtxdi]

UPdate...........

Had the guys at my local Big O (handle our work trucks) check it out. (They're also a Monroe dealer). Owner told me he'd give me his opinion. When I went to pick up the car (oil change) owner was out & worker bee told me he test drove it & it sounded fine. (methinks he checked nothing).

Soooooooo.............before I swap it out again tomorrow, I decided to tighten the center nut on the strut about a half-turn to see if things might've relaxed in the strut. Well, when I tried this on the D/F strut (since replaced) it was a smooth turn. On this one, however, the sucker took the rubber for a ride (or rode on the rubber itself) and made a gnarly rubber-skidding sound. I backed the nut off & came back to the original position where it started to tighten, then loosened again & so I drew it another half-turn to "tight" again.

Any idea why it did that??

[redgtxdi]

Well, let's jump to 12/22/07...........things *MIGHT* be solved. (I reserve judgment in lieu of a solid month of quiet, first)

I have now installed QUICKSTRUT #7 (3rd passenger/front) in the QuickStrut fiasco!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Went back to my local Pep Boys & had them thoroughly look thru the "date code" #'s. My local one had the same date stamps on 2 other of the same part # (171678 right / front).

Sooooooooo........we went to work on the phone & started calling other PepBoys. Finally found one that had a couple in stock that were a different date code. (06226 was bad, these were 06205).

First thing I noticed is that Monroe's Quick Strut is definitely NOT well insulated compared to Toyota OEM. I took the old OEM strut assembly & gave it a good pounding. Couldn't get it to rattle from ANY point no matter what I tried.

Then I took the Monroe Quick Strut & sure enough.......banging my first against the spring will cause the thing to rattle most notably!! At this point I feared the worst. Fed up.....I installed it anyway. I spent a good 5 minutes making sure that the strut was sitting in its bolt/stud holes as most liberally as possible to ensure the most friendly position possible. (Probably doesn't make a difference once all the bolts are torqued, but hey, I tried).

Took it for a test drive & guess what..........SILENT!!! No clunks......no squeaks.......no rattles. I gave it the dummy-dot test &.....nuttin'!!! I took it over some speed bumps........nuttin'. Took it on some s-curves over dummy-dots......nuttin'. COULD THIS TRULY BE THE LAST QUICK STRUT I INSTALL???

Time will tell......but in the meantime.......I ***HIGHLY*** recommend going w/ OEM components. Use whatever strut you want........but DEFINITELY use oem mounts, bearings, stoppers & rubber isolators......PERIOD!!!

(enter exhausted smiley here) P.S. Monroe NEVER returned my e-mail for help!

[Mike Gerber]

Well, I'm glad your problem finally seems solved. Let's hope you were just getting repeatly bad struts from the same manufacturing batch. I will keep my fingers crossed for you for the next month or so. Now I'm sorry I ever recommended these things.

Mike