Monroe Quick Strut repeated problems?????

[redgtxdi]

Well, definitely not your fault!! In fact, I originally agreed that these things were an idea whose time was looooooooong overdue!!

Heck, even Toyota admittedly revised the Gen4 strut mounts themselves, so they ain't God's gift either.........but despite Monroe's good idea in theory, in practice it's a bit more complex.

And, hey, if nothing else I think I could probably drop a strut out of any Gen 4 Camry in world record time........if they ever put that in the Olympics.......

[xfeejayx]

kicker: both passenger struts are clunking as of yesterday.
p/f: started a month ago, old with ~ 80k, no biggie, time to replace anyway.
p/r: started within last week, quickstrut installed this past summer

[GSS123]

Hey Mike, I follow a lot of your helpful hints on Toyota repair so don't beat yourself up over the Monroe Struts. I laid low on this thread but always felt using OEM struts was the best way to go. Keep up with your good work on the forum

[redgtxdi]

Oh ya, muchos kudos to Mike!! He's helped a ton over at TN too.

This is totally just a Monroe problem. And I'll even go so far as to say that maybe it's only in this family of Quickstrut. Maybe if I had a Ford Taurus, there's no potential for this problem at all??? I don't know. But I *do* know that Gen 4 Camry = potential for problems simply based on the mounts/isolators that they use.

I'm still debating on whether to change out the P/R. (99% ok, except for the rare rattle). I'm officially over the 30 day mark, but looking at the receipt, it doesn't say anything about 30 days 'cuz Monroe has a limited lifetime warranty on 'em. (I think the *limited* part is only to the original purchaser/owner)

[Mike Gerber]

I would have responded to this thread sooner, but the wife and I just got back form a short vacation. Thanks to all for the vote of confidence. The Quick Struts I installed on the rear of my 98 lasted 6 weeks. At that point the car was totaled, so I really didn't have any long term experience with them. They were great for those 6 weeks though; car rode a lot firmer and was as quiet as can be. I really think that Monroe just had a bad batch from a particular manufacturing period and thats what Pep Boys had in their warehouse, so that's what redgtxdi repeatedly was getting and installing.

It would be interesting to see if there are any other forum members who have had any better (or worse) results long term with the Quick Struts, so if there are any of you out, there please chime in.

Mike

[xfeejayx]

Originally Posted by Mike Gerber

They were great for those 6 weeks though; car rode a lot firmer and was as quiet as can be. I really think that Monroe just had a bad batch from a particular manufacturing period and thats what Pep Boys had in their warehouse, so that's what redgtxdi repeatedly was getting and installing.

It would be interesting to see if there are any other forum members who have had any better (or worse) results long term with the Quick Struts, so if there are any of you out, there please chime in.

Mike

apparently i got part of that batch also for the rear. firmer and quiet for the first 6 months, now got the rattle on the passenger side.

[redgtxdi]

Definitely contact Monroe!!!!!!!!!

I will probably be changing out my P/R tomorrow (part # 171680). This will officially be the EIGHTH Quickstrut I've done.......E-I-G-H-T-H!! (Did I just say that??)

While Monroe's explanation of "assembly issues" in the fronts, but not the rears seems to satisfy their knowledge base, it doesn't mine. I *definitely* have a "rattler" in the P/R. It is less severe than in my first one (D/F) and the 3rd one (P/F) but it does it just enough to keep reminding me it's there and that's enough for me to consider it a problem. I didn't pay for "eh, just ignore it", I paid for "ahhh, that's quiet!".

I have a sneaking suspicion that (based on my investigation of date codes) that this is probably related to the "assembly" (verb) of the strut and not the "parts" themselves, though I can't rule it out.......BECAUSE my P/R has a date code of '04 and I doubt Monroe would get bad batches of parts spanning 2 years.

I have a feeling that if I had Toyota's "SST" tool (specifically the one that holds the upper spring seat still while you tighten the nut) that I could probably have made all of these struts shutup......BUT......My next concern would be how often I'd have to "tighten" the assemblies before things got too tight & ruined??

*IF* I'm correct, then I'd love to know which part is loosening enough (or loose enough at the start) to cause such a "rattle". My best guess is that it's between the upper spring seat and the mount itself. (Monroe probably got more "front" complaints due to the added bearing, but obviously the rears are not immune).

[xfeejayx]

now i'm a little PO'd. I want to switch the fronts out, but it seems like a waste of money to do so with Qstruts, and to buy just struts and mounts would cost about as much as the QS. Damn monroe for introducing me to a cost effective 'equal quality' replacement, then snatching it away.

[Brian R.]

I've had great luck with Koni on my other cars

[redgtxdi]

I think the ideal setup would look like this...........

KYB GR2's (for a close to oem feel)
Toyota mounts (again, I've heard enough about KYB mount problems that I'd stay away and just fork the dough over to Toyota...even though oem is supposedly KYB?? Go figure!)
Toyota jounces (revised)
Toyota spring isolators (both top and bottom seem to overhang a little more than others and I like that! It's only stamped rubber....excess is good here!)

I'm also gonna throw in a nod for Toyota dust boots. (Rears looked similar to Monroe, HOWEVER.....Toyota does an incredibly thorough job up front as you can't even SEE the shaft w/ Toyotas. Monroe's show quite a bit of shaft and the jounce is always exposed.)

Only thing left is springs.........and while my originals were sagging a bit, I suppose I'd have either re-used them.......or probably forked over the $$ to Toyota for oem springs too. (I'm not the lowering type so no fancy purple lowering springs for me)

[xfeejayx]

yea, but all that probably costs a total of about $500 a pair (i'm guessing), compared to the $335 I paid for QS. oh well, so be it I guess.

[redgtxdi]

Originally Posted by xfeejayx

yea, but all that probably costs a total of about $500 a pair (i'm guessing), compared to the $335 I paid for QS. oh well, so be it I guess.

Yep, you're probably right. That's the catch 22!

Now, the alternative would be to maybe just do struts & mounts & reuse rubbers, springs, jounces. That'd probably pull you a little closer.

Quick ebay browsing turned up......

KYB GR2's.....$250/pr shipped.
mounts.......$100/pr. (Dunno the brand, but let's say you could do the same w/ a coupon at your nearest stealership)

Problem is that I know *my* dust boots were toast, so I probably wouldn't reuse those. And it'd definitely make me gnash my teeth to reuse the bottom spring isolator rubbers.

So, let's say another $50 for boots & bottom rubber. That'd put you around $400 vs. $335 for quick struts??

[redgtxdi]

Welp.......it's done!

8th Quickstrut!! This particular one had an '05 date code and visually looked as good as any so I slapped 'er in. (Only notable difference was that the bottom of the spring had a rubber "sleeve" for the first few coils, unlike the '04 date code and similar to my D/R which is also an '05 date code. I don't believe this to have anything to do w/ the rattle, however, as the rears are different than the fronts *and* the rattles are isolated in the top of the strut assemblies)

Got started late yesterday so juuust managed to get it in around dusk. Test drive last night was perfect. If all 4 corners start rattling tomorrow, I can say that I at least had one good drive w/ total strut silence!

I don't know what else to say. I'd like to know EXACTLY where the rattle comes from, but since I'm not takin' these suckers apart, nor receiving a paycheck from Monroe to reverse engineer these things, I can only speculate that it's between the upper spring seat and the mount........but again.....that's only my best guess assuming that all the rubbers are doing their job.

Wednesday when I get back to work, I'll be dropping it off at the local Big O. If they're gracious enough to recheck alignment for me, I'll probably leave things be. If they're a little peeved that *they* have to recheck/redo my alignment because of Monroe (for whom they're a rep anyway), then I'll discuss getting w/ Monroe to have Monroe pay for another alignment.

And if these suckers ever rattle again (50/50 chance), I'll have Monroe do a *COMPLETE* redo at the auto shop of their choice, but this last 8th strut......will be my last. I am simply exhausted from changing struts.

[Mike Gerber]

I'll keep my fingers crossed that your ordeal is finally over.

Mike

[redgtxdi]

Red,

Without units to evaluate it would be speculation. The most likely causes
would be improperly installed upper rod nut or improper seating of the
upper strut bearing.

Sincerely,
J - Monroe Team Member

Hmmmm................well, I think that so long as the center nut is threaded on at all I'd be surprised to find one "improperly installed". That leaves the improper seating of the strut bearing which takes me back to the idea that there's a "PARTS QUALITY" issue.

Well made parts and their mating bearings simply don't "improperly seat". (think FAG/SKF/TIMKEN quality) I have a feeling these mounts and their included bearings.......(who knows what brand Monroe's using as I'm about 99% sure they're NOT manufacturing them themselves, thus no quality control)............are simply a crapshoot.

I also don't buy into the "speculation" idea. This particular sound is so unique it can only be one thing. If I just happened to get 4 bad Quickstruts out of 3 bad year's worth of different date codes, then I'm George Clooney! I'll bet if I talked to the right person at Monroe, they'd know EXACTLY what I'm talkin' about!!!

On a positive note..........a full week of driving has produced nothing but silence!! (Yippeee!!!) This is about the time I get rear ended & the car is totaled, right??