Do I need new struts?

[msmith69oldz]

Hi. I have a 99 Grand Prix GT about 120,000 miles. I have owned since new. Car has the original struts. They are not leaking and the car doesn't bounce more than 1 time when I push down on it. I hear a scraping kind of sound when I hit big dips in the road but everything looks good in the suspension. Did the outer tie rods and the Addco sway bar about 2 years ago.Should I replace the struts just because they have high mileage? Should I replace the front and rear struts or just the front?Would I notice a big difference in the ride quality? Thanks in advance for any advice!

[gmtech1]

Unless the struts are leaking or bouncing excessively, you don't NEED to replaced the struts. If you want to anyway, I would replaced all four and be done with it.

[grandprixgtx00]

Originally Posted by msmith69oldz

I hear a scraping kind of sound when I hit big dips in the road but everything looks good in the suspension.

Could you describe this "scraping" a little better? I'm wondering if its the lower control arm bushings rubbing metal to metal. You may want to look into those, especially if they have not been replaced yet.

With over 100k on your car, it wouldn't be a bad idea to replace the struts, but it's up to you. If you don't mind the ride quality, then why spend the cash on struts?

[TDWPgtp]

the bushings in my old front strut mounts would make a scraping sound when i went over dips. i replaced the struts and mounts and the problem was resolved

[olopezm]

+1 on the strut mounts.

Even when the struts are still good, mounts can crack where it meets the strut's shaft and make squeaky/scrapping noises.

You should take a look at them, the bushing can be seen from the engine compartment and most of the times it starts to come apart in pieces.

Replacing the struts is up to you, but in case you find out the mounts are bad replace them as a pair. I would personally replace the struts at the same time. It's a hassle to deal with the spring compressor (not that hard, but tedious in my opinion). In order to access the mount you'll need to remove the strut.

Oscar.

[Tech II]

Can you hear the sound if you push downward, hard, on the front end?

Did you replace the stabilizer bushings when you replaced the bar?

13 year old struts? Should the ride be better if replaced? Sure.....

[TDWPgtp]

agreed. as far as i remember, it isnt necissary to compress the springs to remove the strut assembly, however to replace the strut ITSELF, you must compress them. i found it to be very tedious and potentially dangerous so i had my friend take me to his shop to use his wall mounted compressor. additionally, i didnt think i needed new struts when i replaced my mounts but im glad i did, as there was almost no more pressure in the struts. keep in mind it was 2 years ago and the car was a 97 with 90k ish on it back then. id say yours are due to be changed out. i went with the KYB GR2 struts

[rkvons]

Originally Posted by msmith69oldz

Hi. I have a 99 Grand Prix GT about 120,000 miles. I have owned since new. Car has the original struts. They are not leaking and the car doesn't bounce more than 1 time when I push down on it. I hear a scraping kind of sound when I hit big dips in the road but everything looks good in the suspension. Did the outer tie rods and the Addco sway bar about 2 years ago.Should I replace the struts just because they have high mileage? Should I replace the front and rear struts or just the front?Would I notice a big difference in the ride quality? Thanks in advance for any advice!

The deterioration in your ride as the miles go up happens so gradually that you probably don't really notice anything undesirable. But change out the struts and you will notice an improvement and feel better about your car.

[msmith69oldz]

Thanks for the input everyone. Since I dont plan on getting rid of the car anytime soon and based on the idea someone mentioned that they gradually deteriorate over 13 years I am replacing them all. I got (what i thought was a great deal after searching online) 4 monroe quick struts on Amazon for $112 each for the front and $109 each for the rear. Free shipping! I think I narrowed down the noise to the stabilizer bushings needing grease but I am hoping after I install these new struts it will ride like new again.

[Scrapper]

kinda sounds like a dry strut but look at springs on strut one might be broke and you also should have put new strurts on it awhile ago with that many mls on them. i always use monroe.

good luck........