2001 Taurus Strut Cartridges

[baseballgc]

I recently took my car in to have my rear brakes serviced. The mechanic stated the strut cartridges on the passenger side of my vehicle are leaking bad. Is this a necessary repair that needs to be completed immediately? Also, is this a common problem for FORD vehicles in general? The mechanic said Ford's are notorious for problems like this, especially the Focus and Taurus (but only at about 100k miles), my car has 75,000 miles. I find it strange the problem is only on the passenger side. I am usually the only one on the vehicle as it is my commuter-work vehicle.....Any advice?

[mrrob]

With all the pot holes and other road conditions we have to deal with on a daily basis, our vehicle's suspension systems takes a beating!

I wouldn't be surprised if you have a leaking strut, just ask the mechanic to show you, if your concerned about the repair cost, get a few estimates, have your friends or relatives recommend a shop they have used in the past.

Good Luck

Mr.Rob

Lic Mech Auto/Truck/Trailer Ect...

[doug 35]

I would check with the dealer , we received a letter from ford about a recall on either struts or springs. Possible leaking on the struts, we were told the same thing when getting tire rotated and balanced, then we received letter just short after that although haven't had them checked yet. Sorry I can't be more specific.

[Willyum]

Is not a problem that needs to be repaired immediately. Never, if you don't want to. Sounds like your service advisor doesn't like Fords, what car did he recommend that the struts/shocks last forever?

[baseballgc]

The mechaninc didn't really specify a better brand auto over another, only that it was more common for Ford vehicles to wear out quicker. I was quoted by them $800 for all four. My friend has a Toyota Camry and it cost him almost double....

[Willyum]

You didn't mention what kind of climate you live in but struts/shocks exposed to extreme cold can sometimes freeze or get so cold they suffer damage when the car is moved. Follow the directions in a Chilton/Haynes manual you can replace the struts considerably cheaper than $800. As mrrob wrote, check around for prices.

[baseballgc]

I live in Southern California.....I do have a question though. Is a strut cartridge physically part of the strut, or is it a separate piece of equipment?

[TomV]

The strut cartridge is the shock absorber part of the strut assembly. The spring is the other component.

The strut cartridge costs about $70. You will probably need some new tools as well, perhaps some new sockets, some crow's feet wrenches, tie rod/ball joint puller, pry bar, some WD-40 or Liquid Wrench, a Haynes manual, spring compressor tool, breaker bar, torque wrench, a trouble light. You need to remove the rear seat and top panel below the rear window. The seat belts are manuevered during the remove/install process. It took me a while to get the front strut freed from one of my steering knuckles. I actually removed the whole unit from the axle so I could pound it out with a dead blow hammer. This required a wide gear puller and large socket.

After about $280 for struts and another $150 for tools I did save money. But it took me several days of labor to get it all done since the parts do not come off like those for a brake job. Using the spring compressor takes time. You need it to remove the unit from the car and the wrench angles can be awkward. Putting the units back in by yourself can be challenging because of the weight of the assembly plus that of the spring compressor tool. The holes for the screws in the top plate are hidden by the plate once you get close to those holes.

The time to remove the components was much more than anticipated because of the spring compressor time and the seizing of a strut to the steering knuckle. Getting the new cartridge onto the spring required more compression of the spring and I was barely able to get it tight enough to get the bolt through the mounting plate and onto the new nut. The tools to get the nut off the cartridge bolt were not the same as for the replacement unit.

After doing this job once, I would not recommend it unless you have power tools and most of the other hand tools. It is very time consuming with hand tools, especially of you need to go buy some as you progress through the job. I think $800 is a reasonable cost. Subtract the cost of parts and shop materials and you are left with about $500 for labor. At about $80 per hour here in Maryland, that is about 6 hours of work. Seems very reasonable to me.

[baseballgc]

Thanks for the reply.....$800 is sounding better and better now...Thanks again