So my front suspension is shot, I am a little confused on what I need. I got an estimate today and they say I need the following

2 Front Struts - $470
2 Front Springs - $500
2 Upper strut mounts - $330
Labor - $288
Alignment - 149

Pretty big bill. So I am considering trying to reduce the price of the parts, my mechanic will let me bring in my own parts. I am confused on the struts vs. shocks. What I think this list is are parts #22 (ront Shock Absorber Assembly) #28 (Coil Spring Assembly) and #24 (Upper Mounting Plate).

I will take the picture in and ask my mechanic, but what do you think?

Also, anyone know of any after market springs that are not lowering springs?

 

I'm gonna take a guess on your year (brutal, may I borrow your crystal ball)...thanks.....1999? Wait....2002?

Ok, so you made me go to your profile to check. It appears my first vision was correct. (in the future, please put your model year in the post, or in your signature so you never have to mention it again., it really does help with advice given, ok?)

Ok, alot of us xk8 owners have had to replace some suspension parts. I've done almost everything except a couple of the big ones...and they're on your list.

Shocks, could be bad...but if the car rebounds fast and is tight, and the lower bushing isn't toast...they should be good.

Springs (or coils as others will call them) age, but are not a safety risk as long as the ride height isn't too compromised. Over time, not necessarily mileage, the weight of the front end just takes its toll and they start to sag. Spring rate isn't affected too much, and again...as long as the shocks are good, the ride will not suffer.

Mechanics will often try to sell coils to bring the camber back into spec. And they are correct, it is just about the only thing that will (besides the eccentric camber bolt, which only helps a tenth or two on the adjustment). If the camber is just out spec, don't worry about it. Its just not worth it. I was given this very option and passed. Tire wear will be just a hair increased on the inside edge, but if the toe is set correct, you will barely notice a difference, maybe 1/32 to 2/32 over the center and outer edge over the life of the tire.

Upper mounts, yes...these go, mine did, and many other earlier MY xk8s/Rs did too. Definitely do those.

Alignment, thats a given, make sure they load the front wheels during the alignment before setting toe...makes a huge difference in actual driving conditions (which tend to exaggerate toe out problems, which will eat your tires MUCH more quickly than a little negative camber)

Now, the other item which you failed to mention were the upper and lower control arm bushings. These are VERY prone to fatigue, my lowers were shot, and car started moving a little too much on the road...drifting without me helping. Get these checked out for sure.

Another item sway bar bushings, drop a couple red Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings in there, and forget about it almost forever. It'll stiffen it up considerably.

Well, thats about it, sorry...winded, but full of advice tonight.

 

$149 for an alignment??? Mine was $49 with a coupon at Just Tires. They did all four wheels and gave me a nifty computer printout of the results.

You can buy four springs to lower the car for about $315, so I don't know why 2 would cost $500.

I think the other prices are a little high, too, except If I could find someone to essentially rebuild the whole front suspension for $288 I'd jump on it. (If I needed it done, of course.)

 

Struts, springs, and upper mounts are not really rebuilding the front suspension. Those are the easiest items to swap out. Bushings and ball joints are the killer for labor.

If the shocks (struts) are leaking or if they don't dampen bouncing, then they are bad. Otherwise they are GOOD. Leave them alone.

I'll give you maybe a 50/50 chance that your springs are good too. I bet the upper mounts have collapsed causing the ride height to sag. This is a common problem for this car. I have no idea how your mechanic can tell if your springs are bad if you also have collapsed upper mounts.

That's the easy part. Now for the fun ...

Unless someone has gone over your suspension sometime in the cars life, I find it highly unlikely that your control arm bushings, wishbone bushings, lower shock bushings, and ball joints are all good. These parts wear fast on this car. I did mine at 85k miles and they were all very, very worn out.

... my springs and shocks were good, and still are at 110k miles. My upper shock mounts just died though.

What they are telling you doesn't fit the common wear patterns of this car.
IMHO of course.

 

Thanks all, I will go in for another opinion.

Reverend Sam, I would like to buy after market parts for the springs, but not lower the car, and as far as I can tell those parts do not exist. But if anyone knows different that would be great.

Matt, I am changing my signature now

 

Scott, check out your upper mounts. That seems to be the biggest issue to begin with on this model, followed by sway bar bushings. Search the forum other posts regarding this as you will see some great pictures and advise regarding the the upper mounts.

As to the price, it is customary for repair shops to add margin to their parts they install. They get a bit of a discount from their supplier then they add margin, so nobody should ever be surprised if the parts are more than they could buy themselves. This is just the repair shop business model. They are in the business to make a profit and margin on parts allows them to make mistakes on the bids and cover it, plus normal overhead, etc.

 

Thanks midlife, I will look at those first, I do not mind if they make a profit, although I do believe it makes sense to shop around a bit.

 

Absolutely, if you've got one of the rare mechanics that are willing to install customer supplied parts, I would definately do it. You might want to find out what parts he was going to install, so you have that as a comparison. My mechanic, rather than being willing to install my parts, is willing to source the part and install for one percent over his cost. This ends up being pretty good for me, as he will warranty the part and the labor at the same time.

 

Have you priced loaded struts from KYB or Monroe?

 

Just FYI, I just got a new pair of Bilstein front shocks for ~$100 from Rock Auto.