Legacy Front Strut Replacement

In downtown California prices, that sounds about right. If you want to check prices on parts go to

I made an appointment to take my car back to the Subaru dealer next Friday, on October 13. Since I had some time today, I decided to take a look at the struts myself to see how the leak is showing up. I also took some photos. Here's the link:

I couldn't find or see any leaks. What does a leaking strut look like? The black crusty stuff you see on the bottom part of the strut is kinda flaky and not oily. I'm not sure what to look for. What do you guys think? I don't want to spend $$ at the Subaru dealer just because they

Thanks for all thoughts and advice!

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:

While its possible you would benefit from new struts, I think its also possible the noise is a dry/worn sway bar (or other)bushing or strut bearing/top mount and the dealer wants some money for struts you can live without. maybe $40 or whatever for a second opinion would be money well spent?

Carl

Is there a spray-on lubricant (WD-40?) that I can use on the bushings? Maybe I can spray-soak the bushings and parts of the suspension to see if it gets rid of the squeak? I took my car to another mechanic and he checked out the struts. They were not leaking at all (no oily residue)...

Carl 1 Lucky Texan wrote:

Ricardo:

Your struts are not leaking. When they leak, you will see an oily stain coming out from in between the polished rod and the top part of the black body.

Once more I agree with Carl, your noise could be a loose strut mount, or a bushing that needs cleaning or replacing. Rubber bushings should not be lubricated

I think that what you were quoted is too expensive given that you do not need to change your struts.

When there is a defective strut you will know, because the car moves strangely when going over a bump (if only one strut is defective) or will bounce repeatedly if both.

If you are near south east florida I will help you find the noise, for free.

Good luck

snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote:

I would avoid WD-40 or other petroleum based lubes. Look for some silicone spray lube. It may not last long, but should not harm the bushings and might help find the offending one.

Carl

Thanks for the offer. However, I live in Los Angeles...I took my car to another mechanic and he didn't find any strut leakage. I also got the same advice about checking the bushings. Unfortunately he told me finding the source of these types of squeaks may require taking apart the suspension and bushings, which is a lot of labor...checking to see if the strut itself is the cause of the squeak requires removal of the strut assembly itself...I think I'm going to try spraying down the bushings with the silicone based lubricant to see if the squeak will go away...thanks again for all the help...

AS wrote:

Spray them one at a time. If you sparay them all at once you'll never know which one is squeaking.

Claude