I've been looking around to see what the parts would cost for fixing my suspension ails. The bumps are hard on my butt, much harder than a few years ago. It's like the springs are sagging so I'm bottoming out or maybe the struts are failing. It rides okay and handles in the turns okay but the bumps are jarring my fillings loose.
I found
Rear: Coil spring; qty. 2, $63 each Strut (right); qty. 1, $108 Strut (left); qty. 1, $108 Strut bumper; qty. 2, $24 each Strut dust shield; qty. 2, $14 each Strut mount (right); qty. 1, $86 Strut mount (left); qty. 1, $86
If I got all the parts, the front would cost $428 and the rear would cost $549 (for a total of $977 for all four corners). Now I see why the shops were quoting their prices around $1200 (I forgot to ask them if it included the alignment). What I'm wondering is, if I do this myself, how to determine if I really need the coil springs and strut mounts.
I've been recommended to go to a body shop to have them measure the ride height (unloaded) which would indicate if the springs were sagging? Is that true? Is it an adequate test? All 4 struts were replaced 5 years ago but not the springs so the springs are the originals that are 14 years old. Bouncing on the corners won't tell me how good are the springs, just maybe how good are the struts.
When taking it apart, how would I know if I need the strut mounts (i.e., the plates at the top with the sleeve bearing)? Could I tell if they were worn? Could I tell if they were loose (i.e., so the top of the strut wobbles around)?
Could be to do a decent job that all these parts need to be replaced. At that point, I'd rather pay the extra $230 (both front & rear) to let the shop do all the grunt work. But if I don't need the springs, strut plates, and strut bumpers, I'd chop $232 off the fronts and $346 off the rears (or $578 total saved, or a total expense in parts only of $477). The difference between $1200 (parts & labor) and $477 (parts only), or $723, is enough to make me plan on doing them myself. I'm not sure what the shop was going to replace (i.e., if they might try reusing old parts) or if all the parts would get replaced.