Monroe Quick : Struts potential problem

This is intended as a warning to anyone who has installed the Monroe Quick Struts on a 97' to 01' Camry. I found out by accident that the published spec for bolt torque on the front strut upper bearing plate is way too high. Monroe lists on the included install sheet 59 FtLbs. They agreed that 29 FtLbs is the correct torque for the stud size they're using. By overtorqing to 59 (Double the actual torque) the studs are stretched and therefore weakened. This causes a possible premature failure of the stud. Has anyone in this group installed these struts using the improper torque ?

Reply to
Jay
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That's interesting, because Haynes manual also shows that the FRONT mounting plate bolt torque is indeed 59 lb/ft. The REAR mounting plate bolt torque is 29 lb/ft. That's the same as the Monroe specs.

Reply to
johngdole

I installed them to the incorrect torque. Actually, what happened is that the supplied nuts stripped so I used the original Toyota nuts, which held. I now know that I should have questioned the torque value and not simply cursed Monroe's manufacturing quality.

Did Monroe say anything about what they're doing for affected people?

I suspect the studs are overengineered since something very bad could happen if they failed but I'd feel better if a mechanical engineer also felt that way (Any mech engs out there?).

Reply to
Nobody Important

BTW, the Quickstrut is supposed to use Sensatrac. How's the ride with those just curious?

I use Monroe mounts with Gabriel Ultra struts. Excellent results. No problems with wrong size studs on the front mounts. Torqued them to 59 lb/ft.

Reply to
johngdole

It seems quite hard initially, kind of like a new BMW, probably because you've become used to the softness of the old, failing struts, but you get used to it over a period of about 2 weeks.

I think you have the same overtorqueing problem we had/have - you should contact Monroe and see what they're willing to do for you.

BTW, did you torque them to 59 based on the instructions that came with the mounts, or did you get that value from some other source?

Reply to
Nobody Important

I put a set of Monroe Quick Struts on my mother's 1999 Camry about three weeks ago. The instructions said to torque to 59 ft. lbs. Only one nut on each strut stood the torque. The others stripped before 50 ft. lbs. I used a snap torque wrench, which has been calibrated, to tighten them up. I purchased the struts from Strut Masters. Who are the contact people for Monroe and what are their phone numbers? Are there any forms to fill out? Have they issued a product recall? Do they have a recall program in place at this time?

Reply to
Clay

Google is your friend. That information can be easily found on the Internet.

Reply to
sharx35

The torque values, even according to Haynes manual, are correct at

59lb/ft. But the bad bolts would be a series QC problem. No problem with individual front mounts here mated to Gabriel Ultras. You can of course contact
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What I'm trying to find out are more data points on how people like the ride on the SensaTrac. Thanks.

Reply to
johngdole

That's one of the things people mentioned, plus a noticeable shift when the grooved part of the rod is reached. The Gabriel Ultra uses 9 stages of inertia sensitive valving, not the SensaTrac positional sensitive groove. I can drive over speed bumps at regular speed (instead of recommended speed, typically 15mph) without problems now. Should have junked the Toyota struts earlier, long before they started leaking.

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(!!!!!)

Didn't remember any instruction in the box except a small note telling to get an alignment with the front mounts change. The nuts Monroe included were self locking because the top end was slightly squeezed. Wonder if this had any to do with things.

The 59 lb/ft was in the Haynes Camry Repair Manual and given the force needed to remove the old ones (may also be seized over the years), so I'd assumed 59 to be correct.

There are other mount designs (non-lateral-load-bearing "shock damper" mounts that use much lower torque, but I don't think the structural McPherson designs are those).

Toyota mounts have been squeaking since 1997-2006 (google TSBs) and probably 2007 will start squeaking too. So personally I am staying away from Toyota mounts. Maybe Monroe changed the design. So keep us posted on how things turn out. Thanks.

Reply to
johngdole

Hi Jay, I tried to contact you through your email address but it bounced with an unknown user message. Do you think you could send me a quick email to snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com ? Thanks a lot.

Reply to
Nobody Important

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