Do you love going on long drives and journeys in your car? You might prefer a smooth and comfortable journey. Your car’s struts and shocks enable this and are a crucial part of your car’s mechanism. It works in conjunction with your car’s suspension system for flawless shock absorption. Strut replacement cost and its mechanical guide are vital to your safety.
Struts and shocks are the major components of your vehicle’s suspension system. It keeps your car well-balanced and ensures a smooth ride without jerks. Each time you send your vehicle for service, you need to ensure your struts get checked properly.
Suppose there is a blown strut and shock. Your vehicle gets prone to severe accidents and becomes unsafe on roads. It can make your wheel bounce off the road and lead to you losing control of your vehicle. Moreover, your car gets prone to collision.
Fret not; you can get your strut replaced and repaired before any serious damage occurs. Perusing this article will give you a mechanical guide regarding strut replacement. Moreover, it also highlights the cost of replacing your vehicle’s struts and shock. So, read ahead to get enlightened regarding strut replacement, its cost, and its mechanics.
What are Struts and Shocks?
Your car’s suspension system is crucial. You might be wondering what struts are and what do they do for your car.
Struts are an integral component of your car’s suspension. They connect the wheel and the car’s body. They mostly get attached to the chassis’s top at the front-end in vehicles with front-wheel drive.
The critical role of struts is to support the vehicle’s weight and absorb surface impacts.
What Does a Strut Consist of?
Now that you know what struts are, you might be wondering what it consists of to perform its vital function.
A strut is essentially an assembly of two parts. It consists of a coil spring to support the height, weight, and stability of the vehicle. Furthermore, its second part is the shock absorber.
The other vital components that complete the strut assembly involve strut bearing, spring seats, and the steering knuckle. While the strut gets located on the front wheel of most cars, some cars have them on the rear wheels.
Gabriel, Monroe, and Macpherson have a great strut design to dampen the shock while driving on uneven and irregular roads. Moreover, they get precision engineered to handle heavy loads.
Difference Between Shocks and Struts
While shocks and struts get used interchangeably, there are significant differences between the two.
- Shocks merely function to absorb the bumps at each wheel.
- Struts have many functions- they absorb shock and play a role in the vehicle’s maneuverability.
What Do Struts Do?
A high-performing, high-quality functioning strut in your vehicle performs various functions. Firstly, it minimizes your vehicle’s bounce. It reduces oscillation and any jarring movement on your vehicle.
Moreover, struts are integral to your vehicle’s suspension system. It’s a suspension system part to enhance your brake performance, wheel alignment, and your turning radius too.
Types Of Struts
There are several types of struts and shocks. The two major types of struts come in cars. They are gas-based struts and oil-based struts. Knowing about the two kinds of struts and its difference also plays an unequivocal role in the strut replacement cost.
Gas-Based Struts
A gas-based strut is a breakthrough. They got developed to enlarge the valve to increase comfort while driving. It gets used in vehicles with monocoque construction, short wheelbase distance, and high tire pressure.
A gas-based strut uses a shock absorber system that injects low-pressure nitrogen gas. The gas reduced aeration issues and allows for better vehicle control and comfort. Moreover, a gas-based strut does not fill the compression chamber with air. It also works with a combination of hydraulic oil and gas.
Gas-based struts are stable and enable you to drive in high-speed. They can get installed in different directions and cool down faster.
Moreover, gas-based struts last longer and require lesser maintenance. They can last a lifetime unless there are unmitigated damages.
Pros
- Holds well on all-terrains
- Aeration is unlikely
- Works for both compression and decompression
- Overloading and high speed possible
Cons
- More expensive
- Complex design
- Few car models can get their struts replaced with gas-based struts
- They are rigid
Oil-Based Struts
Oil-based struts got used in earlier vehicle models. They consist of a cylinder, compression chamber, and piston that directs the hydraulic oil. Oil-based struts are two-pipe and work only in a single direction.
In an oil-based strut, there is an air mixture in the compression chamber. That reduces the effectiveness of the oil-based chamber. Moreover, they are prone to forming bubbles and heating up when traversing through terrible roads.
Despite these disadvantages, oil-based struts are affordable and readily available. They remain soft and offer you a comfortable ride if you do not burden your vehicle with loads. Oil-based struts are excellent if you drive short distances, quietly, and at reasonable speeds.
Pros
- They are widespread and easily available
- Affordable
- Durable and travel up to 37,300 miles before replacement
- You can drive comfortably in urban areas
Cons
- Work only in one direction
- Require regular maintenance
- You cannot drive long distances
- High speed and heavy load on car can prove uncomfortable
What are the Signs You Need to Replace Your Struts and Shocks?
Once you know the function, use, and how struts work, you need to know when you need to replace your struts. A dysfunctional strut causes accidents and makes your vehicle jar, jerk, and bumpy. Read ahead to learn the signs you need to replace your vehicle’s strut and shocks.
Car Changing Direction During Turns
When you accelerate or brake, does your car tip towards one side? You might want to get your strut inspected. This slight turn could feel like a significant turn and makes your steering unsafe.
The car tipping to a particular direction is one of the starting loss of strut functionality. You must learn to test the shock to understand the extent of damage to the strut.
Bouncy Car
Suppose your vehicle bounces on bumpy roads and potholes. That means the strut has gotten unable to control the coil spring-back motion. A bouncy car could be a sign that your struts and shocks have gotten worn out. It makes your wheel move upwards and downwards too much, giving you a jarring and bumpy ride.
Fluid Leakage
Often your car gets leaky hydraulic fluid on the surface of the strut and shock. It tends to drip on the road or on the spot where the car stands. Combining this with a bouncy and uncomfortable car ride should make you question the functioning of the strut and shocks. Moreover, it is a sign of damage on the seal locking the fluid in.
Lower Mileage
When you feel like you need to keep refueling your car after a few miles, you might want to consider the strut and shock of the car.
A damaged or worn-out strut and shock system put extra effort into your car’s engine. So, your car tends to consume more fuel than usual to move from one point to another. Replacing your strut and shock when you start getting lower mileage is a good idea.
Cacophonic Sounds
Suppose your suspension system, along with its struts and shock, is dysfunctional and damage. It will make cacophonic sounds. It sounds like knocking, and you can hear it, especially from the rear wheels. Moreover, you can sometimes hear a tire scallop or cupping sound.
You must not overlook any of these sounds. They are an indication of a damaged and dysfunctional strut. Also, your struts can come out when it starts wearing out.
Squatting of Front End or Rear End Dives
You might notice your car going for a nosedive when you apply brakes. It happens when your front-end points towards the ground. That causes long braking time and momentary steering loss.
Moreover, you might have noticed the rear end squatting. Wherein the rare points towards the ground and the front end rises slightly. It occurs when you accelerate.
All these problems signify that your strut and shock system are getting burdened, and you need to replace them immediately.
Steering Wheel Vibration
Sometimes your steering wheel might start vibrating excessively. While this may typically happen on bumpy roads with rough terrain and plenty of potholes, it is unusual on smooth roads.
When you face steering wheel vibrations on a smooth road, you need to inspect your struts and shock system.
How Do You Replace Struts and Shocks?
The signs you need to replace your strut and shock system are pretty clear. When you observe any of those signs, you should get onto replacing them. Suppose you drive a ford ranger you can check out this article for the 6 best struts for optimum strut replacement cost.
Moreover, to confirm you need a strut replacement, you can do a simple test too. You can push down the hood of the vehicle to check its upward and downward motion. The oscillation of the hood more than two times means the struts aren’t functioning well.
So, how do you replace this dysfunctional strut and shock?
You must replace your strut and shock system when you have been in an accident. Moreover, mechanics recommend you replace the struts every 50,000 to 100,000 miles.
The strut gets integrated with a suspension spring coil and several vital components. You need to place each component correctly, and any incorrect replacement or assembly can cause severe injury and prove fatal. So, it gets recommended to consult or avail of the services of a professional and trusted mechanic.
What does the mechanic do during the strut replacement?
Your mechanic follows the below steps diligently during a strut replacement to ensure you a safe and smooth ride.
- Firstly, they will take out the wheels to get to the strut.
- Secondly, they remove the brake line assembly as the strut system connects to it.
- Then they use a breaker bar or a specialized tool to remove the pinch bolt off the strut.
- After the professionals loosen all the bolts of the struts, they remove the strut.
- The mechanic puts grease to lubricate the new strut before replacing it.
- Once the mechanic completes the due process, they replace all vehicle components diligently in their appropriate places.
The strut replacement cost and the process can prove to be long-drawn. However, it is of utmost vitality.
Strut Replacement Cost
The cost of strut replacement depends on several factors. The brand of struts you choose definitely plays a role – most repair shops use a trusted brand like Gabriel, Monroe, KYB, or Macpherson.
Moreover, the cost of strut replacement also depends on where you replace it. You will find the places you can replace your struts below.
Cost of Replacing Struts at a Dealership
When you take your car to the dealership, you could end up paying a hefty sum. Dealerships are high-end. They ensure they use high-quality, high-performing, genuine factory parts on your vehicle.
The labor rates are also higher per hour due to their expertise and technical knowledge. The benefit is that these struts and shocks will last longer. Per pair of struts could cost you approximately $800 or more at a dealership.
Cost Of Replacing Struts At Independently Owned Repair Shop
An independently owned repair shop will probably take longer. They purchase struts from their local supplier only when they require them. So, they end up paying a higher price. However, they also get proper genuine parts as much as possible. You might pay $600 to $700 per pair for your car’s strut replacement.
Cost of Replacing Struts at Chain Service Center
A chain service center buys struts in bulk. They often get a supply of low-quality struts that tends to fail sooner than the higher-quality ones. Moreover, they get keen on increasing their customer base by lowering the strut replacement prices a lot. More often than not, you could end up choosing high-priced struts or get a service that you never intended to.
Replacing struts is a crucial task, no matter the cost. Mechanics recommend that you should replace your struts in pairs. Depending on the brand, the place you go, labor cost, and strut type, you can expect to pay $500-$1500.
You might end up paying more than $2000 to replace all four struts and shock.
Endnotes
Strut replacement cost depends on several mitigating factors. The brand of the strut, where you replace it, the type of the strut all plays an unequivocal role in the strut replacement cost. Typically replacing a pair of costs range from $500-$1500 depending on the labor cost at the place you go.
Whatever the strut replacement, it is vital you replace your vehicle’s struts if you notice fluid leakage, noise, bouncy car, or poor shock absorption. Not replacing your vehicle’s struts in time could prove dangerous to you.
Always get a professional with high-quality and high-performance parts to replace your struts. So, what are you waiting for? Inspect your car’s struts and replace them if required!