strut question

[mankind17]

Two questions:
1.) Which is easier and cheaper to replace the front strut/mounts or the rear ones
2.) Is it a good idea to replace the mounts when you are replacing the struts since they have already taken the struts off anyway? My mechanic thought it would be good idea to replace the rear mounts since they are "soft" in his words.

My car is a 97 with 119000 miles, original struts, mounts, well everything with suspension which is pretty much shot.

[speedy25]

ANYTHING rubber that is over ten years old is suspect. Since it is a safety item if it should come apart its a no brainer to just change it.

-SP

[jawsofire]

I got the same problem. I decided to replace everything at once with coilovers. Hopefully I'll be able to order them in the next couple days.

[azcorolla]

IMO:
1) Cost and effort are about the same, front or rear.
2) Replace the mounts whenever you replace the struts.

[blumonster]

I agree. I had mine replaced about 2 years ago at around 120K miles. KYB GR2 struts (then made in Japan, I am not sure if they are still made in Japan), KYB strut bellows, KYB strut mounts (made in Taiwan). With alignment it cost me around $300. Just the front 2 and only the labor at a local shop, not a dealer. Some places do it cheaper.I paid too much, I realized that after the fact.

[KMVET]

If you have the time, it's worthwhile to do this on your own. SEEMS somewhat scary, but it's like a 1 or 2 as fas as difficulty. Only danger is dealing with the compressed springs, so you need a good compressor. YouTube videos easily show to do this job. Shops will rape you with this fix.

[sam333]

Replace the mounts, the seal that covers the bearing is usually gone by 100000 miles and the bearing gets full of grit/dirt and fails. You would have to pull strut and compress the spring again to change it if you dont do it the first time.