Hi
I just want to share my experience.
I installed 4 new kyb struts and mounts. One of the back ones was clunking and the new strut mount fixed this problem.
I did all 4 because that's what was easy to buy, and it was time.
The ride is noticeably more rigid. A little rougher.
But I'm not disappointed.
Hi
I just want to share my experience.
I installed 4 new kyb struts and mounts. One of the back ones was clunking and the new strut mount fixed this problem.
I did all 4 because that's what was easy to buy, and it was time.
The ride is noticeably more rigid. A little rougher.
But I'm not disappointed.
A friend of mine replaced all 4 struts on his 2000 Avalon with KYB, it did ride a little more ridgid at first, but now the struts have broken in and the ride is very smooth. Give it a few thousand kilometers and it will smooth out. KYB....Excellent choice!
A friend of mine replaced all 4 struts on his 2000 Avalon with KYB, it did ride a little more ridgid at first, but now the struts have broken in and the ride is very smooth. Give it a few thousand kilometers and it will smooth out. KYB....Excellent choice!
I'm probably going to be doing this very soon. The rear of my car has started the prolonged bouncing after dips and bumps in the road. I'm looking for something a bit stiffer than stock and am hoping that someone will chime in here with a comparison of tokico and KYB. Glad to hear you are pleased with KYB, though.
I'm probably going to be doing this very soon. The rear of my car has started the prolonged bouncing after dips and bumps in the road. I'm looking for something a bit stiffer than stock and am hoping that someone will chime in here with a comparison of tokico and KYB. Glad to hear you are pleased with KYB, though.
Depending on the Mileage of the Car / the amount of driving of Crappy roads, you might want to consider replacing the springs as well.. I did the struts / mounts on my Fiance's 2003 Av at 89,000 miles... The car now has 105,000 and it seems that either the struts are starting to go again OR the springs are SHOT. I am leaning towards the springs being junk as the car has good control on the highway / roadways.
Depending on the Mileage of the Car / the amount of driving of Crappy roads, you might want to consider replacing the springs as well.. I did the struts / mounts on my Fiance's 2003 Av at 89,000 miles... The car now has 105,000 and it seems that either the struts are starting to go again OR the springs are SHOT. I am leaning towards the springs being junk as the car has good control on the highway / roadways.
I installed the Monroe Sensatracs with new Monroe Mounts
With 105,000 miles on your avalon, the springs should be good for at least another 100,000 provided neither one snaps or breaks. Considering it now has Monroe sensatracs with 20,000 miles, they are likely at fault. Monroe Sensatracs, even though having a lifetime warranty, are poor quality and will only last about that long. I'm not being an ass, or trying to rub salt into a wound, I am speaking from experiance. My brother owned a cab company and had a Suzuki Esteem, Honda CRV, Chevy Astro, and a Rav 4. All except the Chevy had Monroe Sensatracs installed (because of the Lifetime warranty) but none would last more than a year. He switched back to OEM parts after two years of frustration. I also put two on the front of my 1993 Camry and they crapped out in less than a year (about 15,000 miles). I replaced them with Toyota struts. I have put nearly 90,000 miles on since and they are still riding smooth. Do a bounce test and check for signs of oil leaks around the rod seals.
With 105,000 miles on your avalon, the springs should be good for at least another 100,000 provided neither one snaps or breaks. Considering it now has Monroe sensatracs with 20,000 miles, they are likely at fault. Monroe Sensatracs, even though having a lifetime warranty, are poor quality and will only last about that long. I'm not being an ass, or trying to rub salt into a wound, I am speaking from experiance. My brother owned a cab company and had a Suzuki Esteem, Honda CRV, Chevy Astro, and a Rav 4. All except the Chevy had Monroe Sensatracs installed (because of the Lifetime warranty) but none would last more than a year. He switched back to OEM parts after two years of frustration. I also put two on the front of my 1993 Camry and they crapped out in less than a year (about 15,000 miles). I replaced them with Toyota struts. I have put nearly 90,000 miles on since and they are still riding smooth. Do a bounce test and check for signs of oil leaks around the rod seals.
Yea - I will do the bounce test and look for leaks. I also have the Service manual and it list the "Ride Height" of the vehicle in the specification section. I am going to do those measurements and if the ride height is too low, then I would be comfortable suspecting that the springs are beat down, considering that the Springs are directly related to ride height. The car has been driven on its fair share of crappy pot-hole ridden roads.
In regards to poor quality sensa-tracs, you are probably right! Come to think of it, in the past I had Monroe shocks in my trucks lasting only 25,000 miles at best and I would swap them out and get another 25,000... but then again it is 8 bolts and 2-3 beers to replace all 4!
So do you think I should get the KYB GR2 Struts? OEM Struts? We only plan on keeping this car another 50,000 at best (I would like to keep it longer but well - woman!)
Right now the KYB GR2 struts are pricing out LESS than the Monroes. My thoughts are to buy the KYB GR2, replace them and then get warrantied Monroes and just sell them on Ebay / Craigslist for a Deal.
Yea - I will do the bounce test and look for leaks. I also have the Service manual and it list the "Ride Height" of the vehicle in the specification section. I am going to do those measurements and if the ride height is too low, then I would be comfortable suspecting that the springs are beat down, considering that the Springs are directly related to ride height. The car has been driven on its fair share of crappy pot-hole ridden roads.
In regards to poor quality sensa-tracs, you are probably right! Come to think of it, in the past I had Monroe shocks in my trucks lasting only 25,000 miles at best and I would swap them out and get another 25,000... but then again it is 8 bolts and 2-3 beers to replace all 4!
So do you think I should get the KYB GR2 Struts? OEM Struts? We only plan on keeping this car another 50,000 at best (I would like to keep it longer but well - woman!)
Right now the KYB GR2 struts are pricing out LESS than the Monroes. My thoughts are to buy the KYB GR2, replace them and then get warrantied Monroes and just sell them on Ebay / Craigslist for a Deal.
Thanks
-CS-
I think if you go with the KYB or the Toyota struts you will be much better off either way. If you go with KYB, check the "Made In" thats stamped into the strut body or on the box. KYB are a Japanese company. Some of the struts you will find are made in Japan, but they also manufacture -or allow a domestic company to Label their struts KYB, but they are stamped "Made In USA". The Japanese strut and USA strut are very different. If you compare the two you will see that the Japan made strut looks like a better quality. The construction are often very different, especially when it comes to the seal for the rod. The Japan made strut has the replaceable cartridge with a large nut where the rod comes out. KYB also have Lifetime warranty, and seem to last pretty near as long! They also have different dampening rates. (WHY?) In my opinion, I would go with Japan Made, because KYB originally made the struts for Toyota when all their cars were made in Japan. Those struts were known for often lasting 150,000 plus miles. Although I haven't heard ANYTHING bad about either of the KYB struts. Oh yea, check the tag on the drivers door to see where your Avalon was made, I'm thinking Kentucky.
I think if you go with the KYB or the Toyota struts you will be much better off either way. If you go with KYB, check the "Made In" thats stamped into the strut body or on the box. KYB are a Japanese company. Some of the struts you will find are made in Japan, but they also manufacture -or allow a domestic company to Label their struts KYB, but they are stamped "Made In USA". The Japanese strut and USA strut are very different. If you compare the two you will see that the Japan made strut looks like a better quality. The construction are often very different, especially when it comes to the seal for the rod. The Japan made strut has the replaceable cartridge with a large nut where the rod comes out. KYB also have Lifetime warranty, and seem to last pretty near as long! They also have different dampening rates. (WHY?) In my opinion, I would go with Japan Made, because KYB originally made the struts for Toyota when all their cars were made in Japan. Those struts were known for often lasting 150,000 plus miles. Although I haven't heard ANYTHING bad about either of the KYB struts. Oh yea, check the tag on the drivers door to see where your Avalon was made, I'm thinking Kentucky.
Cool! Thanks for your info - As I said I am going to measure the ride heigth to ensure that the sprigns are shot. Either way, I am going to get some KYB's and slap those in, warranty the Monroe's and sell on ebay/craigslist.
In regards to the Japan / USA built KYB struts - what are the chances of getting the different ones at the local parts store?
Cool! Thanks for your info - As I said I am going to measure the ride heigth to ensure that the sprigns are shot. Either way, I am going to get some KYB's and slap those in, warranty the Monroe's and sell on ebay/craigslist.
In regards to the Japan / USA built KYB struts - what are the chances of getting the different ones at the local parts store?
-Steve
Chances are probably 50/50, thats what I have found. The store people may say that KYB are Japanese, but check the boxes or the struts themselves, either way, you should install them in matched pairs, because of the different dampening rates between USA and Japan made KYB's.
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roads, you might want to consider replacing the springs as well.. I did the struts / mounts on my Fiance's 2003 Av at 89,000 miles... The car now has 105,000 and it seems that either the struts are starting to go again OR the springs are SHOT. I am leaning towards the springs being junk as the car has good control on the highway / roadways.
Steve
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