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Defective Monroe Strut mount

38K views 105 replies 31 participants last post by  MarkTN 
#1 ·
What an ordeal this has been! I'm sure some of you have seen my suspension install thread located here:

http://www.dodgeintrepid.net/showthread.php?t=177992

I hope this post saves someone the hassle that I had to go through.

On Feb 14th I made a big purchase at rockauto.com for $717.26 for the following parts:

MONROE 71668 Strut Assembly $74.79
MONROE 903901 Strut Mount (2) $95.58
MONROE 71667 Strut Assembly $74.79
MONROE 801669 Strut Assembly (2) $99.58
MOOG K3181 Stabilizer Bar Link (2) $ 8.56
MOOG K7408 Tie Rod Bushing $14.71
MOOG K160033 Strut Bellow (2) $27.28
MOOG K7342 Stabilizer Bar Link (2) $85.58
MOOG K7367 Stabilizer Bar Bushing $13.90
MOOG K7213 Control Arm $80.79
MOOG K90460 Strut Bellow (2) $35.86
MOOG K7211 Control Arm $80.79

Shipping Ground (FedEx or UPS) $ 25.05

I purchased the parts separately rather than quick struts so that I could utilize the expensive polyurethane spring isolators which requires disassembly of the strut components to properly install.

After installing everything, I began to hear noises coming from the strut assemblies after just 3 months / 2000 miles and determined that the strut mounts were potentially bad. Not wanting to go through the task again of using spring compressors I decided to go ahead and purchase some Monroe quick struts 171667 and 171668 for $333 shipped from rockauto.com on June 21st.

After installing the new quick struts, the driver side makes no noises, but the passenger side does.

Upon calling Monroe, their tech department informed me that Rock auto may still have some of the Monroe strut mounts 903901 (which are the same ones used in the quick struts assemblies btw) that are of the defective lot. That is correct, defective. The rubber comes away from the metal within the strut mount, causing the noise. Still waiting to hear back from Monroe on how many are actually defective. My guess is that it's very few. I will update once I hear more on this.

Monroe advised me to contact Rockauto, and have Rockauto obtain new quick struts directly from Monroe's stock, and ship those to me rather than risk getting another bad set from Rockauto's inventory.

As it stands now, I'm basically out $333. I have a set of defective strut mounts on my car, I have to install new quick struts yet again (3rd time now), and I have no polyurethane spring isolators because I'm not going through the hassle of compressing the spring and compromising the warranty on the new quick struts in the event that the mounts on them are defective as well. I have emails out to both companies with individuals from both parties on copy.

I suggested that they send me 2 new quick struts. Customer service at Rockauto told me they will only send the driver side since it isn't making noise, but will put a "note" that the mount could be defective. Not sure how much good that does if the driver side starts having the same problem in 3 months, LOL! They ensure me that the one they send will not be defective. I've asked Monroe for their level of confidence in rockauto's statement.

Based on what I've had to deal with, what would you guys consider to be acceptable customer service by Rock auto / Monroe? Unfortunately in this case I gave Monroe the benefit of the doubt and assumed that the noise I was hearing the first time was due to improper installation, hence the reason why I went ahead and ordered the quick struts. Sure enough, it wasn't the install, but a defective part.
 
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#85 ·
With my OEM mount failing on the Monroe quick strut, I'm wondering what other component could have caused the premature wear. I have yet to hear of someone installing a full OEM strut assembly (much less a quick strut) on their car and having it withstand the test of time. Seems like the only ones that work are a used set. I know some guys have installed full special suspension, but have the mounts held up past 16 months?
 
#86 ·
I was talking to Ross about this last week and he doesn't seem to think there's anything wrong with the mounts from the dealer. He's done a few complete rebuilds on the front suspension of Specials with no issues yet. Hopefully it's just crappy Monroe strut construction that's causing those issues and not the mounts because that would really suck.
 
#87 ·
Figured I'd chime in guys, I've since put 3000K on my QuickStruts. Against what has been suggested with the QuickStruts, I kept it all "stock" and did not swap out anything for OEM.

No problems to report, everything is smooth and quiet. We have some of the worst roads here to give these a more then excessive "break-in".

Either the issues have been corrected or I'm lucky!?
 
#89 ·
Thinking it would be informative if people would include their purchase/install dates?
 
#92 ·
That wasn't aimed at you in particular. I was looking for a timeline of when different people bought their quickstruts and installed them. It's possible that Monroe has done something about the issues recently and wanted to see when they were purchased. Just thought it would be interesting to see the data regarding date purchased/longevity/problems when they occurred etc.
 
#94 · (Edited)
That wasn't aimed at you in particular. I was looking for a timeline of when different people bought their quickstruts and installed them. It's possible that Monroe has done something about the issues recently and wanted to see when they were purchased. Just thought it would be interesting to see the data regarding date purchased/longevity/problems when they occurred etc.
02-14-10 purchased 71667 and 71668 (just the struts, not quick struts) and the Monroe upper and lower mounts 903901 along with K160033 strut bellows. Used stock springs and polyurethane isolators.
03-19-2010: Installed the above
06-15-2010: Both assemblies start making the bad mount noise
06-21-2010: Ordered quick struts 171667 and 171668
06-26-2010: Installed quick struts
06-30-2010: 171667 makes noises. 171668 is fine.
08-14-2010: New 171667 Quickstrut with OEM mount installed.
12-17-11: Quick strut 171667 with OEM mount on left goes bad
12-21-11: 171667 installed at Midas with lifetime warranty
01-3-12: Full quick strut 171668 with quick strut mount on right goes bad
01-7-12: 171668 installed at Midas with lifetime warranty

So the longest I've had a quick strut last me is the 171668 and it lasted from 6-26-2010 to 1-3-12, so 19 months. The 171667 with OEM mount lasted 16 months. Never had any problems with any shop getting my alignment dead on in spec.

I got a refund of $245.16 for the first 71667 and 71668 struts that I installed 3/10.
I got a replacement quickstrut 171667 from rock auto on 8/14/10 and I installed the OEM upper/lower mount parts on it:

04782018AB which was $77.15 shipped
04782016 from Hayes for $55.63 shipped
0782238AB bumper cup for $12.55.
Alignment - $74.97

I got a refund of $220.00 from Monroe for the above
I got a refund of $530.98 being sent to me from Monroe for the Midas part, install, and alignment of the 171668 that lasted 19 months.

So total spent on all was:
Set of quick struts plus alignment = $413.78
OEM hardware & 2nd alignment = $220
Midas left and right installs = $449.34 + $448.00 = $879.37

= $1512.78

Total refund = $996.14

So basically I'm out $516.64 + a lot of time and headache, and I'm left with a set of quick struts with lifetime warranty which if they go bad again, Midas can install them.

With that said, my rear OEM mounts are making noises, and they have a pair of 801669 Monroe struts themselves which set me back $99.58.
A new set of rear Monroe quick struts runs around $260 shipped. Should have just went all new in the rear to begin with instead of only replacing the struts themselves and the isolators. Not that it matters,
as I'm sure those will only last a year and a half also before they have to be replaced...........
 
#95 ·
Monroe struts going bad

Just wanted to chime in here...

I'm so d*mn frustrated with buying a full set of Monroe sensa-tracs, not for an Intrepid mind you, and having them go bad in roughly less than 5,000 miles. Got 4 of 'em during a "buy 3 get 1 free" promotion, installed 'em, aligned 'em, and the 2 in the front went bad in no time flat.

Ugh! :baseballbat:

Just needed to vent. Bought them online from AutoZone (I think) without creating an account and of course I didn't keep the receipt either. Oops. Got KYB's coming in but I'm still out the installation and alignment for the first set.

Word to the wise.
 
#97 ·
Just wanted to chime in here...

I'm so d*mn frustrated with buying a full set of Monroe sensa-tracs, not for an Intrepid mind you, and having them go bad in roughly less than 5,000 miles. Got 4 of 'em during a "buy 3 get 1 free" promotion, installed 'em, aligned 'em, and the 2 in the front went bad in no time flat.

Ugh! :baseballbat:

Just needed to vent. Bought them online from AutoZone (I think) without creating an account and of course I didn't keep the receipt either. Oops. Got KYB's coming in but I'm still out the installation and alignment for the first set.

Word to the wise.
Feel your pain my friend. Im still fighting trashy struts, mounts, bearings.
I give up...car is for sale. Buying a truck
 
#96 ·
Ok...I have a a decent amount of miles on my Moog setup.
I installed OEM Mounts & Bearings onto my Moog Quick Struts.
When I get the car aligned, I needed a Camber kit.....other than that...everything has been great.
I have installed washers under the Strut Shaft Nut, and torqued to 80 ft/lbs.
I also re-torqued the strut mount - strut tower nuts.

Seems to be great.
 
#99 ·
Hi.I'm new to the site. I had a noise from my drivers side quick strut, and found you after googling "monroe quick strut noise". I found the cause of the noise on mine. I discovered that on the strut main shaft, under the nut, is a step that is meant to fit thru the hole in the bearing top plate. It does fit thru, but is thicker than the metal of the mount plate. I proved this by removing the strut, compressing the spring, removing the nut from the main shaft. Lift the plate off, remove the spring , then reinstall the top plate, and reinstall the nut. I could still move the mount plate up and down. So I removed the nut, and installed a 1/2" washer under it, then torqued it down. No movement! So I reassembled the strut using the washer under the nut, reinstalled it on the car, and no more clunking noise. I had been looking for this noise for 4 months. 2 mechanics had looked at it, and couldn"t pin point it. That fixed my problem, it might be the problem with all of them. I suspect the shafts were manufactured out of tolerance.
 
#101 ·
Probably so. I first read about this "Washer Fix" on the 300m forums last week. Dropped a pair of washers under the center nut and presto! no more klunk.

I haven't had the time to read this entire thread but, it looks like this new idea has been tossed around for awhile. since I see Tom's post above was from July of last year.

I hope this fix stays fixed!
 
#105 ·
There's a big leap between what was posted and what you said. Care to fill in the gaps?
 
#106 ·
I posted this information in this thread as I thought it might be helpful to others who may not see it in its original forum.He has observed that there are now different strut bearings for each side and the indexing holes match his Mopar originals.Whether they hold up or not I have no idea,which is why I said Monroe may have fixed the issue.Hope that helps.
 
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