Wandering - DodgeIntrepid.Net Forums - Dodge Intrepid, Concorde, 300m and Eagle Vision chat

turbo12pt2 · 10-23-2012, 10:23 AM

Put struts on my 2001 R/T this past June. Sine then it just don't feel the same. Had the alignment rechecked. I did re-use the sway bar links, and yes they are rattling a little.
The car seems loose, and wanders a little on the road....use to be tight like a slot car.
Should I bite the bullet and change the links ?
Bushings in the control arms seem rock solid ( for a 12 year old car at least)
New tie rod ends inner and outer.
The alignment shop seen nothing loose.....

**cdmccul** · 10-23-2012, 10:28 AM

Did you use quick struts? What brand were they?

turbo12pt2 · 10-23-2012, 11:02 AM

Monroe Gas Matics, also new upper mount plates. Kept my springs

**cdmccul** · 10-23-2012, 11:05 AM

What brand plates? Were they different left for right?

It has been proven several times on here that MOST (if not all) aftermarket strut mounts are not correct...

turbo12pt2 · 10-23-2012, 11:09 AM

monroe plates....left and rights

**DrDodge** · 10-23-2012, 12:59 PM

the name Monroe scares me

**cdmccul** · 10-23-2012, 01:03 PM

[spookyvoice] MoooonnnnnRRRROOOOOWWWWWW [/spookyvoice]

Well, this is almost halloween.

turbo12pt2 · 10-23-2012, 01:16 PM

I been a parts man for 20 years .....never had problems. Looking for info on my suspension, not name bashing stuff.
I have Monroes on my Shelby Charger and she pulls straight at 12.35 in the quarter.
Just looking to see why I have this wandering in my poor 'trep.

**Ronbo** · 10-23-2012, 01:30 PM

Take a look at the FSM regarding the differences between strut mounts. The information is there and they warn about not interchanging them. There are two different part numbers for left and right OEM mounts. And yes they are different. All the after market strut mounts are one part number for both left and right. They claim one part fits both sides which is not the case.

I have two new OEM strut mounts and two new Monroe strut mounts. I compared all four of them. The OEM mounts are different left and right. The Monroe mounts were similar to the OEM left mount only. The Monroe mounts did not match the OEM right mount. Again..Monroe only has one part number for both left and right strut mounts.

People have used quickstruts but have been replacing the strut mounts and bearing with OEM parts before installing. Those people haven't had a problem to date. Most people that have installed quickstruts as is have run into major issues some within a 200 miles or less. Others have had failure after failure within months or under a year. Most of those failures were the strut mount and/or bearing. More than one thread on here about that.

**cdmccul** · 10-23-2012, 01:36 PM

In the aftermarket, with second gen suspension, there have been lots of issues... First gen don't seem to have a problem, and I agree with you, I have had few issues in the aftermarket world... But with steering in second gen - aftermarket seems to cause issues.

There's no arguing with some brands in the aftermaket either with quality against another one... Pictures were just posted of an entry level aftermarket sway bar link, and then a MOOG link... Difference was painfully obvious.

Then again, a Duralast starter vs. a Delco starter vs. a Shen-shin starter... I'm guessing you won't see much difference - but then again, that is going to vary based on application too.

**Ronbo** · 10-23-2012, 01:42 PM

Another bit of information if you decide to get OEM strut mounts only and put them on the Monroe Quickstruts. I test fit a new Monroe bearing on a new OEM strut mount. There was a lot of slop/clearance between the I.D. of the bearing and the strut mount. Putting the Monroe bearing on the new Monroe strut mount was a good tight slip fit. That tells me the Monroe strut mounts are different in the dimension where the bearing mounts vs the OEM mounts.

**cdmccul** · 10-23-2012, 01:45 PM

Here ya go:

I also agree with something that was said - aftermarket in the last 5 years has really started to pull away from the quality they once were, which is widening the gap to the OEM part - this keeps price down that you see when you walk in - but you're more likely to do it again in a few years.

turbo12pt2 · 10-23-2012, 02:08 PM

So the direction this thread is headed , nobody thinks the sloppy end links are the issue ???

**cdmccul** · 10-23-2012, 02:13 PM

End links - you mean tie rods? jack the car up and with your hands, try to rock the tire side to side while holding onto the 3 and 9 o'clock positions. Or, jack the car up and remove the tires and look - that could be the issue, don't know...

Do check your inner tie-rod ends too... use MOOG kit K7408 to rebuild the inner tie rods.

turbo12pt2 · 10-23-2012, 02:18 PM

No...tie rods are fine, new MOOGs inner ( into the rack) and outers this past summer.
The end links , from strut to swaybar. I know mine are rattling....just was curious if these would allow that much "sway in the front ? Just had inspection done, tech says all looks tight. So both the Dodge Garage and the Alignment shop , and my self see everything tight other then those links...thats why I'm asking, would this allow it to stray?