[pt500]

This is an issue that has been around for many years, and there are recent posts asking about quick struts. There were some old threads about the problem with aftermarket manufacturers using a universal top strut mount for both the left and right 2nd Gen quick struts, when actually the Mopar left and right mounts have different part numbers and appear different. The threads indicated that this may have caused the problems that many people had with the aftermarket strut bearings failing prematurely and other problems. Perhaps the problem was that there is a necessary left or right tilt between the mount's flange and the center line of the hole, in order to put uniform pressure around the bearing race.

Some people posted that the manufacter's reps they spoke to said they where going to fix this years ago, but the current information on their websites (Moog, Gabriel, etc.) and Rockauto page for all the manufacturers under "strut mount" shows that they are still only listing one universal mount for the 2nd Gen - which is probably what they continued to use on the quick struts (Gabriel, Moog, Monroe, and others).

So to any experts that are still here who posted on those old threads, did the situation ever get resolved, other than people just re-using old Mopar left/right mounts or buying new ones? Today of course any NOS Mopar mounts are very hard to find.

Actually, I think the same situation applies to the 1st Gen mounts, since the Parts Catalog shows that there are different part numbers for left and right, while the manufacturers and Rockauto just list one 1st Gen mount. My impression is that the problem may be less severe on the 1st Gen since that mount is a simpler design, but that is just a guess. A quick search seems that there were/are not as many posts with complaints about 1st Gen aftermarket quick struts. And unlike the 2nd Gen Factory Manual, which has a strong bolded warning and diagrams explaining not switching right and left mounts, my 1994 1st Gen FSM does not mention any of this. Neither does the pdf 1995 FSM posted under the service information subforum.

On both the 1st Gen and 2nd Gen Mopar mounts there are two rubber "tabs" on opposite sides of the hole inside the mounts, and they are oriented differently on the right and left struts when the mounts are installed - 90 degrees different. So they can be used to tell the right and left mounts apart. (On the 2nd Gen 4-stud mounts there is also a rectangular hole that is used to differentiate and orient the left or right mount.) Below is a picture of one of the 1st Gen 3-stud Mopar factory mounts (right I think) showing the tabs. On the aftermarket mounts there either are no tabs, or the tabs on the ONE mount they make are at a similar angle to either the right or left Mopar mount.

So what's the deal? Thanks.

 

[peva]

On 2nd gen - from the FSM - notice comment about white paint mark in last sentence of text:

 

[JRacecrazy]

In the past 1 1/2 years I was able to find and bought 2 sets of oem mopar mounts and seats bearings and boots for my two intrepid’s . I think I was very lucky to find them . It costs me a lot but is done.The aftermarket brand’s never fix the issues. the pic is the second set I found, a previous post of my I asked about the seat& bearing .

 

[peva]

In the past 1 1/2 years I was able to find and bought 2 sets of oem mopar mounts and seats bearings and boots for my two intrepid’s . I think I was very lucky to find them . It costs me a lot but is done.The aftermarket brand’s never fix the issues. the pic is the second set I found, a previous post of my I asked about the seat& bearing . View attachment 42206

Excellent!

Notice the text stampings and the white paint - cropped from JRacecrazy's photo:


Left-side mount

Right-side mount

 

[peva]

This is an issue that has been around for many years, and there are recent posts asking about quick struts. There were some old threads about the problem with aftermarket manufacturers using a universal top strut mount for both the left and right 2nd Gen quick struts, when actually the Mopar left and right mounts have different part numbers and appear different. The threads indicated that this may have caused the problems that many people had with the aftermarket strut bearings failing prematurely and other problems. Perhaps the problem was that there is a necessary left or right tilt between the mount's flange and the center line of the hole, in order to put uniform pressure around the bearing race.

Some people posted that the manufacter's reps they spoke to said they where going to fix this years ago, but the current information on their websites (Moog, Gabriel, etc.) and Rockauto page for all the manufacturers under "strut mount" shows that they are still only listing one universal mount for the 2nd Gen - which is probably what they continued to use on the quick struts (Gabriel, Moog, Monroe, and others).

So to any experts that are still here who posted on those old threads, did the situation ever get resolved, other than people just re-using old Mopar left/right mounts or buying new ones? Today of course any NOS Mopar mounts are very hard to find.

Actually, I think the same situation applies to the 1st Gen mounts, since the Parts Catalog shows that there are different part numbers for left and right, while the manufacturers and Rockauto just list one 1st Gen mount. My impression is that the problem may be less severe on the 1st Gen since that mount is a simpler design, but that is just a guess. A quick search seems that there were/are not as many posts with complaints about 1st Gen aftermarket quick struts. And unlike the 2nd Gen Factory Manual, which has a strong bolded warning and diagrams explaining not switching right and left mounts, my 1994 1st Gen FSM does not mention any of this. Neither does the pdf 1995 FSM posted under the service information subforum.

On both the 1st Gen and 2nd Gen Mopar mounts there are two rubber "tabs" on opposite sides of the hole inside the mounts, and they are oriented differently on the right and left struts when the mounts are installed - 90 degrees different. So they can be used to tell the right and left mounts apart. (On the 2nd Gen 4-stud mounts there is also a rectangular hole that is used to differentiate and orient the left or right mount.) Below is a picture of one of the 1st Gen 3-stud Mopar factory mounts (right I think) showing the tabs. On the aftermarket mounts there either are no tabs, or the tabs on the ONE mount they make are at a similar angle to either the right or left Mopar mount.

So what's the deal? Thanks.
View attachment 42192

Your theory on 1st gen mounts may pan out. Here's a theory to go along with yours: The yellow paint dot is in the same position as the "notch" on the 2nd gen strut. Notice that the "rubber tabs" are in the same orientation as the "rubber tabs" on the right-side 2nd gen mount. Theory: Yellow paint dot on 1st gen => white dot on 2nd gen => right-side mount.

You mentioned a possible tilt difference between left and right mounts. Theory no. 3: On 1st and 2nd gen, the rubber part (with the two tabs on it) sandwiched in the mount construction is not of uniform thickness - it's tapered to put a tilt bias into the mount. The correct tilt for the two sides is dialed in by the orientation of the rubber tabs.

 

[pt500]

Your theory on 1st gen mounts may pan out. Here's a theory to go along with yours: The yellow paint dot is in the same position as the "notch" on the 2nd gen strut. Notice that the "rubber tabs" are in the same orientation as the "rubber tabs" on the right-side 2nd gen mount. Theory: Yellow paint dot on 1st gen => white dot on 2nd gen => right-side mount.

You mentioned a possible tilt difference between left and right mounts. Theory no. 3: On 1st and 2nd gen, the rubber part (with the two tabs on it) sandwiched in the mount construction is not of uniform thickness - it's tapered to put a tilt bias into the mount. The correct tilt for the two sides is dialed in by the orientation of the rubber tabs.

In reading the old posts yesterday (one link below), this issue was well known here, but not sure if anyone ever put their finger on the exact design issue causing the problems with the aftermarket quick struts or separate upper mounts. JRacecrazy confirmed that the aftermarket never fixed the problem with their "universal" mounts versus the different Mopar left/right mounts. It sounds like people had the most problems with Monroe, Raybestos, and Moog. People said the Raybestos and Moog struts may have been re-branded Monroes.

Yes, I think what peva said is it - there probably is something like a taper/tilt in the two different left/right mounts. And except for the square hole at 10 o'clock on the 2nd Gen mounts (to aid in orienation), you can see from the photo posted by JRacecrazy that the left and right mounts are mirror images. And the blob of yellow or white paint from the factory is always on the right mount to distinguish the two quickly.

That's why the 2nd Gen manual Factory Manual strongly warns not to mix & match mounts, and that you've got to orient with the tabs in the correct position (also square holes at 10 o'clock ). As I wrote, no such warning in the 1st Gen manual, but the 1994 Parts Catalog says the left/right mounts are different (different p/ns for the mount/bearing/seat assembly), and just by opening the hood on my '94 with the original Mopar mounts I can see that they are mirror images (from the rubber tab positions). The 1st Gen three-stud mounts are physically different from the 2nd Gen four-stud mounts. I am only guessing to think that the 1st Gen may be less critical in using an aftermarket "universal" mounts. Fewer complaints on the 1st Gen Forum, but that may not mean anything.

In a few of the old posts, people said that looking at their aftermarket quick struts, they thought that the manufacturer had incorrectly used two left or two right mounts with the rubber tabs both at the same angle. But there is just one aftermarket mount part number from every manufacturer I've ever seen on Rockauto and in their website catalogs - no left or right designation. The conclusion is that some of the manufacturers may have copied just the right or left mount to use as their unversal mount, including even the rubber tab in one orietanation - perhaps not even realizing there was a left and right. There is just one aftermarket mount part number from every manufacturer - no left or right. Based on the photos I've seen on Rockauto (under "strut mount" listings), some manufacturers have no tabs at all on their universal mount.

In reading over the old posts recently, for those not familiar, below is a link to one of the longest threads on this issue for the 2nd Gen cars (215 posts from 2011 to 2020), with multiple tales of woe - including multiple premature aftermarket quick strut failures, and a few descriptions of potentially dangerous ones.

"Raybestos Monroe Quick Strut Review"

Raybestos Monroe Quick Strut Review

This is going to be a long read, so take your pee breaks and grab some popcorn first. :) As some of you know, back in September I replaced all 4 struts on my car with Raybestos quick struts...This thread is to let you know, frankly, that they are complete crap, and I dont recommend anyone...

www.dodgeintrepid.net

By the way, per the Parts Catalogs it is just the mounts that are different left and right, not the spring seats. For those unfamiliar, the mounts are the very top parts with the mounting studs. The spring seats are the part that the upper coil of the spring bears upon. (In the 2nd Gen I beleive there is also a separate upper rubber/poly spring isolator between the spring and the spring seat). And in between is the bearing that allows the two parts to rotate relative to each other in a turn.

I recall there was an old post that, at least on the 2nd Gen, the Mopar mount and spring seat may only fit a Mopar bearing rather than the bearings that come with some of the aftermarket mounts (not sure at all, just something to be aware of). The Mopar bearing is not sold separately, but aftermarket bearings used to be available sometimes on Rockauto from at least Gabriel. In the 1st Gen Parts Catalog, the parts numbers seem to indicate that you can either buy the whole Mopar assembly (mount, bearing, spring seat) or just the spring seat and bearing together (but this is a little unclear). In one of the pdf 2nd Gen Parts Catalogs that I looked at on this site, it looks like for the 2nd Gen you order the mount separately from the spring seat with bearing.

It should be noted that the bearing is NOT a high strength part, and would be subject to failure if it is unevenly loaded, which may be what happens with the universal mounts that the aftermarket manufacturers are using. I am going by looking at 1st Gen aftermarket (Gabriel) bearing that I got off Rockauto years ago. The cracked bearings in the bad Moog quickstruts I once ordered appeared the same. The 2nd gen bearings look the same in all the photos I've seen. The Gabriel bearing is just two plastic shells (housings) that snap together. Inside are loose greased ball bearings on two metal bearing races. I posted several years ago that the Moog quick struts that I bought through Amazon had visibly cracked bearings plastic shells right out of the box, likely due to some nonsense in sloppy assembly; one wouldn't even rotate at all. I returned them for a full refund, and tried through Amazon to report the issue to Moog since it was a safety issue if installed - no response.

So I speculate that the plastic bearing shells are not very strong. And if there is an uneven load on them with the unversial mounts that the aftermarket makers used, I can see how they could crack - heavier load on one side in a bump. I think that that is the most likely initial mode of failure.

Other notes: Previoius posters said that the top strut nut could become loose after installation, and one suggestion was tightening with an imparct wrench. Not sure this would be a good idea because the torque setting is set precisely before installation when the spring is released by the spring compressor (per procedure in the FSM) . But a loose nut would definitely be a problem. Other posters said it may be helpul when assembling the struts to install a high-strength/grade washer (from auto parts stores or some hardware stores) under the nut to slightly spread the nut's pressure on the top of the mount flange.

So the conclusion people came to before is if you need new front struts on the Intrepid/LH cars, it is probably best to either re-use your old upper original Mopar parts if still in decent condition, or use the Parts Catalog numbers to try to find the few remaining new Mopar parts from the online dealers, local dealer, or ebay sellers. Junkyard would be a last possibility (need to check for the Mopar rubber tabs angled 90 degrees from each other, and for any cracks in the rubber) .

Usually it is the shocks that are weak or leaking oil and the deteriorated lower spring mount that must be replaced. So the upper parts (mount, bearing, spring seat) might be able to be reused - need inspect carefully for deterioration and cracks. The springs can be re-used if ride height is OK, or else aftermarket pairs ones are available. Some people in the old threads talked about re-greasing the old Mopar bearing, but I wouldn't risk trying to pry it apart, since you can't buy it separately if you crack the outer shells. Instead I'd use a syringe (from farm supply stores) to try to force some new grease into the rounded cutouts between the two shells. Then rotate the two shells to make sure is is smooth - no grinding or rough feeling, either rotated in your hands or in between the mount and the spring seat. If a person is not going to be doing this work themselves, obviously they'd want to discuss the situation with their mechanic and show them the pages from the Factory Manual and the Parts Catalog for advice on how to proceed.

And just to be be clear for other readers, this is an issue for the left/right front struts only, not the rear struts. So the quality brand aftermarket rear quick struts should be OK. The ones that are likely OK are the premium line from NAPA, Carquest (also available from Advance Auto), ACDelco, Gabriel, or KYB. And try to buy from a local parts store for warranty returns (get printed warranty and save the receipts). Mechanics tend to buy NAPA or Carquest parts, but tell them you want the OEM or Premium quality parts. Definitely do not buy Monroe's economy "Roadmatic" line or any of the other cheapo Chinese brands that most of the local parts stores also carry. Scotty Kilmer took one of those apart on his YouTube channel and it was junk.

Edited/Corrected: Both ball bearing races in the strut bearing are metal; only the two outer shells that snap together are plastic. Both the aftermarket and Mopar bearings have plastic outer shells. Added also that the bearing should rotate smoothly, no grinding or rough feeling.

 

[peva]

"Other posters said it may be helpul when assembling the struts to install a high-strength/grade washer (from auto parts stores or some hardware stores) under the nut to slightly spread the nut's pressure on the top of the mount flange."

On some struts, the nut bottoms out on the diameter step of the strut's rod before actually clamping the mount plate. The washer takes up that gap to provide solid clamping of the plate. The washer can't be too thick as there's generally not a lot of thread length on the rod to engage with the intereference feature at the top of the nut. IIRC, a standard grade-8 washer of the right ID is just thin enough.

 

[pt500]

I edited my last post to mention that someone previously posted about a mechanic using an impact wrench to re-tighten the strut nut some time after installation if it somehow because loose (or at least checking for this somehow?). I don't know if this would be a good idea since, per the FSM the torque has to be properly set before releasing the spring from the compressor. But the nut loosening for some reason is obviously an issue.

Just for more info on this strut right/left mount issue:

For comparison to the photo of the Mopar 1st Gen mount I posted originally, attached are photos of the 1st Gen aftermarket Gabriel mount & bearing and a Raybestos spring seat. The mount is in the same orientation as the Mopar mount picture. Notice that there are no rubber tabs as on the Mopar mount. I've marked where the tabs should be if they correctly made separate left and right mounts. Also attched is a picture of the Gabriel bearing disassembled and the other side of the bearing. I got these parts several years ago as backups on sale on Amazon. Again, don't know if this left/right issue is a big deal on the 1st Gen like as the 2nd Gen mounts, but I'll keep using my original Mopar mount/bearing/seat with new shocks (ACDelco, KYB, etc.) and lower isolatiors (KYB, Moog, etc.) until they wear out.

Also attached are pictures from an online sale of the Mopar bearing (it has dabs of glue on it, since it comes glued into either the mount or the spring seat.) Again, I do not know if the aftermarket bearings fit the Mopar mount and seat on either the 1st Gen or 2nd Gen - I recall one poster said maybe not on the 2nd Gen (?). I may buy a Mopar spring seat and bearing to check for the 1st Gen parts.
-----------------
Edited: I had speculated that the Mopar bearings may be stronger than the aftermarket ones. If I find a NOS Mopar spring seat and bearing (or whole mount assembly) later I will check and add the info to this thread.

 

[peva]

"I edited my last post to mention that someone previously posted about a mechanic using an impact wrench to re-tighten the strut nut some time after installation if it somehow because loose (or at least checking for this somehow?)."

Guess what happens when you tighten that nut without counter-torqueing the strut's rod (and the mount's metal plate) from turning with the nut once it's fully clamped to the plate: The rubber tabs in the mount get turned to a different orientation within the mount.

 

[pt500]

Guess what happens when you tighten that nut without counter-torqueing the strut's rod (and the mount's metal plate) from turning with the nut once it's fully clamped to the plate: The rubber tabs in the mount get turned to a different orientation within the mount.

I agree, bad idea. Some mechanics think that an impact wrench solves all problems. That post about a mechanic regularly doing that on the strut nut was somewhere in one of the several old threads about this problem that I reviewed to see if the left/right aftermarket mount issue was ever resolved - it's now clear the answer is No.

By the way, over the years I've seen some destruction with impact wrenches. Even though I have an electric one, I rarely use it. I've read that using one on a spring compressor is also a bad idea, so I didn't, though it is shown in the Lisle instructions.

 

[pt500]

........You mentioned a possible tilt difference between left and right mounts. Theory no. 3: On 1st and 2nd gen, the rubber part (with the two tabs on it) sandwiched in the mount construction is not of uniform thickness - it's tapered to put a tilt bias into the mount. The correct tilt for the two sides is dialed in by the orientation of the rubber tabs.

Here's some more information on a possible cause for the aftermarket quick strut failures reported in the old posts (strut bearing quality comparison photos below).

First, there may be that possible material taper in the different left and right different mounts, with a slight center-line angle. If true, the aftermarket universal mounts may put a somewhat uneven load on the simple plastic-housing bearing, which is likely only designed to take a fairly uniform load at 90 degrees between the mount and the spring seat. Hard to tell how significant the problem is though, because several people wrote that their brand-name aftermarket struts worked fine (not the cheapo ones). And there seemed (?) to be fewer complaints about the aftermarket 1st Gen quick struts, which use a different mount design than the 2nd Gen.

Possible cause:
Below is a picuture of two 1st Gen Gabriel strut bearings, one I just bought on ebay NOS individually in the box shown, and the other is was purchased brand new in the Gabriel mount kit, new on sale, directly from Amazon a few years ago (not NOS from Rockauto as I incorrectly wrote somewhere here previously). It is the same one in the previous picture in this thread. Gabriel no longer sells the bearing individually. The white bearing box in the photo says "Strut Mount," but that is incorrect, it was just the bearing inside the small box.

The important thing is that there is a huge difference in the quality of the bearings, indicating that Gabriel (and perhaps other makers) had some serious quality control problems over the years. I don't know which bearing is older, but both were marked "Made in India" on the boxes.

IST GEN INTREPID/LH STRUT BEARINGS

The top bearing in the photo Gabriel #142266 has a larger number of small diameter bearings - more bearing surface area. The bearing races are very smooth polished stainless steel, as you would expect in a decent bearing. When you turn the bearing in your hands or placed in between the mount and the spring seat the rotation is SMOOOOTH.

The other bearing in the photo came in the Gabriel #142842 kit with the mount and bearing. It has a smaller number of larger ball bearings. The bearing races appear to be carbon steel with some type of very thin coating. The finish on the races is quite rough for a bearing race, and under 5X magnification you can even see little pits and other defects in the races - even some chips on the edges. If you stroke a ball-point pen across it, you can feel the noticeable roughness compared to the race in the other smooth bearing. Turning it either by hand or under load between a mount and spring seat is noticeably rough compared to the other bearing.

This second bearing may not last more than a couple years of average mileage driving, especially if it is somewhat unevenly loaded on a slight angle by the universal mount. A ball bearing from a $100 Wal-Mart kid's bicycle would be higher quality than this bearing. And if it fails, the plastic housing could crack, and then you've got got serious problems in the strut, just like some of the old posts describe.

The Mopar bearing is obviously going to be like the first high-quality bearing.

If you buy one of the older individually sold bearings with a brand name it MAY be decent quality - but that is unknown. Fair price would probably be $20 or less shipped. In searching a bit on the aftermarket manfucturer's websites, I couldn't fine anyone packaging the bearings separately from the mounts or spring seats anymore, but they may. However, they may show up NOS on ebay or Rockauto (there were some recently, now gone).

For searching on ebay, Rockauto, or elsewhere, below is a list of probable 1st Gen interchange part numbers for the individual bearings that might show up NOS online for sale, but I don't think any of them are still being made individually. Obviously you can still get strut bearings in the package with many of the aftermarket mounts or spring seats, but check that they feel smooth. I don't know if the 2nd Gen individual bearings are different, because I haven't been able to find an aftermarket part number for a 2nd Gen bearing on Rockauto or ebay to enter into the parts interchange sites.

I got these numbers off one of the Asian auto part interchange websites, but it is not https secure, so I won't send people there (don't know if there's any risk). I haven't found a really good free US part interchange website for aftermarket part numbers, though you may be able to access the one for mechanics on Autozone if you are a registered customer.

I have been able to see these numbers listed online on ebay or old Amazon pages with a picture of the bearing.
But before ordering, be sure there is a listing of the car/year application and a picture of the bearing, to confirm that is what you are getting.

And for for what it's worth, the Mopar bearings in the ebay listing photos I've seen for the Mopar mounts or Mopar spring seats are all white plastic, as is the good Gabriel one in the photo above. The very rough Gabriel bearing is black one one side and white on the other.

PROBABLE 1ST GEN NOS STRUT BEARING PART NUMBERS
GABRIEL 142266
Carquest 142266
ACDelco 501-88 or 50188
Raybestos 520-1092 or 5201092

 

[pt500]

Your theory on 1st gen mounts may pan out. Here's a theory to go along with yours: The yellow paint dot is in the same position as the "notch" on the 2nd gen strut. Notice that the "rubber tabs" are in the same orientation as the "rubber tabs" on the right-side 2nd gen mount. Theory: Yellow paint dot on 1st gen => white dot on 2nd gen => right-side mount.

You mentioned a possible tilt difference between left and right mounts. Theory no. 3: On 1st and 2nd gen, the rubber part (with the two tabs on it) sandwiched in the mount construction is not of uniform thickness - it's tapered to put a tilt bias into the mount. The correct tilt for the two sides is dialed in by the orientation of the rubber tabs.

On these theories, here's a lot more detailed information I found out for anyone still curiouis these days on the left/right strut mount issues for the Intrepid/LH cars. For others not familiar, refer to the sketch of the strut assembly below - adapted from the 1st Gen '93-'96 Parts Catalog with labels added for the names of the strut assembly parts.

I just got a used 1st Gen Mopar left mount that was on ebay to examine and compare to the old 1st Gen Gabriel universal mount I bought several years ago (photo also below). Here are my observatioins:

1. Regarding peva's possible Theory no. 3 about a taper/angle in the mounts, I made all sorts of measurements on the Mopar mount with a machinist's ruler and accurate square. I could not find any significant angle or taper in measuring dimensions on the rubber covered deck (where the hole is), the outer mounting flange, the hole being off-center, etc. If there is any such taper on the 1st Gen mount it is very small side to side. However, unlike the 1st Gen Factory Service Manual, the 2nd Gen Manual has such a strong caution about not mixing up left and right 2nd Gen mounts, that there probably is some difference in the 2nd Gen Mopar mounts.

Since the aftermarket seems to use a "universal" 2nd Gen mount as they do with the 1st Gen, the most important thing is not to buy a low-priced economy-brand strut, since apart from the mounts, the low-quality strut bearings in them are likely to fail. That is the weakest link.

2. The Mopar and old Gabriel mount have nearly identical dimensions in the outer metal shell and flange. However, there is a difference between the thickness of the rubber in the in the old Gabriel mount and the Mopar mount - again, see photo below. There is also a difference (at least in appearance) of how the surface that the nut bears on is attached. The Mopar mount rubber is about 1/16" thicker on either side - or 1/8" total thicker at the inside diameter. It looks even thicker in the photo because of the camera angle.

Also the rubber on the Mopar mount has 1/8" deep rectangular cutouts around the top of the rubber - don't know what these are for. However, if you look on Rockauto at the 1st Gen mount photos, where you can see it, a couple of the current aftermarket mounts have rubber that looks like the Mopar mount. So obviously those would be the ones to buy.

If you buy the Gabriel, don't buy the old Gabriel #142218 mount that is currently listed on Rockauto - that is NOS with an obsolete part number now. It comes without the bearing and has the thinner rubber as shown in the photo below. They also currently have the newer Gabiel mount that comes with the bearing. You can check the current part numbers from the online catalogs of the decent brands (Moog, Gabriel, KYB, etc.) - most that should come with the bearing. They let you search by car year and model. Then confirm the number on Rockauto, Amazon, or the auto parts stores.

3. As I wrote before in this thread, I think the quality of the strut bearing may be the most important for the durability of the strut assembly, and low-quality bearings might have caused the "quick strut" failures that people reported in the past. The high quality smooth Gabriel bearings that I bought before (no longer available individually) are much better than the terrible rough one that came with a Gabriel mount from Amazon several years ago. Like I wrote before, Gabriel must have had some quality-control problems years ago, but apparently so did Monroe and Moog.

Also, and this may be important, the low-quality bearing housing is about 0.04" smaller outside diameter than the high quality bearing, so it has a bit of play that you can fell when fitted inside the spring seat. I believe another member reported something similar in the past with one aftermarket 2nd Gen bearing. While the bearing is clamped in between the mount and spring seat when tightening the top nut, this play, as well as the poor quality of the ball bearing races that I mentioned before, could contribute to early bearing failure.

There is also something the Mopar part numbers to be aware of. The part numbers for a few of the individual strut parts (other than the mounts) in the online pdf 1997 1st Gen Mopar Parts Catalog (included in at least one of the 1st Gen Service Information downloads on this site) are different than those in the 1993-1996 Parts catalog - not sure why. Here are the numbers for the upper strut parts from my dealer binder hard copy of the 1st Gen Parts Catalog 1993-1996, dated December 1998:

4582758 MOUNT AND SEAT ASSY, RIGHT
4582759 MOUNT AND SEAT ASSY, LEFT
4582772 SEAT and BEARING, 1993-94, 1995 w/o Auto Stick
4755003 SEAT and BEARING, 1995 w/ Auto Stick, 1996 All

Also, it appears to me based on online Mopar dealers that the later Mopar packages of the mount numbered with a zero ("0") in front of the part number (04582758 and 04582759), may not include the bearing and spring seat as a complete assembly as they may have before (ASSY listed in the catalog); they only include the mount. So with those numbers you would need to order the mount and the spring seat (with bearing) to get all three upper parts. Lots of the online Mopar dealers still list the parts, however, as you might expect, most these days say "discontinued, not available." But a few may show up even with just a Google search on the part numbers, and sometimes from the dealers on ebay who buy up NOS parts (be sure to also always try Mopar numbers with the zero added in front). Note that with the aftermarket parts, it is the mount that comes with the bearing, not the spring seat.

Since the Mopar parts are so hard to find now, the bottom line is, as some members here have posted before, when replacing old struts and the rubber isolators/insulators, you might try to re-use the old Mopar mount and bearing (can try to inject fresh grease in the shell gap). But inspect these old parts carefully for any cracks and deterioration. The spring seat may have to be replaced due to deterioration of the rubber (2nd gen I believe may also have a separate upper rubber isolator/insulator under the spring seat to replace). And if you have to buy new mounts/bearings/seats or complete quick struts don't by the economy ones. Get the OEM-quality, what Rockauto calls "Daily Driver," or any listed as "Premium." Or make sure your mechanic does if having a shop do it. It is important, since if the bearings fail, steering will be affected.

Below is the photo of a 1st Gen Gabriel universal top strut mount on the left (equivalent to the obsolete Gabriel part number 142218) and a used Mopar left mount. The main difference seems to be in thickness of inner rubber and the attachment of the surface that the nut bears on. The newer Gabriel mounts may be more like the Mopar.

 

[peva]

On the same part numbers with and without the leading zeroes, that's historically just two ways of listing the same part. I'm not saying you're wrong about there being a difference in the case of that particular part - I've just never before seen that to be the case. In general, I've seen parts that used to be listed in the Chrysler parts pdf's with the leading zeros to later be without them - the assumption being that the zero had no significance.

 

[pt500]

On the same part numbers with and without the leading zeroes, that's historically just two ways of listing the same part. I'm not saying you're wrong about there being a difference in the case of that particular part - I've just never before seen that to be the case. In general, I've seen parts that used to be listed in the Chrysler parts pdf's with the leading zeros to later be without them - the assumption being that the zero had no significance.

It appears that the Chrysler part number formats are a little muddled, but that's to be expected when trying to keep track of so many parts (updated, superceeded, etc.) in different cars over the years.

I originally thought what you wrote was the case with the zeros, but from what I have seen over the years there is no rhyme or reason to the zero showing up in the online Mopar dealer listings or on the Mopar labels shown on the parts for sale on ebay. I've also noticed that unless you search ebay or Google on both the number with and without the zero, the search may miss identical parts. Without the zero should hit everything, but it often doesn't.

And as was mentioned before in another thread, alternate Mopar 7-digit or 8-digit (with zero) numbers will show up in some of the Rockauto detail pages for the part if you hit the "Info" tab (obviously different than the aftermarket interchange numbers). Often times several of them. Perhaps these are valid Mopar numbers for the same part used in different cars (not sure). But I've Google/ebay searched on some of those Rockauto listed numbers and they do seem to be identical Mopar parts.

If you look on many of the dealer Mopar sales sites, they will also have "superceed by" numbers which can be totally different than the original part number, or it can be the original number with the AA, AB, AC suffixes (which show up in TSBs). Those suffixes also show up on the reman part numbers appended to the original part numbers (along with an "R" in front), for example the Mopar rebuilt 42LE transmissions went through that suffix sequence AB - AF I think, perhaps meaning some updated internal parts as the years went by . It can all be confusing. (BTW those Mopar 42LE reman transmissions will still show up sometimes on ebay for ~$700 + freight in the original Mopar labeled plastic bins.)

As the years went by, there were a few different versions of the 1st Gen Parts Catalogs, with "superceeded" 9-digit numbers for the catalogs themselves on the title pages of the binder hard copies. Some using the the regular part numbers and some with the "zero" prefix numbers (yes, possibly the zero ones were earlier). I assume that the later ones, like the one I have for '93-'96, with a December 1998 publication date is the most accurate for those years (I don't know why it doesn't go through '97 - however, see below on this). Some of the pdfs that are out there, like one that is appened to one of the 1st Gen Service Manuals on this site for '93-'96 seems to have pages mixed in from two different Parts Catalogs.

For example, if you look on page 773 of that pdf for SUSPENSION, FRONT LH-BODY it says the following (and this is identical to the December 1998 dated catalog):

MOUNT AND SEAT ASSY.
4582 758-9
SEAT and BEARING
4582 772 1993-94
4582 772 1995, w/o Auto Stick
4755 003 1995, w/Auto Stick
4755 003 1996, w/All
=====================
Then on page 1120, for SUSPENSION, FRONT LH-BODY it instead has this - and perhaps importantly, is dated "1997 LH" at the bottom of the page:

MOUNT, Strut
04582758 Right
04582759 Left

04755002 ISOLATOR, Front Suspension Spring Upper

04755003 SEAT AND BEARING, Suspension Strut

Which is odd, since there is no "ISOLATOR, Front Suspension Spring Upper" for the '93-'96, only a spring seat - see photo below. Unlike the 2nd Gen, the spring bears directly on the rubber in the spring seat. There is a 4755002 on ebay now and 04755002 (in sold) that looks nothing like a 1st Gen strut part (it's a big thick yellow ring). Perhaps they added one in 1997 (?), and there were other changes in the '97 (last 1st Gen year) that required a different, separate Parts Catalog. Another Chrysler part number mystery.

 

[pt500]

..... Perhaps they added one in 1997 (?), and there were other changes in the '97 (last 1st Gen year) that required a different, separate Parts Catalog. Another Chrysler part number mystery.

I looked on ebay and yes, 1997 LH cars did have a separate Chrysler parts catalog from the 1993-1996 parts catalog - see title page photo below. There are a few of them for sale on ebay with a 2000 publication date. So since the last 1993-1996 parts catalog was issued in 1998, there may have been enough part number differences in the 1st Gen 1997 cars to warrant a separate 1997 parts catalog. And based on what is in the pdf copy that I cited, it looks like the 1997 Mopar factory strut assembles were somehow different, perhaps adding an upper spring isolator (?). But based on what they have on Rockauto, it looks like all the aftermarket strut parts are the same for 1997, as for 1993-1996, so the mating mounting holes and knuckle mouning were probably still the same in 1997.

 

[pt500]

In the past 1 1/2 years I was able to find and bought 2 sets of oem mopar mounts and seats bearings and boots for my two intrepid’s . I think I was very lucky to find them . It costs me a lot but is done.The aftermarket brand’s never fix the issues. the pic is the second set I found, a previous post of my I asked about the seat&

JRacecrazy,
It would be interesting to know if the white plastic-housing strut bearings you have for the 2nd Gen are the same size as for the 1st Gen, if you would measure them and post. The 1st Gen bearings measure 90 mm inside diameter, 120 mm outside diameter, and 17 mm tall. This would be useful if people with 1st Gen cars need to scrounge Mopar strut bearings from junkyard cars, since so few 1st Gen cars are still at the yards. The bearings are no longer available new individually.

From what I saw disassembling them and on Scotty Kilmer's YouTube video taking a quick strut apart, I believe some poor aftermarket bearings are the weak link that caused many of the quick strut failures reported here before.

 

[JRacecrazy]

I already installed them, but by just looking at them don’t look like they are the same. I still have the old original oem bearings that I could check them out

 

[pt500]

I already installed them, but by just looking at them don’t look like they are the same. I still have the old original oem bearings that I could check them out

Yes, if you still have them and can check the dimensions on your old 2nd Gen ones that would be helpful. Like I wrote the 1st Gen bearings measure 90 mm inside diameter, 120 mm outside diameter, and 17 mm tall. The 1st and 2nd Gen Mopar strut spring seats with the bearings included do sometimes still show up NOS on ebay. The sellers often say that they are from Chrysler/Dodge dealers that closed and still had parts sitting on a dusty shelf in a warehouse . Strangely, Mopar stuff like from closed dealers also sometimes shows up on Rockauto if you do a part number search, however it may not be in the normal Rockauto listings menu for the car.

 

[tanvikhan571]

When to replace them? A simple rule of thumb is that if the struts or coil springs are being replaced because of age or wear, then also replace the mounts. A worn or damaged mount can cause a variety of symptoms so they should be inspected by a qualified technician.