Strut Replacement Cost

When mechanics talk about a vehicle’s suspension, they often refer to the car’s struts and shocks. To put it in simple words, struts are a part of your vehicle’s suspension system. They act as a shock absorber, preventing the vehicle from bouncing up and down when faced with road bumps, bad weather, or potholes.

In other words, they protect a car’s engine and other vital components from potholes, bumps, and road obstacles. Structure-wise, they are very strong, which is to say that they can last for a long time. However, they do fail at times. Keep in mind that not all vehicles have struts.

Some cars use separate shock absorbers and springs in place of struts to maintain the car’s stability and balance.

How Does It Cost To Replace A Strut?

Struts are a bit expensive to replace. You should be looking to spend around $125 to 450 to replace an individual car strut. That said, both struts are replaced at the same time, which means that you won’t usually get away by spending $125 to $450. If one strut fails, it causes extra stress on the other one.

Auto Center	Price
Walmart	$125 – $450
Your Mechanic	$150 – $850
Mr. Tire	$145 – $840
Midas	$140 – $800

So, it makes sense to get both of them replaced together. Considering this, the strut replacement cost can go up to $850. Not to mention that high-quality struts don’t come cheap.

That said, some car mechanics may offer you special deals for getting both the struts replaced at the same time, which again places emphasis on the fact that dealing with pairs is a good idea.

Follow Up Information: The expense involved in the process is not etched in stone. For instance, if you get the job done from car dealership stores, don’t be surprised if they slap you with an invoice of $1000. So, the place from where you get the job done will alter the price quite a bit. Instead of taking your car to a dealer, it helps to look for trustworthy independent mechanics around your area. You can actually hire one of them, and expect the mechanic to do a good job at a fair price.

What are the symptoms of a Failing Strut?

Your car will exhibit quite a few symptoms, which will alert you of a failing strut. You will not only feel but also hear some of the symptoms, which is to say that you can rely on your senses to catch a failing strut.

Talking about some of the physical symptoms; if you notice that your car is bouncing a lot, it could be due to a failed, stuck, or damaged strut.

You will also notice that your car is leaning a lot in one direction during a turn, which is, of course, a dangerous sign. When the struts fail to do their job, you will hear unusual noises as well. Worse yet, you will feel as if you are having less control over your car.

Can I Drive with a Bad Strut?

A bad strut will impact a car’s overall structural strength and functions. But then, you will still be able to drive around with a recently blown strut as long as you are being extra careful when faced with bumpy roads. That said, you shouldn’t wait too long to get them fixed.

Generally speaking, the waiting time for repair should not exceed a week. Periodic inspection is also a necessity to catch a failing strut early on before it causes extensive damage. As a golden rule, get the car’s strut checked periodically for spills and other damages.

Fixing a bad strut will not only make the car ride more enjoyable, but it will also make all the other connecting parts last longer. So, it’s better to get the damaged car strut replaced or fixed at the earliest as opposed to waiting too long, which may cause it to impact other car parts.

Important Pointer: The car manufacturers usually recommend strut replacement every 50,000 to 80,000 miles, which should tell you that car struts typically enjoy a long life. In fact, you can expect some struts to last past 1,00,00 miles. As such, you can refer to the car manual to see what your car manufacturer suggests. However, you don’t have to go by the recommendation at all times because the struts may fail you sooner based on how the car is treated on a regular basis.

Strut Replacement Procedure Explained

Here’s a quick overview of how to replace the car’s strut, which will help all the mechanically savvy guys who are keen on performing the job themselves.

• You will begin by removing the tires, which will make it easy to access the struts.
• Then, you will have to take off the brake lien assembly because it’s connected to the car’s strut.
• Once these components are out of the way, you can focus on removing the struts.
• You can use a breaker bar to loosen and remove the pinch bolts that hold the struts.
• The existing strut will then be replaced with the new one. Then, the bolts will be reattached.
• It’s advisable that you apply some grease on the struts to keep them properly lubricated.
• Once the struts are refitted, reattach all the components that were taken off at the beginning of the project.

Keep in mind that once the car struts are replaced, you may also want to get the wheel-alignment done because of how closely these systems work to maintain your car’s stability and balance.

Also, pay attention to the make and model of your car when shopping for the right part. You can’t simply pick any product out there. You will have to search by the vehicle’s year and model number. The goal should be to get an OEM part, which will bound to be the right match for your car.

How can I Save Money on Strut Replacement?

As you may have guessed by now, you can save money by performing the job yourself. Of course, you will still have to pay for the parts because they don’t come free. But then, you will be able to save the labor cost, which is also quite significant for a repair of this nature.

To save money, you can buy parts from a garage sale. However, this is usually not recommended because new parts last longer, saving you from the trouble of repair and replacement anytime sooner.