Trying to keep this car, but one thing leads to another and I'm beginning to wonder how much good money to throw after the bad. So, just like the guy on the old muffler commercial ( "Look, I don't/can't put a lot of money in this car") The suspension on this car is shot. I want to start in front strut towers. OK, strut mounts, spring seats, all that but, the big ticket inserts have me wondering. I don't have the money for Billys or Konis and ever the OEM Sachs are up there. I can get Monroes or Gabrielles for 1/3 or 1/2 the cost. The question is will these cheaper parts give me any change in the way the car sits? One parts house is listing a Monroe "w/ 0 raise/lower" seems I read somewhere Monroes will raise the front about 1/2"(?) Performance is not the issue here, just safety and cosmetics. So basically will these domestic parts be OK? Tell me, what would you do?

 

Jeff first what model and year do you have? All the 850 Turbos are pretty quick and handle nicely for everday driving. You going to start to feel the difference pretty quickly if you have an R model if the vehicle is taken to the track to have some serious fun. Even the Konis are not used for racing. Full race shocks are going to be close to $700+ each. I have not heard any bad things about the Monroe units for everyday driving. Great bargin.

 

Why dont you just pick up will's suspention?
He is going to start parting his car after thanksgiving..

 

New, standard struts, any struts will meet your safety and cosmetics requirements.
If you toss in the less expensive Monroe (I have a set but aren't on yet) or Gabriel the height shouldn't change as they are designed to OEM specs. If someone's height changed it was probably because the springs were in really bad condition. Springs are supposed to hold up the vehicle, the shocks and struts just control the bounce. If the unit has enough gas pressure it might push up the vehicle a bit but again it shouldn't be able to push it past where it's supposed to sit.
You might be giving up some ride control compared to spending more but you said you don't have that kind of money. You get what you pay for and if you are happy with a "normal" ride they should be great.
Nice thing is they are a name brand, they are quality and the chances are good you'll get a lifetime warranty on them. Makes a difference if you plan to hang on to your "Money Pit" !!

Having said that there should be someone jumping in saying it's safer to use a shock with better control. I would agree that having a firmer handling vehicle is safer but the choice is in degrees. You might be better off with a worn out suspension and spending the money on a driving class. The question is are YOU good enough to use the extra handling an upgrade might give?
I tend to take freeway ramps with my cruise control still engaged so I'm going to be returning the Monroe struts and getting Bilsteins but I also got a hell of a deal on them and I have a pair of new (yesterday) sport springs to go with the upper plate, spring seat and bumpers I have waiting in the corner.
Like you I'm short on money and that tempers my choices. If I hadn't come across the deal, I'm sure I'd be pushing the Monroe's to the limit and wouldn't know what I was missing and they'd feel great compared to the very, very tired units I have on there now. After all I bought it with one "Volvo" shock sticking through the floor in the back. Volvo was stamped into the shaft and when I bought it I checked with the dealer. No service history since sixty thousand something miles. Scary thing is at 260K it might have been original

 

Thanks, All. The car is a 95 glt n/a wagon. The body and interior are great, except for the rattles and the shot a/c. Like i said, The Pit. Yep, those American shocks will do just fine, thank you very much. And down the road I'm sure I have bigger fish to fry. For now it's just the daily maintenance. I mean jobs that can be done in a day. Meanwhile I have to drive it, and there's a big NAPA on the way to work and back, so I can get almost anything (or at least a reputable substitute) in one day for one dollar. And the thing is, I like to work on this car. I can hardly wait to get to the back. Thanks for all the help. This forum is a real requisite source to maintaining my car, and though the car will never be perfect, together I hope to keep it safe and respectable. Thanks again, and A Safe and Happy Thanksgiving to all.

 

Depending on what you're buying it might be a good idea to shop around. NAPA's quality isn't the question it's just that Autozone and Oreilly can beat their prices every day. Then again it depends on how bad you need it, how fast you need it and how much you can afford