So my front left passenger side is creaking every time I go over a speed bump, or a pothole or if i intentionally suddenly brake hard to a stop and the car's body lunges forward and back. And I'm pretty sure the struts and the seats are shot. The car has 177k miles and I don't think they were ever changed, so my question is, what parts do I need to buy to replace this? Also, should I stick with the OEM Sachs/Boge struts or should I get the Bilstein Tourings? I'm not planning on racing or anything. It's mainly a commuting to and from home and school. ALso, would the springs need to be replaced? How can I check if they need replacement? If I'm replacing the front passenger strut, should I just replace the front 2 only or all 4?

I was looking and fcpgroton has a front set for like $339 with 2 front oem struts, 2 seats, and 2 mounts. Is that a good deal? Or should I buy from IPD to get their "heavy duty seat" with reinforced rubber and plastic?

Anyways, sorry for all the dumb questions! It's my first time attempting to do this job, but I really appreciate any help I can get! Thanks!

 

I used Bilstein Touring and they are good, but don't know how much better than OEM. Don't think there is much price difference either. I would go with strus and spring seats for sure and probably bump stops. Mine were shot.

Here is a good step by step instruction on doing it:

http://members.shaw.ca/heeeeee/strut/

Not a bad time to do the sway bar end links while you are doing this. They go bad and don't cost that much more. I don't think I did the mounts when I did mine.