My passenger's side spring seat is bad so the car (97 850 with 77K) clunks on turns. Driver's side has never produced noise.

The mechanic recommended changing both sides and aligning the car. Money is tight and I don't see why I couldn't just replace the right spring seat and not get the car aligned as I don't believe the alignment should be affected. Please let me know your thoughts if I should do both sides and +/- alignment.

Thanks!

 

Get the 1 side done and get it aligned. Alignments are cheaper than new tires.

 

Get the one side done and don't get it aligned. Alignments are overrated. The typical alignment is only a small toe adjustment.

 

Thanks for the responses. Is there anything dangerous by not changing out the spring seat? If it's just the noise clanking I may wait a few months.

 

At some point that clunking will get bad enough that something is going to come apart. Part of the upper mount is a chunk of rubber with a metal sleeve molded into it that the strut goes through. If it gets bad enough the strut can pop through the mount and into the hood

When your money is tight it makes decisions harder but the best thing to do would be to do both mounts and have the tie rod ends and ball joints checked and then have it aligned. If one mount went out the other is likely soon to follow and then you'd be looking at another alignment. You can always do just the one side and keep an eye on the tires to see if they start to develop an odd wear pattern as a new mount might put the alignment where it should be or close enough. I know guys on here have said they've replace entire struts and managed to drop them in the the same spot and their alignment was correct. Never happened in the real world with the vehicles I work on. Even my own car I'd see that the alignment specs were off when the alignment guy would set it up. I never did alignments but replaced parts that required a trip to the rack.

The bolts are for adjusting camber. If yours is off and they haven't been put in yet don't be surprised if they are needed.

 

Yea, alignments are over rated until you chew through a new $200 tire in 5,000 miles (that's less than 3 months for me). Worse yet, let it be the inside of the tread where you can't see it and the tire comes apart with steel out of it while you're on your way somewhere you need to be, worse yet, where you don't want to be stuck at...

@Kiss: I actually did that once. Pulled strut assembly out and put them in our S70 and the alignment was good.

 

Since I tend to keep cars forever I buy the lifetime alignment from one of the local tire shops. Any time I replace something on the suspension or steering I just take it back in to get it re-aligned for free.

...Lee

 

That lifetime alignment is the way to go if you know you're going to hang on to it and you know you'll be in there for a ball joint, tie rod end, strut, spring .... whatever. That way you can do the part and get it checked, adjusted and you know it's where it's supposed to be.

 

So I decided since I have 80K miles on the car I might as well replace the front struts. Also, the driver's side inner tie rod needs replacing as well. I've got a couple questions:
1. I was thinking of buying the OEM parts from fcpgroton and having them installed at a local shop. It would be $420 for installation and alignment, but voids any warranty by the shop since they're not providing the parts. (He was going to use Monroe struts).
2. I was also thinking about just doing this myself and my main concern was compressing the spring as I've heard this can be very dangerous. I've seen a video and it doesn't seem too complicated.
3. Is it difficult to install the inner tie rods?
4. Should I do both drivers side and passenger side?
Any ideas of what I should do? Trying to save money but I know I'll have this car for a while. I do like working on it but don't always have the right tools.
Thanks a lot!

 

My two cents is if you can afford it, do both sides. If one side is shot it's likely the other side is in poor shape too.

If you go with Monroe or Gabriel they should be as good as the stock ones the 850 came with and having them installed you get the lifetime warranty.
You could also buy them and install them yourself but the choice between the FCP ones and Monroe or Gabriel is more a matter of personal preference.
I bought Monroe fronts for mine but ended up returning them because I came across a great deal on a pair Bilsteins. Already did the rears (KYB) as I purchased the car with a bad mount and figured if I was in there I'd do the shocks too.

Doing the spring on a strut is dangerous. It holds up 25% of the car's weight so there is a lot of energy in it when you compress it. Compress it just enough so that there is a bit of space or light between the top of the spring and the spring seat so there is no force on the retaining nut. Compress it no more than you absolutely have to. Backyard guys do them daily without incident. It's just a matter of being careful and having everything laid out and ready so you spend the least amount of time with that spring compressed and you have the room so you don't bump or drop the assembly while taking it apart or reassembling.

Check out the local auto parts stores as most have loaner tool programs for things like the spring compressor. Oreilly, autozone ....

The inner tie rod isn't that hard to do and there are plenty of write ups on it with pictures and again the tool you need is available from the tool loan programs.

The alignment ... I think it's necessary, it saves tires. Cost of two tires compared to cost of alignment
And there is a one time alignment and a lifetime alignment. If you feel alignments are necessary and you're in a position of only doing your front end a couple pieces at a time then paying extra for the lifetime alignment allows you to take it back each time you replace parts or hit that pothole the size of a VW beetle for free. It's more expensive to get the lifetime but there is value to it if you end up using it.

 

Thanks for all the replies. Ended up getting the replacement kit from fcpgroton with the struts, spring seats, and strut mounts and doing it myself. Using the spring compressors was very straightforward and I would say not dangerous at all if you're going to be careful and not drop it. I had a tough time with getting the retaining X nut off the mount. Also a tough time getting the anti-roll bar link nut off. If these came off easy, the job wound have taken 3 hours for both sides for a first timer. As it was, more like 6. Still, saved around $350 in labor doing it myself and then I got as several people recommended the lifetime alignment through Firestone. Gonna do the inner and outer tie rods soon. Thanks again for all the help on this forum. The more I work on this car the more I think I'll keep it forever. I just wish I had gotten a manual transmission and one that was turbocharged and I think I probably would keep it forever.