I'm going to be replacing my front strut inserts and CABs. The OEM strut mounts have only 80K (good) but 23 years (bad) on them. I'm severely budget constrained right now, and would like to leave the old strut mounts in if they still have plenty of goody left to give. Are the strut mounts a "must replace" item at this point?
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"If the sky were to fall tomorrow, the tall would die first."
-Dr. Paul Forrester
Do I LOOK like I need a psychological evaluation??? -
Check the ball bearings underneath the dust cap. You can do this without removing anything, just pop the hood then pop the little center caps off the strut mounts(but don't lose them, hah). If they aren't rusted/otherwise obviously damaged/loose etc., and the whole mount doesn't appear to be ready to fall apart (which I wouldn't assume it would be, but use your best judgement obviously), I personally wouldn't be afraid to reuse them. The oe mount isn't too complicated of a piece, so the only things I'd be concerned about are the studs, the ball bearings, and how it looks as a whole. Basic car stuff, i.e., is it cracked and rusty?
That being said I recently replaced my 20 year old ones just for the sake of doing so, but the old ones I took out looked fine and I reused them after replacing my front strut cartridges the first time with no issues. Also, they aren't the most difficult things in the world to replace, so if you find yourself wanting or needed to do that in a year I don't think you'd be beating yourself up.
Reader's digest: Strut mounts are not a "must replace" in the same sense that CAB's are a "must replace" or front sway links are a "must replace while you're there anyway if they're old".
-BrettLast edited by Lunner; 02-26-2010, 01:24 PM.87 325iC 90 325iC 88 325iC 87 325i 87 325iS 87 325eS -
definitely check the bearings good. I did my cartriges about 2 months ago, and now have to replace a freaking mount. Damn ball bearing was good then, and has now taken a shit. they arent that expensive (about 35 a side) that you could replace them now and save heartache and hassle later onI saved 15% on my Bimmer parts by switching to
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Definately need new ones1990 Alpinweiss 325i - secret 500whp buildOriginally posted by audiquattrot
2000 Audi S4 B5 Laser Red
1990 Nissan 240sx - Drift Missile
2006 CBR600RR
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Good. I ordered new strut mounts with my otherwise minimalist front suspension rebuild parts: strut inserts, CABs, control arms, sway bar links & bushings, that's it. Rear already got shocks & mounts, will get subframe bushings, and sway bar links & bushings. Would like to do TA bushings, but it's not going to happen."If the sky were to fall tomorrow, the tall would die first."
-Dr. Paul Forrester
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