Best option for replacing front struts?

[911jason]

When I had new tires put on my 07 Eddie Bauer EL this week, the mechanic pointed out my front struts and said they needed to be replaced ASAP. He quoted me $450 for KYB replacements.

First, does that sound like a reasonable price for fronts only? Second, is there a better choice? I'm not looking to lift or lower my Expy, but any performance upgrade is welcome.

 

[FordandPolaris]

How many miles are on the truck? Also, did he say why they need to be replaced right away? It sounds like a lot to me, my shop cut out my old shocks and installed my new ones for about 200 bucks after parts cost (bought my own shocks). Just make sure you are not falling into a shop trap...(if you know the guy and trust him, that's different). I wouldn't think they would already be bad on a 5 year old truck, but I also deal with 1st gens much more than the new ones. My old man has 140,000 miles on his 04 on the original struts. They could use replacing, but the truck still rides just fine. If you are going to go ahead and replace the struts, I am a fan of Rancho (gonna be expensive, but worth it. I use them in mine) or Monroe. Both are fine brands in my opinion.

 

[Stoned06]

From my experience, stock ford shocks don't last too long. I got 70K out of my '06, but they were shot probably around 60K. On my Harley truck, they lasted 27K.
I bought a set of 4 Bilstein's for $360 and installed them myself. Each set was $180, and I would assume at least an hour + on a lift to swap out by a qualified tech. So I would guess around $300 per axle. If you haven't done coil over struts before, I would not recommend doing them yourself. I had rusted on nuts that needed to be cut off, and control arm bolts/tie rod ends need to be removed to do the job.

 

[911jason]

I've got 65,500 miles, he showed me with a flashlight how the rear struts were bone dry and then showed me the front struts which looked oily, not necessarily like dripping wet or anything, but if you touched them I'm sure your finger would come away with oily residue. The tires that I replaced had worn very unevenly, which I had attributed mostly to a bad alignment that I fixed a few months back. He says the bad struts also contributed to the premature and uneven wear.

I just moved, so this was my first time using this shop, but the guy seemed like he was pretty straight forward. I am checking with you guys though, just to make sure I'm not being had.

 

[sgtowing]

I say if you like the stock ride, go with factory.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

 

[tallsville]

is the price for the shocks or for a complete struts? my mechanic that i've had for 10 years and trust suggests the kyb struts to me when mine need to be replaced. you can also check out bilstiens website i know a few months ago they were looking for test trucks. maybe a way to get shocks.

 

[Bowesmobile]

I've used KYB on three of my cars. They work great! Nice firm control without being harsh. But the price is a bit much per axle. I would shop around a little bit. The KYB's are more expensive. But not THAT much more expensive!