Shady. You really do get what you pay for. For parts that I want to be OEM, because I want it to last, I only order from a dealership anymore. In central Florida, I found Lakeland Ford to have good prices compared to my local dealers.
Yes, Lakeland Ford is good for parts online. I've ordered many from them 'cause they're just up the road and I get fast shipping from them. I still don't know why they ( any legitimate supplier...) would go to the trouble of grinding down part numbers, or why not just sell them as Monroe Quick Struts ? Monroe has been in the business a long time, and they're still made in the USA. It's a head scratcher.
If they were trying to make a buck by charging extra I could see the effort but selling them cheap and doing all of that seems like an awful waste of time. Given Monroe hasn't had the best luck on here if someone were in a pinch and needed something at a very low cost it could still be a solution. Wonder if they are actually Monroe? Hmm. Guess we'll never know.
Well I will swear off KYB's for the Expy's from now on. The springs are just wrong for the weight on the front end of the Expy. They allowed the front end to sink about 2 inches and then the springs were almost compressed to the point that a small bump ( like a speed bump...) caused complete binding. These replacement struts are the same spring rate as the factory springs were. Lifted the front back up and plenty of spring support to prevent any binding or bottoming out. If you look at the picture below you can see the KYB's have at least 10 coils in the spring, but the Monroe's (like the stock springs...) only have 8 or so, and the spring is heavier duty. Monroe Quick Strut on the Left - KYB G-Shock on the Right
I bought those closeout Motorcraft struts as well. I knew with the price something was up but just kinda trusted that rockauto did their due diligence but I knew it was too good to be true. They are cheap knock offs of something (under the hand-printed out label which I took off) they appear to be a cheap Monroe strut, but with the construction, I still think they are some cheap overseas part. I returned Note: Before I returned I emailed rockauto as to the counterfeit/misrepresentation of the part. I went into full detail including images and research, plus my impressions that they should vet out their vendors better. Of course, no response other than I can return them. I will think long and hard before I purchase from them again
