Non-matching struts?

[ManUpOrShutUp]

In January 2016 I had the right rear strut replaced on my '11 EL under the extended warranty. The dealer wouldn't approve replacement of the other and I wasn't about to pay them the $850 they wanted to do it. Here I am about 10K miles later and the left rear strut is shot. Normally, I would replace the struts in pairs but the right rear only has 10K/1 year on it. I really don't want to replace it with a piece of s**t Motorcraft strut that I know will prematurely fail as they all do on these rigs. However, I'm wondering what the handling consequences would be of slapping a different strut assembly (MOOG, for example) on the other side would be. Thoughts?

 

[2004XLT]

I have experienced struts from different brands having different ride heights..1/2" difference between Monroe Quick vs Unity. How many miles are the Motorcrafts failing at?

 

[1955moose]

The small length isn't the issue, you can either lengthen or compress. Like tires, you want a matched set. If it was my SUV I would go with the Ford part. Make sure it's an actual Ford box though, not the Motorcraft. Their is a difference. If you can mount the one strut yourself, you'll save on the labor. The Ford part should be available since your vehicle is 7 years old, Ford usually drops a part around 10 years.


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[ManUpOrShutUp]

I have experienced struts from different brands having different ride heights..1/2" difference between Monroe Quick vs Unity.

Hmm, good point.

How many miles are the Motorcrafts failing at?

My first one failed at ~95K; this one failed at ~105K. Based on anecdotal reports from various Expedition forums though, most people experience failures in the 3rds gens between 60-80K. My mom's '15 Explorer had both rear struts fail at < 10K. When the first rear strut failure was discovered on my Expedition, the owner of the indy shop I use commented that he "had never seen such a catastrophic failure" at ~95K. In all of my years of driving I haven't either. I expect performance to deteriorate of course, but I don't expect a "catastrophic" leak at 95K or 105K in a vehicle that rarely hauls cargo and has never towed.

The small length isn't the issue, you can either lengthen or compress. Like tires, you want a matched set. If it was my SUV I would go with the Ford part. Make sure it's an actual Ford box though, not the Motorcraft. Their is a difference. If you can mount the one strut yourself, you'll save on the labor. The Ford part should be available since your vehicle is 7 years old, Ford usually drops a part around 10 years.


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Valid point. I'm just really weary to use their part in this case.

I definitely can do the install myself (limited automotive skills, but enough to do this), but the local shop only wants 1h labor ($100) to do it. If they were charging what the stealership wanted I would absolutely do it myself, but for $100 I'll probably spare myself the wasted afternoon.

 

[1955moose]

I agree, $100.00 isn't worth the struggle. Sounds like Ford is using crappy seals in their struts. Keep in mind that if you go aftermarket, their will be a different ride quality. You may like the difference or not. I swapped out both Motorcraft, and Bilsteins, on my 2000. Didn't like the ride of either one. Finally tracked down 4 Ford ones, through dealers with old stock. It's not perfect, but better ride than the other 2 sets. Our other readers have good luck with the aftermarket, unfortunately I didn't.


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[2004XLT]

I would replace with another ford strut..100k is more than I would expect to get out of any shock imo.

 

[1955moose]

Your supposed to replace shocks every 25k, struts they stretch out to 40k I believe. That's what we used to tell customers years back, for optimum performance.


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[ManUpOrShutUp]

I would replace with another ford strut..100k is more than I would expect to get out of any shock imo.

I ended up doing so since I was concerned about differences between them otherwise. I ended up only paying $62 for it anyway since eBay had a flash sale today. When one fails again, I'll just replace both with something better.

As I said above, I expect performance to deteriorate with that many miles, but I don't expect it to develop a catastrophic leak. I've never had another shock leak like this on any vehicle ever no matter how miles I put on it.