[69OldsVista]

My 2005 has 207,000 miles on it and it is ready for new struts. The old ones don't feel too bad, but I think it's because these cars are tightly sprung.

Has anyone had experience with strut assemblies such as SenSen, Unity, or FCS? If KYB made a strut assembly for that model year, I wouldn't be starting this thread, but they don't sell an assembled unit.

If you did install a KYB strut, what else did you replace? Are the strut mounts necessary or is that a myth? Are there any other parts that I should look at while getting this job done?

 

[skirmich]

Replace struts and strut bearing and call it a day...

 

[habbyguy]

I put KYBs on my '04. I thought about going preassembled, but didn't want to take a chance on messing up the ride height or balance with different springs. In the end, it really wasn't a big deal swapping out the springs using the typical compressors. It DID take the entire range to get the spring compressed enough, but they did the job.

I did replace the strut mounts and bearings - the small extra cost to have everything new wasn't worth the slight chance that I'd have to wait for parts if I took the old struts out and found a problem with the old mounts. Or to live with myself if the old mounts went south six months after replacing the struts.

FYI - I thought my car handled and rode pretty well, but the new struts really did firm things up. Well worth the effort.

Don't forget you'll need an alignment when you do the struts, so if you're due for control arms or tie rod ends, now would be a good time so you don't have to pay for another alignment anytime soon. If you haven't ever replaced those parts, and you plan on keeping the car for a long time, you might as well replace them now and enjoy the "new car handling" for the rest of the time you own it.

 

[skirmich]

Does the 1G come with adjusting bolts in the struts? my 2G MDX came with straight bolts so there is no alignment needed after replacing the struts.

 

[habbyguy]

They aren't eccentric bolts or anything like that, but the slightly oversize holes in the strut's bolt holes allow for rotating the hub to set the camber. It's kind of a caveman adjustment - get it snug, adjust the camber, tighten it down and re-check (rinse and repeat as necessary).

FWIW, there is no provision for adjusting rear camber at all, unless you replace the upper links with adjustable units (which is what I did, since my rear camber was pretty well out of spec).

 

[romicva]

I bought an Acura assembly from Tim. Some additional info is here:
http://www.mdxers.org/forums/18-maintenance/44863-suspension-replacement-diy-struts-shocks-bushings-links-camber-kit.html
Last page has a link to the images. Dealing with has been great as always.
Good luck

 

[69OldsVista]

Well, I decided on the KYBs and Monroe strut mounts along with spring insulators bought at Rock Auto. So far so good. Rides and drives as expected. All changed plugs myself.

The car rides like a new one

 

[socalgman]

Replace struts and strut bearing and call it a day...

I also replaced the strut mount and the bump stop. I wish the springs were stiffer, but they are not. After rebuilding the suspension everything is much tighter and controlled. I used Acura parts so I only need to do this once, they should last well over 100K, the strut's I took out had over 200K and were very worn out, but no leaks.

 

[69OldsVista]

Update: Car has 257,000 miles and still rides and drives fine. A very slight noise from the strut mounts under certain conditions from the Rock Auto mounts, but very tolerable. Ride and drive so far with KYB and Rock Auto strut mounts rates an A-. It will make it to 300,000 on this set of struts.

 

[69OldsVista]

Update again: While working on the car, I noticed that my lower control arms have some splitting in the rubber. That is probably where the noise is coming from. I believe the struts and the tophats are good. This is a testament to how well the First Generation cars are built. I plan on driving this gas guzzler to at least 400,000 miles at the rate things are wearing. Again, the KYB and the Rock Auto (Monroe, I believe) mounts are working very well for the car.