Must you replace strut mounts with new struts

[stevenva]

Good struts are kind of expensive. I priced them out (KYBs) and I can do it, It'll be close. Then I saw that mounts are like $50 each. @#$%! Do you need to do the mounts too? My car squeaks when it bounces

[Osei]

It would be better if you did.

Not absolutely necessary, but that rubber has deteriorated a lot in the 14 years since the car was new.

If you reuse, be sure the springs go back into the old grooves.

You'll have to watch it as you torque the strut top bolt

As it tightens it has a tendency to turn the top mount out of alignment.

I just made sure they were tight, put them in and did final tightening when they were in place.

You will need some grip pliers to keep the tube from turning. DON'T dent the tube.

Make sure you mark the orientation of the cover over the mounts, and also mark on to shelf area where the front mark aligns on the shelf too.

They are three lobed but not even 120 deg each. Will save you some time and foul language.

Many auto stores have tool loaners, but you have to pay for them up front and get your refund when returned. Just did the rears on the BD, fronts next month (more work involved). Loan at Advance auto was $54. Worked like a charm.

Make sure you have a breaker bar. You'll need it to get the lower strut bolts off. 19mm.

You'll also have to notch the new brake hose attachment. Unless you want to separate the brake lines (NOT!!!). You can just bend the old back and forth till they break.

Save the brake clips. The newer types are wider and won't secure.

Give yourself a full day, though it can be done in 4 hours if all goes right.

(Hear of Murphy's Law?)

Take some pics of the struts before you disassemble to make sure all goes back in the same way.

Hope this helps.

 

O.

[subikid90]

^this is better than I could have said it.

 

I know a lot of ppl around here look into stock wrx takeoffs with low miles <50k. Thats what i did and I got tophats, springs and struts for $180.

[kaz98gt]

I wish I had gone with the wrx set-up just to see what it's like and save my car from it being lowered (might have to bring her to stock height for the snow). The struts and springs are considerably stiffer than ours, and are a good alternative to picking up the KYBs. I have a set of the GR-2s on mine with H&R sport springs, and although I love it, sometimes I wish I was at stock height. I'm sure the wrx setup is just as comparable, and will save you the hassle of fooling with the strut mounts.

[subikid90]

I will say I like the wrx setup. Here in the winter it is stiff because the roads in WI suck, but it handles well and leaves me close to stock height. If you want something a little stiffer go with 2004 STi takeoffs.

[stevenva]

You folks have me leaning towards the WRX setup now!

[Baddog]

I got 04 WRX Struts/Springs on my 96 L (which seems to be the exact same color as yours) and I like the way they handle and feel over the stockers.

 

I paid $100 bucks for the set with 21k on them.

[kaz98gt]

^^ Another advantage: cheap. And you have varietys; you can go with any 02-07 setup (usually wrx guys will swap out their suspension for coilovers or something) or go big with the 04 sti. I paid around $500 for new kybs and the h&r springs, and people will pick up complete sets of the wrx struts/springs for $100-$300 easily. I wish I had done more research into it but I'm still happy with my results.