I am going to replace the shocks and struts on my 03 Aero sedan. It has 112k and to my knowledge is all original- my rears are completely shot and leaking fluid. What other components should I be replacing as well...ie: strut tops, any bushings etc?
I just replaced shocks and struts on my 2002 9-5 Aero (122K). The Bilsteins are great and I only needed to replace the strut tower braces, but of course every car is different. Why not just inspect and replace anything that looks iffy?
I assume you got an alignment after replacing the them. Can you comment
on your before and after camber for the both the front and rear ? Thanks
so much.
I seem to have a front camber problem (inner edge of the tire wears). My
Saab shop said the front bushing (control arm front+rear) and subframe
bushings need replacement. Didn't say anything about springs/struts..
Thanks for the reply....
B/C for now I am going to have a shop do my install- too cold and too inconvenient for me to do myself. Also I just want to get all the parts myself that are typically needed to replace- give em' the stuff and say 'git'r'done.
If it was me I would do the steering components too if the cash is avaliable. So in all I would replace the tie rods, sway bar links, ball joints, strut bearings and a 4 wheel alignment.
If doing the front suspension, I would also replace:
-Control arm bushings: mine were tearing at ~55k miles
-Strut bushings
-check the tie rod ends for sure
-replace the sway bar end links with the uprated Moog units
I've done all of this on my '04 (by 65k miles) and it made a big difference.
ok gents you have been helpful...now after calling the stealership and heard the prices of these items OE....(cough) Where is the best place online to get all or most of these items...and btw I am in the US- Rhode Island.
I had the same issue with inside tire wear. My new alignment guy who works on high end cars (BMW, Merc, Porsche, etc.) says it is a problem he sees all the time due to the tires being inflated too low, and therefore the inner edge of the rim pressing down in an extreme way causing the wear. He said to keep the tires at the max recommended pressure of 39psi, and be especially mindful of temperatures and how they affect the pressure. It happens a lot in the winter as the temp goes down so the pressure and the problem arises. I put my pressure at 39 and haven't noticed the wear continuing, but it hasn't been very long. Made sense to me and is a zero cost fix to an expensive problem!
Sorry for delayed response, I've been out of town. Regarding difference before and after, and yes you have to get a four wheel alignment when replacing shocks and struts. Thje ride is firm, but feels well planted, I got new tires (Conti DWS) right after shocks and struts so a bit tough to tell what change caused improved ride and handling. Overall car handles well, not the quick steering of a lighter car, but sure feels like it "hugs" the road. Sorry for subjective tone, but in short well worth doing (imho) and confidence inspiring handling for a heavyish sedan.
Oops, sorry, you were asking about camber. My shop was able to get pretty close on settings. I will be religious about inflation and rotating and post results, but of course you probably want an answer before a year from now...
Actually it took three minutes to do that, I'm normally way quicker than that...............just ask the wife................
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