At 18 years, is it possible my shocks and struts need replacing just as a matter of maintenance, or do I wait until my 2003 Odyssey bounces on the rebound?
Replace shocks?
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mggpatt
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12,324 Posts
The factory shocks and struts in this gen Ody are amazingly durable.
How many miles on yours? What kind of roads do you typically travel? (i.e. gravel, rough asphalt, etc.)
How many miles on yours? What kind of roads do you typically travel? (i.e. gravel, rough asphalt, etc.)
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855 Posts
I think the real test is a leak. My struts "failed" in 2014 (113K miles) when the mechanic noticed a very slight leak on one side. He said it would fail the next inspection. He quoted me $1110 for P&L. RockAuto had Monroe Struts, Links, and rear shocks for $360 del'd.
Just take a bright light and look up under the sleeve on the shocks for oil. if they are starting to leak change them. Do yourself or your mechanic a favor and soak the bolts with Blaster or some rust remover, because we just had a thread about someone snapping the large bottom bolt off and having a difficult time removing the stud. To determine if they are bad, the thing we did in the past was to rock the car by hand and watch to see how much damping there was and if you got 1 and half oscillations you were ok, but if there were none it was bad. Bad rear shocks will give a rough ride. Bad struts will cause front end and tire problems.
I bought new shocks after a 3 hour road trip and a puddle appeared under the driver rear. I was just glad it wasn't brake fluid. I did decide that if that one was old enough to leak out like that, then they all are. 2009 130k.
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12,324 Posts
Almost.
If they are leaking, they are bad period.
Even if not leaking, they could still cause bounce (due to internal leaking).
At your 220,000 miles, there's a good chance they are weak. However if you are happy with the van's handling during strong braking and on tight freeway ramps, I would leave them. If they were very bad, you would notice such things as excessive swaying in turns, nosediving while braking, or instability on rough roads.
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90 Posts
I installed Monroe load adjusting shocks in the back on the 02, the van is heavy, takes bad roads and has suffered. In hindsight, I should have changed the rear springs instead of the shocks. In 70,000 km, 2 sets of rear shocks (first set leaked, load adjusting are still hanging in).
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9,369 Posts
+1 on avoiding monroe unless youre in a jam.
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+1 on no Monroes. Our '03 with 206k just had a set of KYBs or OEM (not sure what they used) put on the rear today, 30k after Monroes were put on by another shop. Huge difference. Still has original struts in front, knock on wood.
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855 Posts
Ruh Roh, I used Monroe front struts and rear shocks when I did mine in 2014. They seemed popular at RockAuto with other buyers. Did their quality just recently deteriorate, or has it been bad for a long time?
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I think there are different levels, and the ones the shop used on mine weren't "heavy duty". I hadn't driven the van when I commented yesterday, but after driving last night on the interstate, I can say it's a huge transformation with the new shocks. I hadn't even noticed the old because mentally I thought, "Oh, these are 30k old" and figured I needed struts. Nope!
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855 Posts
I just looked at RockAuto's current selection of Monroe rear shocks for the 03 ODY.
1. Monroe #37218 (2x$34), which I have, are called "original ride quality," and they seem fine on my Ody.
2. Monroe #33274 (2x$17), called "economy" are prolly not worth buying.
3. Monroe #58645 (2x$100), are called "heavy duty, load adjusting," and have an auxiliary spring, almost like a front strut.
Same here, 11 thousand miles ago now on my 09. So far I love them. A big difference from the bottoming-out dead shocks I did have.
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13 Posts
Your #1 was what only lasted 30k for me. We have been fairly gentle with the van over that time, too. Since KYB or OEM aren't that expensive, I'd do that.
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