Front End Overhaul - Seeking advice

Hey All,

I did some work on my car the other day, and when I popped the hood, I noticed that I had a good sized space between the strut mounts, and the body under the hood, which tells me that my mounts are gone... again.

I'm attributing this to the fact that my struts need to be replaced, and have needed to be for quite some time (About 9 months)

I'd like a slightly softer ride, but I know that's not likely... and I'm not looking to drop my car, as I do most of my driving in the winter, and the East Coast snow is wet and heavy... So I guess my question is: While not looking for performance parts, a smoother ride is always a plus, are the KYB Excel G 33417/8 worth the extra $20 over the Gabriel, or even the AC Delco when purchased at the right place?

I would need special strut mounts for the KYB, correct?

Furthermore, where the hell do I find coil springs? I've looked everywhere, and to no avail.

I plan on replacing my Ball joints, and obviously stabilizer links with some Raybestos parts, and maybe even my calipers, Rotors, and pads too, unless you guys have a suggestion outside of raybestos.

All input is appreciated!

Thanks!
-K

I don't think you should just throw all the parts at it. But if you want to see if it will last a little longer get a vw mk3 vr6 upper strut mount. 99% sure it will fit perfectly and be a real nice/cheaper upgrade. It should also raise the car 3/8" about.



I buy my parts off eBay typically. Springs are there. As far as the shock/struts your asking about, you would need to know how they compare to stock. I personally would try a bilstein strut insert before buying any of the brands you mentioned.

I might tey the VW Mount.... but if I take apart my struts to replace the mounts I definitely need to replace them... or at least the inserts, though I'm not familiar with doing that...

It's kind of like threading a pipe.

I'm not much of a plumber... wokka wokka...

I hadn't planned on just throwing parts at it, really... I've thought it out, and based on past vehicles performance and my 81K age tag, I figured the extra $50 when I had my car apart already couldn't hurt (ball joints), and I can't seem to keep a set of brake pads on this thing...so i was considering my brakes.

I have almost 50k miles and am on the original brakes. They are becoming "due" for a change. But have held up to auto X events, my spirited driving, city driving etc for years. I can;t say what your particular issue is, but how many sets have you had, what do you change with them and what kind of pads are you using?

I think i've only changed my rotors once, but right now I'm using carquest gold, which are "guaranteed for life" so long as the wear is even...but I'm hearing the quick rub...rub...rub...rub...rub...rub... when I'm driving... so I should probably just dissasemble, and reassemble them, make sure they're seated correctly... but last time I tried that the plate (not the spacer, the actual metal plate on the pad) on my passenger side pads started flaking.