omni1da

Why would my 2008 cobalt need to replace struts with 17426 miles? Have maintained at recommended intervals. Is there any relief from manufacturer or am I just looking at out of pocket expenses? Any suggestions?

07MetallicSC

iTrader: (16)

You say you maintained at recommended intervals...what exactly with the struts was maintained?

your going to be looking at out of pocket expenses

omni1da

I was referring to all scheduled maintenance as there is no strut maintenance. It was more a reference point as to conscientious owner. Again ONLY 17,426 miles which seems unusually low mileage for strut replacement. Living in Houston TX which has NO hills or extra severe terrain as the car goes roughly 10 miles a day, most days.

07MetallicSC

iTrader: (16)

2008 with that limited amount of miles, im wondering if the car wasnt used enough and the seals went bad on the struts causing leakage, then that leading to malfunction?


I had that issue with my motorcycle one year, dont know how similar car struts are but just a guess throwing it out there.

nhanson

iTrader: (1)

3 years is up so its all up to you unfortunately.

How do you know they are bad?

kdub1492

iTrader: (8)

I highly doubt they are bad...ur fine

Sox-Fan

iTrader: (7)

Struts are considered wear items. That said, questioning whether or not there is manufacturer's relief says to that you have not spoken to a dealer's service manager yet. Have you?

omni1da

I had a bolt embedded in my tire and when I went to get itpatched, I saw the mechanic walk by then stop and look at what he stepped in, he did not know I was watching, and then as he looked under car he/I could tell something was leaking. He then came and brought me over to show me that the strut, 1, was leaking. He seemed believable but then I know practically nothing about car mechanics let alone the struts. Hedid NOT seem to be hustling me. My feeling. So then I went to see if covered by drivetrain warranty, nope then hoping to seeif any other relief from someone elses experience.

nhanson

iTrader: (1)

3 year/36k mile warranty is up. Doubt they will help.

Although if he recently bought from a dealership (within a year/12k miles) then I would try and get them to replace.

omni1da

Thanks for the good dialogue and I appreciate all and any feedback. My dealer went out of business 1 week after I bought the car. Bill Heard Chevy, and I feel lucky to not feel he ripped me as so many people got screwed by these crooks. Probably for a different thread.

Sox-Fan

iTrader: (7)

Go somewhere else. get a second opinion. You're not tied to any one dealership.

Beyond that there is not enough oil in a strut to "walk by and then step back and look at what he stepped in." Could not possibly have come from a leaky strut. There is at very most a teaspoon, and if it were leaking it would not have all poured out on his floor, it would have been on some street someplace.

You are either being hustled or your mechanic is horrible.

omni1da

Excellent as I had know idea, only a teaspoon, that would definitely NOT be what was on the floor as there was quite a bit of fluid. Good to know, Thanks. I will contact on Tuesday a dealer that has done some other warranty work and see where to go from there. I checked here for facts where there was no cash incentive, a form of due diligence, if you will. Thanks

Sox-Fan

iTrader: (7)

Ok, here's the deal on struts.

Gas/hydraulic struts such as ours have very little actual liquid. It doesn't compress well.

Eventually over time the seals will wear and liquid will slowly start to weep microscopic trace amounts. You'll see this as a thin film of oily substance building on the body of the strut. It takes a lot of time to accumulate up to see it. All that time dust and road dirt will begin sticking to it. You can't miss it if you are looking for it on the strut body. It's oily and sticky.

But almost never do they just blow out and gush fluid. The seal, and piston inside, would have CATASTROPHIC events. Both. At the same time. Believe me, you would know it happened.

And even if that did happen, or if you cut one open with a hacksaw and dumped out all the fluid, there wouldn't be enough for it to puddle.

Never mind the fact that it wouldn't conveniently happen right there in the shop.

Please, go elsewhere and find out if you really do have some sort of a leak, and if so what that leak is. It surely is NOT your strut.

omni1da

That was excellent and I will follow those directions. That makes sense about the struts and I will take it to the dealer and see what his diagnosis is and the solution. I do feel better about it NOT being the strut as the ride is still fine and it seemed wrong that the struts would need replacing so soon. Thanks again.

Sox-Fan

iTrader: (7)

You're welcome. Not saying you don't have a leak. Am saying it's not the strut making puddles on the ground. And the mechanic you saw either is terribad or is trying to take you for a ride. You still do need to see if something else actually is leaking.

I'm leaning towards no, but I'm about 2 thousand miles from you. The heck do I know, right?

Wangspeed

iTrader: (2)

There's plenty of oil in the struts. I see no one on this thread has ever cut one open for a Koni install.

If you see any oil at all on the strut or shock body, it is dead.

Sox-Fan

iTrader: (7)

If you implying to this person that oil is going to come out of his strut in enough volume to form a slick spot under his car during the brief time period that it takes for his tire to be fixed I will disagree with you on that. I generally think you are right on target, but on this one I think not.

Ultimately, the question is not how much oil is in the strut, it is whether or not the mechanic in question is giving sound advice based upon whatever was on the ground. I maintain that he is not.

Wangspeed

iTrader: (2)

I'm telling him to go look at the car himself.

Wangspeed

iTrader: (2)

Here's your teaspoon of oil. This is an average amount in a strut.

How Install E36 M3 Koni Strut Inserts - YouTube

Neodous

iTrader: (4)

He is right, not driving your car and have low miles is worse then driving it all time and having high miles.

Wangspeed

iTrader: (2)

Quite honestly, I was going to just skip saying anything at all in this thread, but now that I've started, I'm going to correct some horrible misinformation.

Shocks and struts are completely filled with oil. That's all they are. Oil. Their air is in a separate reservoir, which puts pressure on the oil reservoir. This helps keep cavitation at bay.

Shocks and struts work by moving valves through oil. The oil heats up, so the movement is converted from kinetic to thermal energy. Doesn't compress well? It's not supposed to. It is a medium by which the valves act upon.

This is probably one of the best basic videos you'll find on how a shock works. The only thing I really dislike in this video is that he says dampening, instead of damping. One is what you want when you wash the car, and the other is what you want your shocks to do. Skip to 3:01 for the good stuff.

How does a Bilstein Shock Absorber work? - YouTube

BoostedBeaner

Glad I have 107XXX on my 08 SS

RoadconeTuning

does it drive funny? if you've got a busted front strut it would deff act up on bumps...if not dont worry about it

omni1da

No thats the thing, it seems to drive fine but the goodyear tires that came with the car need replacement even had the bolt not gone thru the 1 tire. Crappy tires if you ask me. But back to the point, no shimmy or shake, no noise or vibrations. I will replace the tires and then take to the shop and see what he comes up with. I still say thanks for all the advice and direction.

emiller

Based on that I wouldn't worry about it. If you are paranoid you could clean them up and see what it looks like in a week.