More struts

[Larry Smeins <lsmeins@ball.com>]

I've been using KYBs for several years and like them enough to continue.
I've used them on everything from  VWs to Mercedes sedan to large
motorhome, as well as my Audis.  Their price is good, especially if you
can get dealers price, I've never had them question the lifetime
warranty, and the self adjusting feature seems to work well but takes a
while to tune itself to load conditions.

A year and a half ago my wife hit an object on the highway, and tore the
front suspension out from under one side of the 87 5KCST, out in the
middle of nowhere.  She attributes the encounter to the bad lights but
thats another story.  The shop that did the repair, the only one out
there in the boonies, replaced the strut assembly with a strut cartridge
that didn't match the nearly new KYBs that I had in it.  I found a
significant difference in temperature dependence between the KYB and
whatever they used.  When hot the two struts seemed reasonably well
matched but when cold the replacement became rock hard while the KYB
only stiffened slightly.  A few weeks ago the replacement failed
completely, with no warning, so the car is in the shop getting a new
pair of KYBs today.  The KYB that is in it has 115,000 miles on it and
is still doing well but the KYB dealer told me to bring it in for
warranty replacement anyway.  I'm really interested in what brand the
body shop put in and I'll know tonight.  If its one of the more popular
brands discussed here I'll report tommorrow.

Larry
If you don't care where you are., you ain't lost.