thaeleelyr

I put Sensens on all four because I'm in total agreement with you. They are stiff, much stiffer than I think people generally like for these cars but they work and are better than the rattling mess they replaced. I think I did these the summer before last and they are still holding up. I'll put them on again in a heartbeat - unless the price goes up significantly.

illtww

I think stiffer would be good.. Right now i hit a bump and it bounces all over the place... SLOPPY!

Did you replace your mounts also? GO oem or sensen?

Drcoffee

What I said was a vehicle that was essentially a $30-40,000 vehicle (when it was new) and that was in 1999 when the dollar had not been devalued to dirt by our wonderful federal reserve. Follow this link for the original retail price at www.cars. com http://www.cars.com/lexus/rx-300/1999/

Just because the car has aged, does not mean its build quality is that of a geo metro. Its still a solidly built luxury SUV for which you can now buy for $4,000. Lucky you.

I have had KYB shocks and I was not impressed whatsoever. They are economy shocks at best. And where do you come up with $1,000 for struts? You can find Great struts on Rockauto for $125 Sachs brand. Sachs is premium shock maker and supplies Chevy shocks for the Corvette. You don't see them advertise because they are an OEM supplier.

And your struts are dead. if you are bouncing, the struts have failed. these little trucks are a short wheel based, heavy machine. I would not risk my family with Chinese crap struts that may or may not respond well in an emergency. But that's your call. Like I said, up your life insurance.

thaeleelyr

I did replace the mounts. My mounts seemed like they were still good (actually, I still have them in the garage, just in case) but after hearing everyone talk about the mounts going bad shortly thereafter I decided to do them. Plus I had an awesome 35% off coupon. The fronts have an integrated mud bellow (or was it the rears? or both? can't remember) which was completely destroyed. The new mounts I bought had them. There is a plasticy-rubber bumper stop in case you bottom the shock out. I just reused the old ones. I could see some fine cracks when I squeezed them but I wasn't in the mood to put out $15 each for new ones. I may have replaced one that was loosing chunks. The mounts I used were from Monroe. They work, they went on fine and I haven't had a problem with them since they went on.

Given the age of the car, another project you may want to consider involves the other suspension parts. After I did the struts I thought it was going to be smooth sailing over bumps, but I still had some sloppy wobbles. I ended up doing the fronts and finally the rears (seriously, pay someone for the rears) and the car feels great. So, if after the struts you still get some wobble, look to the other components.

thaeleelyr

My grandmother used to tell me the following story:

She and her husband visited a woman's house. When they left, she complained loud and long about how this woman was keeping her house (or rather, not keeping). She made comments on everything from the rugs to the counter tops. None of it met her exacting standards of cleanliness and order. When she was done complaining he asked her, "Are you going to clean it?" Shocked, she said "No!" He replied, "Then why are you worried about it? It's none of your business how she keeps her house. You don't have to live there and you don't have to clean it. Mind your own business and leave her to her own." She said, "You know, he was right. I have enough to worry about."

There are, of course, two morals to this story intricately related to minding one's own business and respecting another adult's decisions: (1) If it doesn't affect you, don't worry about it and (2) unless you are planning on doing something substantial about it, don't worry about it.

Drcoffee

LOL oh wait! I thought this thread was f'ing about Opinions on Sensen **** struts. My mistake.



you get what you pay for.

illtww

Yes it is a thread about Sensen Shocks....

1. They (RockAuto and others) sell a ton of them and I am sure that some lawsuits will come about just like it did on the "Quality Japanesse" airbags/components that we have all be riding around with!?
2. I know/feel your HATE for the chinese produced items. Trust me I have some animosity for them as well. But you are from or currently live the midwest like some of my family did. They take this ISH to the next level.
3. If you think you can avoid "Chinese JUNK" everywhere you are sadly mistaken. It has infiltrated your life but you choose to fight the small battle on that topic here in this thread....
4. Enjoy the midwest come January!

Drcoffee

illtww,

You dont know me or my motivations, dont assume that you do. Yes I live in the midwest and I can say proudly that I am not from Indiana. We just moved here from IL 3 years ago. There are some serious problems with inbreeding, drugs and education here. Now to your statement. Its not a hate anything Chinese mentality. Until China picks up arms against us, I dont blame them for our economic problems. Blame should be put on your politicians who make it possible for the trade imbalance and allowing Chinese tankers to come into our Great lakes to fill with clean water to ship back to the orient. The Chinese are simply taking advantage of the rules we put in place. And If you want it to continue, vote for Hilary.

Its simple math. A strut sold for $30 retail must be $15 wholesale and when you consider shipping across an ocean must contain only $5 in parts. Can you honestly say you can assemble a shock meant for a 3,500 lbs vehicle and have no safety concerns. That's my only point. Rockauto sells products that are first run and excellent quality. They also sell clearance items that nobody in their right mind wanted from other stores. Sensen being an example. You may be better off using duct tape.

BTW we love myrtle beach and vacation there almost every year. I had several people tell me the SC state motto is "drive fast, think slow." Be careful out there.

fastnoypi

Sensen fills a niche...a cheap part just to refresh that car intended for a flip to that unsuspecting customer. All the reviews on Sensen struts on Amazon, Reddit, etc..show them dying from anywhere from 4 months to 20k miles tops of usage. 20k miles being the unicorn of reviews.

Drcoffee

LOVE IT! A whole 4 months. Awesome. Well I think that pretty much ends this thread.

tllee

here is my experience:

I bought 4 Monroe struts & shocks (made in USA)from Rock Auto. It's for my wife's van, I found out those struts & shocks gone( 2 totally bottom out, 2 very close to it, all of them rust pretty bad)just over 25000 miles 4 years later.The only good thing is I bought it from Rock Auto in USA, they take care the warranty so quick and easy for me.
So when it come to replace my daughter's Honda CR-V 's struts, I gamble on SenSen. So 26000 miles and 3 years later, it still holding up and look OK, it still hold my daughter's car fine.
It's only my experience, just for your reference, I don't want to conclude anything. You be the judge. Remember, a lot of real datas still out there without knowing by us.Hope this is helpful.

Yimer

I had Sensen put in my RX300 (2003) about 2 years ago. One of them started leaking in less than a year. Now all are shot. I have to change all 4 as soon as I can afford. Drcoffee is right. Sensens don't belonG to that car. I bought them baseD on recommendation on this site. People have to be careful when they recommend something even though each of us has the option not to accept any recommendations. I contacted Sensen who told me I had to buy a replacement from them before they consider refunding me for the old one. It just tells me they can't stand behind their product despite giving a life time warranty. It is just unbelievable! Sensen might work for smaller cars but not for RX300. Regardless of prices, please don't recommend shady products.

Yimer

Any quick-strut recommendations for RX300? There are a couple of them out there. Because of my bad experience with Sensen Struts, I am worried to trust any of them.

LA4Mead

Forums are a place to share negative reviews - persons with positive reviews don't really seek out forums to share their stories. So we are seeing some reports of failures of the Sensen struts. Fortunately I have not had a problem with mine yet. I bought mine in early 2011, I think. The ride is still, as I prefer, on the stiff side. It's not like it broke in or softened-up. I don't see an issue - yet, but I will keep on the lookout.

aznlapin

No quick-struts for the RX300. I have the recommended KYBs with OEM mounts. They are a bit on the stiffer side, maybe a bit too stiff for my liking, but that doesn't mean they're not good. 2 years old and has no issues.