Big Bang!! = blown strut.. :(

So I was driving down the road the other day, actually, pulling out onto a street as fast as I could.. and BAM!! I like ran over a manhole cover, not like a pothole or anything, but it was a little lower then the road, maybe a half inch, then the big bang. I think there was some tire slip and then i hit the other side of the man hole and it sounded like something snapped. I could tell it came from the right front, so I pulled into a parking lot. Looked at everything and it seemed fine, I honestly thought for sure that i broke something, but it looked ok.. so i kept on going. Well today it just felt kinda shaky, and shimmeying, and just making more noise. So I looked at it again, and there's oil all over the bottom half of my strut, all on the inner back side of my wheel well, and on the inside of my wheel. I was like, great.. this is the first time anything like this has ever happened to me. So I am guessing my strut blew?? Anyone ever just blown a strut out before?? I wonder how much a new one is..

How many miles? Warranty? Buy used ones of the site?

Ouch how fast were you going?

pics?

well i dont have any pics.. there really isnt a whole lot to see.. just like a sludgy oily substance all over.. I havent like taken it apart yet cause i am still driving it. Warranty i am pretty sure is out of the question, I have a few mods. Including Tein H techs.. which i just put on this past weekend.. interesting huh? I know the car is producing more power and torque.. so I dont know. I have like 36,000 miles on my car. I am not too concerned about it, Ill just buy another strut, but I just wonder how strong these struts really are. I am pretty abusive on cars, every car I have ever had I drove really hard. And this to me was something little, and the suspension I would think should hold up. But it didnt.. Ahh, I probably shoulda bought an STI.. lol I just hope the other struts last, along with the rest of the car.

oh.. i was probably going maybe 20 when it happened.. i am pretty sure in first gear, and i had it floored

Probably a freak accident - hit the hole at just the right angle and with just the right forces transmitted. Alternativley, it could just be a defective unit from the factory.

 

NE-Ohio has its share of "so-amazing-that-you've-gotta-see-it-honey!" potholes ( one of the reasons why I ride on Prodrive PFF7s is that for as pretty as they are, they're still built like brick outhouses - this is evident partially in their weight), and I've yet to hear of similar issues from my fellow brothers around here.

 

Sorry you're having such troubles!

Who makes stock Subaru struts and shocks?

Subaru:icon_mad:

Did this, by any chance, happen last Friday? I had a bad day Friday.....got a tax bill for $800.00 because the F&I manager screwed up the paperwork when I purchased the car.

 

I did the exact same thing, I hit a huge pot hole and it sounded like the strut came thru the hood. My suspension is ok, but my beloved (cough, cough) RE92

has a large bubble in the sidewall now.

 

That damn tire is going to cost me $180.00!!!!!! I am not going to pay that kind of $$$ for a mediocre tire. I put it on the back and am going to keep an eye on it. Hopefully I can get the rest of the summer out of it, by then I'll be ready for four.

 

Anyway, what?, you better check the sidewall on that tire.

On my last car, did it witht he stock struts when I caught the remains of a retread at about 65mph.

 

The kyb OEM replacements.. I went through three before ditching the car, they did not seem up to the abuse NJ roads could dish out and the stockers could take.

 

But none of them bit it at 20mph.

 

Heavy aftermarket wheels don't help either.

 

As for why the manhole cover produced such naty results, it probably had a fairlly squared lip, and you caught a little bit of air and then had a really fast spinnign wheel catch the lip and help drive all the unsprung weight up against the shock mounts while gravity dragged all the sprung weight down to meet it.

sounds like a blown strut and a bent wheel

Holy smokes, I thought this was a only a VW GTI problem!

sounds like a blown strut and a bent wheel

 

 

A blown what???? Hey, keep his personal life out of this and let him fix his car!

I put it on the back and am going to keep an eye on it.

 

I think you might want that on the front. If and when it blows out, you can steer the front, and you can't steer the back. I have read in more than one place it is better to have a blow out on a front tire rather than a rear, as far as being able to keep control of the car.

Like dude, that like totally sucks like a fat one.

You have aftermarket springs on right? I've heard that sometimes the stock struts can't keep up with dropage. You may want to look into after market struts.

Who makes stock Subaru struts and shocks?

 

 

KYB

I ordered a new strut from Subaru today.. $119.00. Not too bad i dont think considering its from the dealer. It should be here Friday then i can put it on hopefully Friday night so I can go race!! I think I should have my header and uppipe on by then too.. I am really hoping it was just some freak accident, which I think it probably was. Now I have got this weird squeeking noise coming from somewhere in the front drivetrain.. so it looks like ill be trying to figure out what that is soon. Hopefully nothing serious. Then next week hopefully ill get my new clutch in my car..

I think you might want that on the front. If and when it blows out, you can steer the front, and you can't steer the back. I have read in more than one place it is better to have a blow out on a front tire rather than a rear, as far as being able to keep control of the car.

 

Yes I am aware of that. If it were a RWD car, I would heed the warning, but the front tires take so much more load than the back, I feel safer with it in the back.

 

Thank you for the heads-up on that.

I think you might want that on the front. If and when it blows out, you can steer the front, and you can't steer the back. I have read in more than one place it is better to have a blow out on a front tire rather than a rear, as far as being able to keep control of the car.

 

+++++++1 on the above

I have had a rear tire blow out on the Bronx expressway during heavy traffic @ 55mph. The vehicle was very controllable, I had no problem.

 

I know what the "experts" say. The experts are not always correct.

I ordered a new strut from Subaru today.. $119.00. Not too bad i dont think considering its from the dealer. It should be here Friday then i can put it on hopefully Friday night so I can go race!!

 

How many miles on the car? Shouldn't we be replacing struts in pairs if there is a fair amount of wear on the ones that are left on the car?

Heck, the other ones better not be bad yet.. theres only 36,000 miles on my car.. I dont want to replace anymore then i have too, i need money for parts to make my car faster. I really hope KYB comes out with the adjustable ones for the LGT..

KYB

 

You are correct, sir!

I had a 04 Forrester and noticed oil on suspension and inside of wheel (right

side) It turned out to be a bad-leaking shock. It happened to be under

warranty so Subaru dealer replaced it. Soooo it may NOT be a strut that is

leaking ??????

 

 

 

Good luck. Let us know results. Deadeye