My advice is take it to a shop and dont try to save the money doing it yourself. HOLY NIGHTMARE. 5 hours last night with buddy. Over 1 hour spent making custom tools just to disassemble. I am beat up today. Pry bars are YOUR FRIENDS!
Funny part is it’s not done. I need to take it to a shop today so they can tighten down the strut bolts. Couldn’t make that tool last night!
How are they different from any other strut? Curious what they did to make them so difficult to work with.
The spring is a monster. Compressing it was a challenge. Im sure there are more correct tools for the job but standard spring compression clamps did not work by themselves. Also cant get top shaft bolts tight. I have been on the phone all morning and taken it to one shop. Nobody understands my problem.
I dont know what to do. I may have to take it in and have someone start from scratch. I’m not tearing it apart again.
Sounds like a nightmare! How new of a truck are you talking? I wouldn’t think the struts would already be shot on a new truck.
2013. Over 100K. It needed them to be in perfect order.
Suzuki, Monroe offers a Quick-Strut complete assembly for a 2013 1500 (without electronic suspension). Comes with the mount, strut and spring as one piece, no need to compress. Used these on my vehicle and it was a breeze. If they work for the truck you have, might be worth a shot. Not too much more expensive than buying everything separately if I remember, $135 a piece on rock auto.
Thanks a lot for the heads up. That is the way to do it. Hopefully I can get these brand new Bilsteins installed properly. Paid good money for them and they are high quality.
Did GM change something about the struts on 1/2 ton pickups and mid to full size SUV’s starting in about 2013? Or did they have some struts on lots of trucks go bad?
My 2013 GMC Acadia’s struts went bad at 75k. Dealer quoted $1100 for replacement. What the …
I called my local shop and the owner kind of seemed to indicate that these were a major PITA. “OK, we’ll do them if we HAVE to. It’ll take forever to get them in though. Don’t call us, we’ll call you when the struts get here.”
It took over a week to get the struts! What the hell? But it only cost $750 out the door, which compared to the dealer’s quote felt like winning the lottery. When I picked up the SUV the guy said he hopes those new ones last a LONG, long time.
What’s the deal with these?
Grouse
Grouse, after doing some snooping online it sounds like many folks had issues with the struts on the same year/body style Acadia and there was a bad batch. Found a couple of posts about folks having them replaced within months of purchasing the vehicle.
As far as the difficulty, it doesn’t look like there’s anything way more difficult on these vehicles compared to others. Looks like some possible removal of front trim pieces by the wiper but everything else looks pretty standard. Would be interesting to know why the shop thought it was a PIA.
That year Acadia also has the quick strut assembly available, but hopefully on your vehicle there’s no next time.
I only know what I ran into last night compounded by the leveling kit.
I am making some progress today but need different tools to complete.
Sacrificed my body and mm by mm I got those SOB’s!!!!
My hands are gonna be sore for a few days. Climbed in the engine bay face first. Yea, it sucked. 
My best garage sale find in 10 years !
BRN-7600.jpg
Sacrificed my body and mm by mm I got those SOB’s!!!!
My hands are gonna be sore for a few days. Climbed in the engine bay face first. Yea, it sucked.
Nice work, always gratifying to get something done on your own vehicle.
I feel for you Suzuki, changing out a transmission on my chevy 1 ton 4×4. Of course nothing goes the way its suppose to. I want one of those Flinstone vehicles, they look easy to work on.
Posts: 100
April 26, 2017 at 1:55 pm#1690759
Grouse, after doing some snooping online it sounds like many folks had issues with the struts on the same year/body style Acadia and there was a bad batch. Found a couple of posts about folks having them replaced within months of purchasing the vehicle.
As far as the difficulty, it doesn’t look like there’s anything way more difficult on these vehicles compared to others. Looks like some possible removal of front trim pieces by the wiper but everything else looks pretty standard. Would be interesting to know why the shop thought it was a PIA.
That year Acadia also has the quick strut assembly available, but hopefully on your vehicle there’s no next time.
Thanks. I’ve never had to wait even a day for struts for any vehicle, so to have to wait over a week to get these told me there was something going on.
Yeah, hopefully this is a done deal now for a long time. I can’t remember ever having to do struts at 75k. The new ones came with lifetime guarantee so at least the part is covered if I do have to replace.
I can tell you I was pretty pissed with the dealer’s price on this work. $1100 is just ripoff pricing, no way can that be justified if what you’re saying is correct and there’s no special situation with these vehicles.
Thanks.
Grouse
Quick struts the only way to go.Thats what we try to sell at our shop.Its better in the long run.
We recommend Q struts if possible and available for the model of vehicle. Usually looking at 100k or more so most items are weak or worn.
Ride difference is incredible. It rides and handles like new or better with 4 new Bilsteins. Glad this is behind me. I ordered new leveling blocks from Rough Country yesterday to replace the original ones we mangled. I’m having someone else put them in for me. Any suggested shops appreciated. Thanks.
Might be a bit further than you like, but Jake at Viking Auto Repair in White Bear Lake is BY FAR the best mechanic I’ve worked with.
He runs his own shop out of his own garage he built on the back of his own property. Very little overhead so he doesn’t have crazy mark up or labor rates.
I had two quotes from other shops for knock sensor replacement on a 2001 highlander at $1400 and $950, he quoted me at $450 and ended up only playing $250 as he found it was just a wiring issue. Super knowledgeable, and super fair prices.
The first shop that quoted me at $1400 wanted $350 per knock sensor, I could buy them for $125 a piece…
I should write a big post about that ordeal, I will not recommend AM/PM auto in White Bear Lake to ANYONE.
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