Hey everyone. I'm in need to change my rear struts on my STI. They got the clunk going on even after the short term fix (grease on Shaft of strut). Can anyone reccomend someone to do this? I'm looking at at just getting the stock struts but don't want to pay Subaru shop prices for labor. Anyone got any reccomendations? Thanks.
They may be replaced on warranty. The rear strut clunk is a known issue with teh STi. Contact Minnetonka Subaru Service and ask if they are under warranty.
Nope...3yrs on the struts. You, sir, are SOL. Change them yourself as you will have to do it again anyway. My most recent set (4th set) are going bad again! ...time for Ohlins this summer.
Wow your 4th set? Did you buy stock struts from Subbie? Are there any other options besides Subaru? I'm not looking to drop my car nor do I need any performance upgrades. I would like to keep my car as stock as possible. Does anyone know if Pepboys or Autzone has comparable parts or am I better off sticking with Subbie parts? So I called Minnetonka Subaru and the struts are no longer under warranty. total cost for top hats and struts are gonna cost 1500.
Not sure if KYB has one in your application, but the GR2 is usually an OEM replacement. Otherwise, a set of AGX's might be cheaper than brand new STI struts.
sounds like you have an 04 STi. You could get Koni Yellows in wrx strut housings. Should last longer and require less maintenance compared to STi takeoffs since they won't be inverted. They are a performance upgrade over stock but should suit the stock STi springs nicely for not that much $ compared to your other options.
Dont get oem or you will have to get a bottle of lube with it (not for the struts). The price will be outrages. You dont want adjustable just get gr2's. I am sure no need for new tophats.
Sheesh, did that include labor? Or was that a full set of 4 struts+tophats? Go here - http://www.subaruparts.com/ - search on these part numbers. List $360, selling for $320 each. 05+ rear struts: 20360FE902 - 20360FE912 04 rear struts: 20360FE842 - 20360FE852 They have revised the part numbers over the past few years, but the struts have not really changed. For example, for my '05 the part numbers were originally 20360FE900 and 20360FE910 but at - https://www.subarugenuineparts.com/oe_parts_cat.html - you will get a note - "Part number 20360FE900 was superceded by part number 20360FE902." Besides all that, you can get low mileage STI supension takeoffs all day long on nasioc for a couple-few hundred bucks. I am about 99% sure the rear struts from an '05 will work on the '04 as well. (The fronts are incompatible.) I wouldn't be surprised if the only difference in the part numbers above is that the ones for the '04 are pink, '05+ are black. Even if you have to buy a whole set from someone you will come out way ahead. http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1446975 http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1404522 http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1445791 If you want to swap them yourself, I posted a detailed write-up on iwsti.com http://www.iwsti.com/forums/how-install/85672-how-complete-idiots-guide-spring-installation.html (It is written for springs, but it is the same process.) All that said, for an '04 there are other reasonably priced aftermarket options (Koni/WRX inserts, etc) as mentioned. Low-mileage OEM takeoffs would be the cheapest solution, but they will eventually start to clunk again.
2nd and 3rd were on Subaru...(warranty) I bought a low mileage take-off set last summer since I ran out of warranty (and went to STi Pink springs on the 3rd set) and they are now bad, as well. There are already other posts on where to find them cheaper than directly from the dealer... I would be a bit leary of Konis in a daily driver, but I have to admit I don't have experience. Just something about cutting up struts that leads me to think there may be long term reliability issues as a DD. However, it may be worth the effort considering the alternatives. You will not find anything of comparible performance at a PepBoys or equivalent.
