Reliable strut mounts & bearings

[Peter B]

I am looking for suggestions on strut mounts and bearings /bushings. This is for a 2008.5 MS3.

I just got a set of Bilstein B8 sport shocks and struts. I hope to install them in the next week or two. On the front of the car I need to replace the strut mounts and bearings as well. I have been doing my research and it seems like Moog and Raybestos are two of the better brands to go with. However, Moog and Raybestos are also out of stock everywhere I look. To make matters worse, no one, and I mean NO ONE, has any idea when they will be back in stock.

So my question is are there any other decent brands out there?

The other brands I have seen are

Dorman
Monroe
Mevotech
MTC
KYB (Mounts only)
Febi Bilstein (bearings only) Not the same Bilstein that makes shocks as far as I can tell.

I have spent hours searching online to see what people think of these brands and I havent come up with any consensus on any of them. I have heard some people say to avoid Monroe, but a few people who sell it have told me they dont see many problems.

I have also read that the OEM mounts and bearings are crap. Also my local stealer wants $$$ for them.

The socks and struts I am putting in are going to last for a long time. I dont want to put bearings and mounts in that will crap out in 40,000 miles. I also dont want to wait 6 months while moog or raybestos restock to put my shocks on. My back end is clunking pretty bad, and my right front stut has leaked most of its fluid.

Does anyone have any advice or experience with any of the above brands? Will any of these last?


Thanks in advance

-Pete

 

[pmartz16]

I used a Moog on the top of my H&R coilovers. never really glided like it should. Moog is typically good quality but the tophat blows. Get OEM and save the time. I sold my H&R's to a buddy and he was going through construction lucky on his way to my house and the mount broke and let the top of the strut tilt toward the motor. When I went to take the coilover out it dropped out of the car. We replaced it with an OEM and now it is fine. Just spend the money for OEM, its not that much more expensive.

 

[MSMS3]

My experience with the Moog mount and bearing has been good. I upgraded recently to Bilstein HDs (B6) all around on stock springs, and installed new strut mounts and bushing combos at the same time. I got the Moog parts from Rock Auto for about $35 per side, complete - both the mount and the bearing halves. They also sell Monroe for about the same price. Excellent service. Quick delivery.

And the price (at least as reported on other boards) for OEM is quite a bit more. One guy recently paid $176 for OEM mounts and bearings for both sides.

There are lots of guys running Moog over on MSF, and like me, are having no problems. I wonder if pmartz16's buddy might not have snugged the strut top nut down all the way and allowed the shock to move up and down in the mount and bearing, literally "banging" against it on every compression stroke of the shock. Also there are tabs on the mount and bearing. The bottom tab must point directly at the spring end. The top tab must point directly toward the engine. Get those wrong and the spring will not fit the mount and the bearing will not be flush up inside the mount. This alignment or "indexing" or "clocking" of those tabs applies to OEM and all aftermarket setups as well, to my knowledge.

Wouldn't take long to damage, crack or break any mount/bearing not installed correctly.

 

[Peter B]

Moog probably would have been my first choice as well, but as I mentioned in my original post they are out of stock everywhere, and no one seemed to know when they would be in again.

Also I am the guy who paid $176 for OEMs on the other forum. I got sick of searching and figured the devil I know is better than the one I don't.

 

[MSMS3]

^ Forgive me for pointing this out but they WERE in stock at Rock Auto, both the Moog and the Monroe kits. I just checked again and still are, at least as of the moment of this post.

And, I know you know what you are doing, but I was repeatedly told that if I was using the stock springs, to use the HD's (B6s) and not the B8s which are shorter. Maybe you have lowered springs? The B6s fit perfectly for the stock spring height.

Do be careful in lining up those mount tabs properly. There is NOTHING about that in any of the instructions that I saw. Well wishes on your upgrade. The Bilsteins are awesome.

 

[Peter B]

Rockauto is deceiving. When you click at to cart and go to check out out, it checks stock levels. Then it tells you they aren't in stock and takes them off the list.

B6s are for stock springs on a regular 3. B8 are for a regular 3 with lowered springs. Speed 3 sits lower than a regular 3. Truth be told though people have been using both on stock springs and no one has reported bad results. The difference in shaft length between B8s and B6s is only half an inch. I picked sports because I was under the impression they were for more aggressive driving, but now I read that the damping rates are the same on both.