Any thoughts on the cost of 'Stock' shock / strut parts and labor on an '86 240 wagon. I shopped around (I live in New England) and arrived at +/- $450 for the whole nut. There was a cheaper quote, but the guy scared me. This price came from an independent shop with a good rep.

I need 'em...fair price?

Hi Craig,

I replaced both,Strut tower and ball joints, own my 86 244DL tis summer

by myself for about $200 each. Strut are inchangeable up to 1993 models and can found and local juckyard. I recommand install new ball joint, brake pads, and new strut while the unit is off the car. Uselly take couple of day to change depend on the weather. Hope this help..Richard

If you have a socket wrench set, and maybe a breaker bar (if the nuts have rusted onto the bolts) then you can replace the rears in about fifteen minutes. All you've gotta do is unbolt the top and bottom, remove old, slide new in, and re-bolt.

Front struts......Don't know, but do the rear and save some loot.

I never played with the struts BUT the rear shocks, you can do them blindfolded in about 20 min. a side. 15 without the blindfold.

Do the rears and save money..sorry, no knowledge on the front struts.

Craig:

Does that $450 figure include an alignment, too? If so, it seems somewhat more reasonable. If not, sounds a bit high to me. The shocks themselves ought to be in the $200 to $225 range (check out www.shox.com or www.fcpgroton.com for prices).

> Plus, if I lived up north and didn't have an enclosed, heated garage,

> I probably wouldn't be as enthusiastic about doing my own

> maintenance/repairs during the winter, either!

Amen.

I've got barn space to spare, but it's -30 degrees outside (in the sun) and there's 6 inches of crusty snow on the ground. Am I motivated to turn rusted bolts with cold hands......ahh, no. But, If the rear shocks look like they'll give, I'll do them myself. The struts.....I'll pay. No mention of an alignment from the shop, but chains (NTB specifically) threw one in.

Good (and helpful) info guys....THANKS!

I just replaced the front shocks in my '85 245 and used Boge Automatic (about $30 apiece from shox.com). The shop charged 1.5 hours for each side, which put the total bill for replacement at about $190 ($65 per hour in Wash., DC). I put new Boge autos in the back two years ago (along w/new IPD overload springs) but the shock replacement wasn't broken out separately. The rear replacement is supposed to be less complicated-- maybe an hour per side(?)

James:

Rears are much easier. I could probably do both sides in an hour in my driveway with hand tools as long as nothing was rusted together. With a lift and air tools in a shop, 30 minutes tops. It all boils down to how much your time is worth and how dirty you want to get ! Plus, if I lived up north and didn't have an enclosed, heated garage, I probably wouldn't be as enthusiastic about doing my own maintenance/repairs during the winter, either!