I finally decided to address the bouncy-bouncy so I popped into my local Speedy to get a price on replacing the front shocks with a set of Monroes. I know that a lot of you guys like to mess around under there yourselves, but it's way too yucky under there for my taste.

So anyhow, I thought the solution was going to be a simple and inexpensive shock switch, but the Speedy guy looks it up and says my truck has struts up front which means parts and labour of $600 to replace the struts. That's more than I figured.

This probably sounds stupid, but I thought a strut was simply a shock and spring combo. Can one not just replace the shock portion?

 

Yes you can replace just the "shock" portion. And until we get aftermarket springs, those too. But being that it's a strut. It's not just a tube shock like the rears. The shock has a hat on it that the spring sets on. Usually a little more for parts. And the labor is alot more most the time because they have to compress the spring and disassemble the whole thing just to replace the shock.

 

The price of an older used vehicle is often attractive, but with age comes expensive maintenance, much of which you can't do without for either safety or performance. Doing all the necessary maintenance in a garage can be really hard on the wallet at $100+ per hour. To save that component of the maintenance cost, many of us get used to the "yucky" nature of these tasks. Initially you may not save too much if you don't have the tools or experience, but everything you buy and learn is re-useable the next time around. Other good things to acquire are a manual (download a full service manual if you can) and the help of people on a site such as this one.

You can always use a DIY car wash to get rid of a lot of the "yucky" before you start, however, in Ontario, you'll need a garage to work in or wait for warmer weather

 

That sounda about the right price. I bought my struts myself ($140 for both) and had a shop install them for $350 more. It's the labor that gets you.

 

:I'll check my independent Dodge garage for a labour price.

I have replaced shocks, jetted carbs and done all sorts of things on my motorcycle, but I can't fit the Dak into my bunky for this kind of work! lol

Check my sig pic, you will see my truck garage - the truck is "in" it!