Monroe Quick-Strut 171347L Suspension Strut Assembly

Fit my 2003 tundra TRD 4×4 perfectly. No worries about spring compressors and so on. Did have a little trouble with getting the bottom bolt to re-insert into the new strut, this was not because of the strut but because the axel is just high enough to catch the lip of the bolt head as its being inserted. Ended up grinding a little off one side of the lip of the bolt head and then it was smooth going. Very happy with the performance and ride of these struts. Job was done with limited tools and no experience in one afternoon.

Easy to install. Fast shipping. Purchased both Left and Right Struts for my 2003 2WD Access cab. Installed both in about an hour. The only problem I had was i had to pry the lower control arm down to get the lower bolt in. I should have just dropped the sway bar. The new struts lifted the truck about an inch and the ride is like new. Steering is easier, ride is like new. Should have changed these a long time ago. Aloha!!

perfect fit very happy thank you

2006 Toyota Tundra SR5 4.7L Double Cab 4wd or 4×4. CAUTION: LONG discussion, because I spent my entire weekend getting intimate with this installation. May as well close it out with a lot of details for the next consumer.

Warning: Try these procedures at your own risk. I’m not a mechanic–worse, I’m a Mechanical Engineer. That means I think I know how to do everything without having actually physically done anything…

These struts are okay enough. A lot of people have discussed the ease and impossibility of installing these struts. I bought a pair and realized what the key issue is for the 2000-2006 Tundra: 2wd verses 4wd. If 2wd, installing these is a piece of cake, as there are no half-shafts that interfere with the rear side of the bottom strut bolt, both for removal (not so hard) and re-installation (essentially impossible for 4wd in original installation orientation). It took me 6 hours to figure out how to install the new strut and insert the old bolt. Once done, the other side went pretty smoothly, in about 1 hour.

Here are three things that must be done for the 4×4 version: 1) temporarily remove the sway bar connector link top nut (very easy), 2) cut off the non-threaded end of the old bottom bolt (first photo) and 3) install the old bolt from the FRONT of the strut, using an extra washer at the head to reduce the bolt length to the back even further.

The reason to do all this: The bottom strut bolt is originally inserted from the back so that the head of the bolt is not protruding far towards the half-shalf boot. If you install the bolt unmodified from the front, the bolt end will protrude dangerously close to the boot, likely tearing it in an extreme turn and extended position for the front wheel. But, that bolt is nearly impossible to install from the back with the new strut because the new strut is about 2 inches longer than the worn-out strut. So, you must push down the A-arm assembly in order to install the new strut assembly. When you do that extension, the half-shaft angles downward further as well, blocking a straight-line bolt installation from the rear. The bottom bolt must insert UNDER the half-shaft, and the bolt flange will interfere with that half-shaft boot collar. If you are lucky, you can a) slide the boot towards the wheel and b) grind down some of the bolt flange, so that there is enough clearance to allow that bolt to go through the shock mount and shock bushing. I was not that lucky, my boot would not slide and the bolt simply would not clear with the new strut pushing the bottom a-arm down so far.

So, with the front-to-rear installation of the original bolt being too long, I cut off the non-threaded tip of the bolt (about 3/8″ long), ran a 14mm-1.5 thread die over the end to make sure it would accept the nut, then inserted the bolt from the front. I also used a new washer under the flange head to keep the bolt from protruding further to the back, towards the boot. This method proved to be fairly easy, once you get the technique of forcing the lower arm down with a lever (a 2×4 in my case). The photo shows the lever board, the inserted (modified shortened) bolt, and the sway bar top nut removed at right. The second photo also shows the bolt fully inserted prior to the washer and nut installation.

Caution: Don’t go ape with the 2×4 lever, pressing down. You are pulling against the steering rack and the half-shaft when you do this. It doesn’t hurt the half-shaft (splined, I think), but it could fall out if you get too spirited. And the rack could get damaged if you pull it beyond its limits. But it seems okay to get it levered just low enough to insert that bolt. A pry bar, inserted into the mount and shock bushing to align the backside, helps a bit as well to get that bolt through.

The result was the bolt was protruding towards the boot by no more than the thickness of one washer and the nut. That was about 1 mm closer to the boot than in the original installation, and it looked pretty good.

Result: I drove the truck around the neighborhood and on the highway. It feels like stock again, which I like. Not too tight, but firm enough. The ride height is actually exactly what the rear height is, which is odd–the rear springs were the old ones with 150K Miles on them. From what I read of other installations, I figured the new height would be higher than the rear, but it looks pretty good with my truck. It might be due to it being heavier as a double cab, 4×4, and the V8 in front. I should get a photo here tomorrow of the truck and post it.

I rate the struts minus a star because of the instructions: They have three different types of shocks illustrated in the box, and NONE of them were of the configuration I used! But there are several internet videos and I have the service manual as well. By the way: Get a nice torque wrench that can go up to at least 87 foot-pounds. That’s the level required to torque that bottom bolt for installation, according to the service manual. Might be 83, I can’t recall at this time, but definitely above 80 foot-pounds.

I talked to a friend of mine who had his RAV4 front struts replaced–he paid $450 for the struts and labor. It cost me about $225 for these struts and a weekend of work (I needed to run back and forth for tools: wd-40, some new pry bars, and better deep sockets for the sway bar nuts). I’m thinking if it costs $450 or so for another vehicle in a few years, it is a toss up whether it would be worth it. But at least now I know how to do it.

This Quick Strut was listed as used. I was quite happy to open the box and see that it was BRAND NEW. It may have been returned to Amazon for some reason, but this Montoe Quick Strut was brand new and easy to mount on my truck’s front end. Great price, happy customer.

This product is the Left strut only. The Gen 1 Tundra takes 2 different struts for the Left and Right sides. Do not buy 2 of these thinking the pair is sufficient, you would be getting 2 left struts Also Rock Auto sells this strut for $75, this sale price is bogus.