Ok so I am getting ready to pull the trigger on replacing all 4 corners of Air Spring/Struts.

So I have kicked around going with BritPart, Arnott, Suncore Industries and no name EBay specials.

First person that says you should only use Genuine gets banned

eBay specials look to be about $500 to my door. No idea who made them and I would guess warranty would be unlikely.

https://www.suncoreindustries.com/ Is a rebuilt strut, so basically new spring and reused strut. 1 year warranty and the work is done in the USA. That would be around $650 to my door. They also offer a military discount which would make them a bit cheaper than that.

Britpart/Allmakes would run me about $1100 for all new parts. With a 1 year warranty as well.

https://www.arnottindustries.com/pro.../lr3-l319/2006 Would be around $1550 to my door. Also a product of the USA. Almost as expensive as Genuine however.

What have you guys tried and how are they working out for you? I have heard good and bad about pretty much all the above but I would like actual forum member experiences with the products. I know people have to be replacing these and more will be in the coming years. It would be nice to get a running log of experiences with the different offerings.

This is going on the LR3 I’m starting to build for my new DD/Trail/Overlander

 

I had two Arnotts put on the front of my '06. So far so good and they have a lifetime warranty. I recall the price being a lot less than Genuine LR, or else I'd have gone that route.

Wait...am I banned?

 

I remember reading from a previous post that somebody who installed the Arnott struts thought they seemed a bit stiffer than OE, but they were relatively pleased with them. I remember looking at them before I purchased... wait for it... factory struts. I believe Arnott had a lifetime limited warranty, which was appealing. Don't know how good they are about honoring it, but it's nice on paper at least.

Just as a side note, replacing the struts is fairly straightforward and easy, but the rear driver's side was a booger. I recall there being something in the way on the top of the strut that made wrenching on the rear top nut (and wrenching on the voss connector) extremely difficult. I'm pretty sure I had to use an offset wrench in order to get it. That whole wheel well is a pain in the butt. From the sway arm bushings to control arms to the struts. Everything was more difficult on the rear left.

 

I would not touch eBay struts unless I was selling off the vehicle and a strut was leaking/blown out.

Suncore used to be a very popular company with the Lincoln crowd. Not sure how they are now. If the shock insert and bag are new, I would not hesitate to go this route to save money. I put Suncore rear bags on my Lincoln which were the same or better than OEM. Never had an issue.

Britpart/Allmakes: no comment

Arnott has been around a while and they know their stuff. Also once very popular with Lincolns. They make really good compressors which I have used a couple times. For struts I can only go off the option of others that they are really good but I never fitted them.

Dont forget that Bilstein makes front struts. About $290 per side making them a little more than Arnott. I dont know if they make rears. I generally like Bilstein and would like to try them out when I have to make the change.

I will add that there is another option, original equipment meaning not "genuine", per say, but from the original maker. If you go this route you can get OEM quality for about $1,000 shipped which would be Dunlop.

 

Dunlop? ....I thought OE was Delphi.

This gave me a chuckle: "Britpart/Allmakes: no comment"

 

I think Delphi was the original OEM supplier at one point. But I am not even sure if they made them in house, I think they were always Dunlop. Either that or LR switched to dunlop at some point as a supplier. If you buy new "genuine" now, they will be Dunlop with expensive LR stickers.

 

I think it was Delphi struts with Dunlop bags maybe. I looked at the Dunlop and they come it at roughly the same price point as the Britpart/Allmakes (no comment) parts.

Not a huge fan of Bilstein on Land Rovers both sets I have had long term were disappointing. I would love to see Fox jump into the arena.

Good to hear a real life experience with the Suncore bags and we agree on the eBay stuff

 

 

I have a pass through ratchet that I have found to be extremely helpful in getting to the back nuts on the struts. Just enough added height to get me by without issue.

The warranty looks to be pretty general normal wear and tear is not covered so it would have to be a material or craftsmanship defect. It comes down to them on that one.

 

Arnott all the way. Our supplier warranties them no questions asked.

The rears are kind of weird. There is something going on with the valving, they kind of hit hard when going over bumps.