3.3TT If you have front struts or upgrading yours, sell me your o.e.m. strtus

[I Stung U]

Hello Stinger Friends,

Anyone looking to change out their front shocks / Struts for performance or for whatever reason ? ?
Please contact me if you'd like to sell yours to me ? I've had a bump over a curb in plaza and need a new Left Strut for GT Limited AWD with electronic dampening system model.
I am open to both front left and right, though I may have found a right one already and also waiting for mechanic to take my car in to verify the situation.

Please reach out to me if you or anyone you know has spare front struts or is about too, cause they're upgrading.

Cheers,
Stavros

 

[I Stung U]

Hoping someone will have something for me soon.
I'm going to push for Kia to replace the shock under warranty, but I highly doubt they will.
Apparently, Kia is more tough on warranty approvals than Hyundai.

 

[Jayphil]

There is not a lot of Kia Stinger owners moving to Coilover and cancelling there dynamic shocks by doing so this is very niche. Most people not satisfied but suspension tuning will improve it using springs, sway bar and/or Mando module to change the adaptive shocks tuning.

Good luck!

 

[I Stung U]

There is not a lot of Kia Stinger owners moving to Coilover and cancelling there dynamic shocks by doing so this is very niche. Most people not satisfied but suspension tuning will improve it using springs, sway bar and/or Mando module to change the adaptive shocks tuning.

Good luck!

Good to know. I am open to switching to a std suspension with no options to switch, if any after market happens to handle like our sport mode, but is as comfortable as comfort is now (which is very little difference, but a wee bit there) and I do like the idea of a comfort ride... if had no choice, I would elect for comfort mode to be the one and only option, as the car does handle very decently in that set up too.

 

[Jayphil]

There are OEM shocks / Springs with non adaptive suspension. You will have to change the 2 front springs and 2 front shock which might cost you around the same price a just changing 1 adaptive damper.

I am not sure if you can run the spring from adaptive cars with non adaptive shocks...

I believe in Canada only fronts are dynamic so changing the front to non adaptive should not be too drastic.

 

[I Stung U]

so, the alignment guy says he can see the left front shock is bent a bit and pointed it out to me, but I can't see it.
My mechanic said the lower arms that usually bend on hitting a curb look fine, and said pay the fee and get Kia to look at it and lets see what they find, and he'll fix it if I get the parts.
Kia looks at it and says the front shock doesn't look bent to them, but my rim is slightly bent and maybe a balancing may help, and save on a rim, but possibly better to get the rim, and up to me to try the balancing, if I want,
but they said I do need the lateral arm and the lower control arm (they called this one the tension arm, but the part # they gave me for it, is the lower control arm on Kia U.S.A. website I found the parts, for comparing pricing.

So, then my mechanic today, looks closer at these two arms and we take measurements, etc (Kia said they know they're slightly bent, from measuring them), but we can't see it and find any visible damage to these two arms, including by measuring their length, looking for a slight curve in them, etc... and same for the Tie rod... this one, is harder to tell and possibly a mm or two off, but we can't verify it.

Apparently, if the lower arms are slighty bent, even so slightly, it will throw off the camber of the wheel and can make the shock look bent when it's not... WTF ? !!!

So, personally, I fell like we are now where, cause I can't verify any of this shit !! I can't trust Dealerships to be honest, cause they want to make money. Especially, when its not easy to verify.

I call the alignment guy and he says he is sure it's the shock, as he saw it a bit bent and the spindle was fine he said, and all looks fine though !!! haha.. wtf ?!!

So I don't know what part to order ? All of them and then trial and error and keep doing the alignment with most likely part and then the 2nd ? if not it, put back originals and try the others ?
Can I return any parts I find not to be the problem ? Especially, since I'll be buying them from a U.S. dealer ?
Why, oh this is the best part...
These two arms in the U.S. go for $401 & $259 (found them for $265 & $170) O.E.M from Kia dealer.
Kia Canada prices ??? You guys sitting down ?.... $1,000 & 900+ plus hst.
3 Fkn times the amount !!! BIG WTF ?!!! So from U.S. it'll be !! and still will end up 33% of Cda price, even after shipping.
Strut here $1200, they said they can do it for $1,050... in U..S found it for $494 plus shipping to U.S. (I'll be shipping to my cousins house and then they'll ship it to me).

What to do. I don't have conclusive evidence of which part is really damaged. I can't get at least 2 out of 3 mechanics to agree on the part that is bent. I am leaning towards the alignment guy (not my mechanic friend), as he did see something and was trying to point it out to me.

Any advice from anyone here if they've ever bent a shock before, and the lower arms were in tact and fine ?

Oh, another funny fkn story.. Alignment guy aligns my rear and says he can't do nether of the front, cause the right one seems off and the alignment machine says it can't align that one either and possibly something is bent on that side... He knew my mechanic will fix any repairs and not him, so no reason to lie, but the machine showed it in the red... both rear got aligned.

Kia, when they looked at it, tried aligning..... they aligned the drivers rear and passenger front, but now the right rear wouldn't align on their machine.. ????? wtf ?!! IF alignment didn't kill your tires, i wouldn't give a flying fck !!!

fyi, the car drives smooth and no noticeable wobble or anything unusual. Even at high speeds a wee bit over speed limit.. so... ? Drives and feels fine, but I'll be unevenly wearing down the $400 tires or winters that will go on this week or so.

 

[BLK UFO]

so, the alignment guy says he can see the left front shock is bent a bit and pointed it out to me, but I can't see it.
My mechanic said the lower arms that usually bend on hitting a curb look fine, and said pay the fee and get Kia to look at it and lets see what they find, and he'll fix it if I get the parts.
Kia looks at it and says the front shock doesn't look bent to them, but my rim is slightly bent and maybe a balancing may help, and save on a rim, but possibly better to get the rim, and up to me to try the balancing, if I want,
but they said I do need the lateral arm and the lower control arm (they called this one the tension arm, but the part # they gave me for it, is the lower control arm on Kia U.S.A. website I found the parts, for comparing pricing.

So, then my mechanic today, looks closer at these two arms and we take measurements, etc (Kia said they know they're slightly bent, from measuring them), but we can't see it and find any visible damage to these two arms, including by measuring their length, looking for a slight curve in them, etc... and same for the Tie rod... this one, is harder to tell and possibly a mm or two off, but we can't verify it.

Apparently, if the lower arms are slighty bent, even so slightly, it will throw off the camber of the wheel and can make the shock look bent when it's not... WTF ? !!!

So, personally, I fell like we are now where, cause I can't verify any of this shit !! I can't trust Dealerships to be honest, cause they want to make money. Especially, when its not easy to verify.

I call the alignment guy and he says he is sure it's the shock, as he saw it a bit bent and the spindle was fine he said, and all looks fine though !!! haha.. wtf ?!!

So I don't know what part to order ? All of them and then trial and error and keep doing the alignment with most likely part and then the 2nd ? if not it, put back originals and try the others ?
Can I return any parts I find not to be the problem ? Especially, since I'll be buying them from a U.S. dealer ?
Why, oh this is the best part...
These two arms in the U.S. go for $401 & $259 (found them for $265 & $170) O.E.M from Kia dealer.
Kia Canada prices ??? You guys sitting down ?.... $1,000 & 900+ plus hst.
3 Fkn times the amount !!! BIG WTF ?!!! So from U.S. it'll be !! and still will end up 33% of Cda price, even after shipping.
Strut here $1200, they said they can do it for $1,050... in U..S found it for $494 plus shipping to U.S. (I'll be shipping to my cousins house and then they'll ship it to me).

What to do. I don't have conclusive evidence of which part is really damaged. I can't get at least 2 out of 3 mechanics to agree on the part that is bent. I am leaning towards the alignment guy (not my mechanic friend), as he did see something and was trying to point it out to me.

Any advice from anyone here if they've ever bent a shock before, and the lower arms were in tact and fine ?

Oh, another funny fkn story.. Alignment guy aligns my rear and says he can't do nether of the front, cause the right one seems off and the alignment machine says it can't align that one either and possibly something is bent on that side... He knew my mechanic will fix any repairs and not him, so no reason to lie, but the machine showed it in the red... both rear got aligned.

Kia, when they looked at it, tried aligning..... they aligned the drivers rear and passenger front, but now the right rear wouldn't align on their machine.. ????? wtf ?!! IF alignment didn't kill your tires, i wouldn't give a flying fck !!!

fyi, the car drives smooth and no noticeable wobble or anything unusual. Even at high speeds a wee bit over speed limit.. so... ? Drives and feels fine, but I'll be unevenly wearing down the $400 tires or winters that will go on this week or so.

Im going through the exact same thing! I hit a curb at about 30mph which caused some serious negative camber on my passenger front side. Initially I thought i bent the strut so I took it to Kia and I was told the strut and lower control arm is bent but no proven evidence of it.
So i took the strut off myself and fount the strut mount was cracked in half! I replaced the mount which greatly improved the negative camber but its still noticeable, so im thinking maybe the comtrol arm is bent or it is actually the strut itself. Im going to another Alignment professional outside if the dealership to get a 2nd opinion

 

[I Stung U]

Im going through the exact same thing! I hit a curb at about 30mph which caused some serious negative camber on my passenger front side. Initially I thought i bent the strut so I took it to Kia and I was told the strut and lower control arm is bent but no proven evidence of it.
So i took the strut off myself and fount the strut mount was cracked in half! I replaced the mount which greatly improved the negative camber but its still noticeable, so im thinking maybe the comtrol arm is bent or it is actually the strut itself. Im going to another Alignment professional outside if the dealership to get a 2nd opinion

o.k. what part of the strut mount was bent ? the Spindle or the mount way up on top of the strut ?
Send me pics if you have and when are you going for the 2nd opinion ?
I am crazy about not truly having consensus on which part it is and wasting hundreds on fixing something that's not needed and not being able to take back parts later. Not a good year for me to be spending extra on this shit now.
I just don't trust Dealerships , and when I can't see the arms bent at all !!...
Anyone know if it's normal for the lower arms to be off, if the shock bent, could that make them seem off or is that only the other way around ? Why left wheel is visible, though minor, visibly off camber with the upper side a wee bit inside the edge of the fender than the right side is.
Any tips on how to double check what to fix ?

I was going to order the two lower arms in the morning, but I am open to holding off a few more days to see what BLK UFO comes up with his... I know it may not be the same for mine, but some hint is something.
If the spindle is fine, and if the wheel is leaning in at top, then how could lower arms being Slightly bent (means inward from a hit), cause the wheel to tilt in at top ? wouldn't the lower arms being bent pull in the lower part of the wheel and the off camber be top side leaning outwards ?

 

[BLK UFO]

o.k. what part of the strut mount was bent ? the Spindle or the mount way up on top of the strut ?
Send me pics if you have and when are you going for the 2nd opinion ?
I am crazy about not truly having consensus on which part it is and wasting hundreds on fixing something that's not needed and not being able to take back parts later. Not a good year for me to be spending extra on this shit now.
I just don't trust Dealerships , and when I can't see the arms bent at all !!...
Anyone know if it's normal for the lower arms to be off, if the shock bent, could that make them seem off or is that only the other way around ? Why left wheel is visible, though minor, visibly off camber with the upper side a wee bit inside the edge of the fender than the right side is.
Any tips on how to double check what to fix ?

I was going to order the two lower arms in the morning, but I am open to holding off a few more days to see what BLK UFO comes up with his... I know it may not be the same for mine, but some hint is something.
If the spindle is fine, and if the wheel is leaning in at top, then how could lower arms being Slightly bent (means inward from a hit), cause the wheel to tilt in at top ? wouldn't the lower arms being bent pull in the lower part of the wheel and the off camber be top side leaning outwards ?

The upper strut mount at the top was cracked in half! Sorry i dont have a pic but that was one of the major causes of my negative camber. I changed the mount about $120 part and greatly improved the negative camber but slightly still visible wheel sits more inward from the top on my right side. I am so confused like you as to why the dealership will tell me i need both lower arms if my wheel sits inward from the top and not the bottom? A new strut is $500-700 and the arms range around $200 each. I think worse case for me my strut may be slightly bent (even though visually i see no evidence of it) and the strut is on a national backorder and nobody knows when Kia will ship out new from Korea due to covid
This weekend Im heading to a professional alignment shop for a 2nd opinion and I’ll let you know what happens.

 

[I Stung U]

o.k.. is the top mount being cracked easy to see without taking the strut off ? Should the dealer mechanic should have seen that ? or you're saying you kia dealer missed that too ? and saying nothing wrong with the shock.
I guess, I will hold off on ordering anything and see what happens with yours.
If you need a front right shock with the electronic dampening, I may know of one avail. I am double checking I don't need it.

 

[I Stung U]

The upper strut mount at the top was cracked in half! Sorry i dont have a pic but that was one of the major causes of my negative camber. I changed the mount about $120 part and greatly improved the negative camber but slightly still visible wheel sits more inward from the top on my right side. I am so confused like you as to why the dealership will tell me i need both lower arms if my wheel sits inward from the top and not the bottom? A new strut is $500-700 and the arms range around $200 each. I think worse case for me my strut may be slightly bent (even though visually i see no evidence of it) and the strut is on a national backorder and nobody knows when Kia will ship out new from Korea due to covid
This weekend Im heading to a professional alignment shop for a 2nd opinion and I’ll let you know what happens.

Hey Friend,
So, what happened with yours ?

Curious, what area you live ?

 

[BLK UFO]

Hey Friend,
So, what happened with yours ?

Curious, what area you live ?

Hey sorry for late reply but my issue was solved! It was the actual Strut assembly slightly bent verified by a professional alignment mechanic. What I did was buy a used strut assembly from a guy in California and had it shipped to me. I live in Michigan. I swapped struts and now my alignment is perfect and no more negative camber.

 

[I Stung U]

o.k so it was the strut and the lateral arm and control arms were just fine ?
Hmm. my alignment guy said he can see a slight bend in my strut, but Kia and my mechanic don't see it.. Alignment guy has a keen eye and I guess you have to take it off to be 100% sure if it's only slightly bent.

I am taking in to a Steering/suspension specialist tomorrow... all this time wasted and I delay, cause I don't want to speck $$$ on changing wrong parts and then more $$ on the right one at the end.
I hope the specialist tomorrow does pin point it and shows me proof and I'll order the part same day , from U.S. Dealer I found a discount price on parts, as CDA prices are Fckd up here... example, U.S. control arm is $401 (apprx. $535 in Cda dollars), here they want $1000, almost double... I can get it for $289 U.S. so 3 times cheaper even after exhange rate.
Same for the strut, much less there.
I'll update in a day or two what is result for mine too... My gut is telling me it's the strut as well.
My wife is driving in in town only to go to work and stuff and I'm taking her Legacy for my longer driving needs, not to kill the tires, in the mean time.

 

[BLK UFO]

o.k so it was the strut and the lateral arm and control arms were just fine ?
Hmm. my alignment guy said he can see a slight bend in my strut, but Kia and my mechanic don't see it.. Alignment guy has a keen eye and I guess you have to take it off to be 100% sure if it's only slightly bent.

I am taking in to a Steering/suspension specialist tomorrow... all this time wasted and I delay, cause I don't want to speck $$$ on changing wrong parts and then more $$ on the right one at the end.
I hope the specialist tomorrow does pin point it and shows me proof and I'll order the part same day , from U.S. Dealer I found a discount price on parts, as CDA prices are Fckd up here... example, U.S. control arm is $401 (apprx. $535 in Cda dollars), here they want $1000, almost double... I can get it for $289 U.S. so 3 times cheaper even after exhange rate.
Same for the strut, much less there.
I'll update in a day or two what is result for mine too... My gut is telling me it's the strut as well.
My wife is driving in in town only to go to work and stuff and I'm taking her Legacy for my longer driving needs, not to kill the tires, in the mean time.

Yes my strut was the only thing that was bent. No lateral arm or lower control arm as I suspected. I should've took a pic of the bent area but it was the lower strut assembly. I knew i bent the strut when i hit that crub at 30mph... the dealership told me that whole side needed to be replaced im glad i got a 2nd opinion

 

[I Stung U]

If it turns out it's my strut as well, I'll send a pic to the kia dealer and see what their reply is, for diagnosing wrong, even when I told them we suspect the strut and they ruled it out.. but I will know in a few hours.

 

[BLK UFO]

If it turns out it's my strut as well, I'll send a pic to the kia dealer and see what their reply is, for diagnosing wrong, even when I told them we suspect the strut and they ruled it out.. but I will know in a few hours.

Thanx I appreciate it

 

[I Stung U]

So I paid $50 for another opinion at a place that's suppose to be a specialists in front ends, and they tell me, I don't need any parts to replace. Only need an alignment.
I am like what ? but my left front wheel is negative camber, right after hitting/mounting a curb.
He says he can align all (inc. right rear needing it, as the toe is our .25") which Kia told me too, but other alignment guy fixed that one few weeks ago)...
He said he can align all 4 wheels, but the left one will still not go in the green cause of the off camber, but nothing to be done in re: to changing parts.
I said, o.k. but my camber is off, so what part is bent or whatever, needs replacing to fix the camber ?
He says, I told you a minute ago, nothing really...
I said something is off, cause it didn't come off camber from the factory soo... ?
He said fixing the front suspension will l fix the off camber... and something about springs get warn down and if the left got worn down more than the right side, it'll cause off camber..
I said, well I highly doubt it's that with low mileage and it went off right after mounting a curb and the spring is not cracked or broke.. I don't think it just warn out like that...
They did say, yes if you change the front spring and strut (if I insist on changing the strut as well), should fix the off camber.
They did say they believe the lower arms are not a problem (but I don't know if they really looked at them, or just going by their usual opinion from what the computer print out suggests, when the see the report) ?

I paid for wanting a pro opinion on what part is broke and it seems that was more of an after thought and discussion.
WTF ??!!! I should ask for a refund.. I already knew my fkn alignment was off.

Anyways, Since BLK UFO problem was the strut, and one alignment guy said he can see the strut is slightly bent, I am going with ordering that, and maybe a mount to be safe and have it ready.

Anyone know a sight I can search to find a used one or a scrap yard ? help me find a cheap one ?
I may just order a new one to get it done sooner.

Odd, why my right rear is out of toe, even though one alignment guy aligned it, but than a week or so later, KIA says it's out and they can't align it (in the red) ? ? My car is fkcd up..

 

[BLK UFO]

Sry for the unprofessional alignment advice. I dont want you to spend alot if $ either but we have similar situations with hitting a curb and have negative camber... so if a new strut corrected my problem im hope a new strut will correct yours to. Yea and just get a new mount to for extra security because mine was broke in half when I swapped struts. Good luck bud

 

[I Stung U]

Yup, I suspect it will.. looking at this guys written report, not his odd verbal explanation, he does say changing the front strut will fix my camber and get the alignment in the green... So I guess this make 2 guys now saying that, so.... ordering it in the morning. Hopefully, I can get it in 5-7 days.
It'll take 2-3 to get to the dealer and then My cousin will send it to me as a "Gift" hoping to keep any customs related fees down.
Will update this in a week or so... My wife will have to keep driving my car in town to her close by work a little longer. Can't burn out the tires with my longer driving needs yet.

 

[Ozstung]

The left hand rear wheels toe cannot be be adjusted straight according to a specialist suspension shop and Kia couldn't align it positvely. I was told this was just in the design or lack of it. 3 years of driving it hasn't been a major issue. Its endemic to the vehicle so others have found out to.