If I had an impact gun I would have spent more, and took a minute or two longer to get them on.
Non Quick Strut Route:
64.24 Monroe 71798 Sensa-Trac Strut
9.76 Monroe AK43 Monroe Strut Accessory Kit
33.20 Moog K6404 Rear Upper Strut Mount Kit
--------------------------------------------
107.20 per strut

==================================

Quick Strut Route:
73.00 Monroe 171798 Quick-Strut Complete Strut Assembly
9.76 Monroe AK43 Monroe Strut Accessory Kit


In our case with the 96' Park Ave'*, getting the quick struts from Amazon will save you 24.00 over the non quick struts, of course you may not need the Strut Accessory Kit, at 10.00 I figured I'd replace them.

All prices are from Amazon, only difference I think is the strut mount, I am not sure if it is the same Moog mount or if they have a Monroe one, I;m not sure but I don't think Monroe makes a strut mount for our PA'*, if they do I could not find it before.

i dont care for monroes personally but this is what i was looking at for the front of my bonnie 58+30ish per side for seperate

or 149 per side


and normally thats what the case is if its a normal setup includeing the spring ive never looked one up without before.

I guess I hadn't put much thought into it prior to this, but the suspension all around is electronically balanced by the compressor in the back? For some reason, I figured the front suspension wasn't electronically balanced..

Or maybe I'm misunderstanding the "EXC ELECTRONIC ADJUSTABLE SUSP" description of those KYB front struts you linked to jwfirebird.

Also, one can't hardly beat the $10 price for the accessory kit.

there was a different thing that had like a sport mode i think

Our front suspension is not electronic adjustable, just a gas strut like this one.




@Justin, I am with you on liking the KYB'* more, I wanted to go that route, but had to save a few bucks and go Monroe, the Sensa Trac'* are decent, the regular service grade ones are not so good though.

Ah, alright, thanks for clearing that up William.

I'm fairly sure the suspension all around my Park Avenue is shot, and I plan to eventually replace the suspension all around. I feel nearly every crack in the road, and the so-called "Buick Bounce" never really seems to even out!
As I would love to go with KYB suspension, my budget can't really afford it at this moment in time. Thus, I believe I will be going with Monroe for suspension. At this point I'm fairly certain anything I replace the existing suspension with will be better than what I have now. Since I'm not entirely sure how often my compressor kicks in after I start the car, I think I may pull the fuse for it, to reduce any unnecessary wear. Would you recommend replacing the front suspension over the rear suspension first, or vice versa?

not saying anything wrong with monroe better than gm ones im sure. there probably all wore out since most dont replace them and the gm ones dont last long.

i always kyb'* because im picky and they make the ride like it was new or slightly better but unlike the gm ones i havent had one wear out yet.

You are very welcome, I plan to do the same with my suspension, I had to change my outer tie rods first, both were bad, one worse than the other, I went ahead and replaced the outer and inner, since the old ones made it till around 130k I figured why not.
That kept me from going KYB all around, as I ran out of money.

I don't think the compressor is on a circuit by itself, I'd have to find a manual for it, I do not have my Factory Service Manual, but I did have an AllData Subscription, it expired though.
I'm not sure I'd pull the compressor fuse even if it was, since if you have a really slow leak it won't wear on the compressor much, especially after lubricating it.
If the compressor was running all the time you could hear it with everything in the car off, at least I can even after lubricating it.
If you drive a little, stop and walk to the back, you'll hear it on if it is a bad leak in a strut, if no leaks I think it only stays on like 5-7 seconds, unless it needs to add air, at least that is what I recall reading.




I don't know, those AC Delco'* that GM used on some rear ends where really good, but they are like 170.00 a strut, I originally wanted KYB all around, they actually make a front quick strut for my PA, which is good since I have not bought a spring compressor yet.
The Monroes are not bad, but I don't think they are as good as the AC Delco and KYB'*, if money was not limited I'd have went with the best like you did for sure.


Whoops, missed the last question.
If both front and rear were equally as bad, I'd go rear first, even though the front being bad can help throw off an alignment quicker than normal, I'd rather not let the compressor take a chance on running all the time and dying.
It would be best to do all at once really, or you will be getting an alignment twice like I may end up having to do.

Just found 2 old pics of where my compressor is, and the Tee with bad EVAP lines I was speaking of, I remove the line where the X is and add the oil in the nipple, not the hose.

I attached a diagram, and a pic of my compressor, and the EVAP hose that I had to replace.

I just took a few pictures of my compressor, I gotta say William, your car is clean!
Unfortunately, my lines are in much worse condition than I previously thought.. As the following images show, the lines near the compressor are brittle, and crumble when touched.

EVAP Lines

I'm not really sure how to go about replacing those, or if it'* even worth it.