not sure, but you can count me out there. My patriot is still working good.

 

They replaced my two front struts when attempting to resolve the clang I had in the front suspension.

I found the replacement struts were much quieter and had a nicer ride then the originals, however, this may have been from sitting for almost a year on the dealers lot.

 

Mine are on order. Both rears are leaking oil and need to be replaced.

 

Both in the rear were replaced under warranty at 40000 KMS. My Jeep sees alot of washboard bush trail action running the dog everyday. It has saved me gobs of money over driving my Chevy for the same purpose and can go most of the places the truck will if your willing to push it. It only suffers from height issues, but im sure we were all aware of that when we bought them.

 

If my struts start leaking, then I'm out of luck (and warranty).

If I have to replace my rear struts, I'll be putting in the load-leveling struts. (Nivomat or equivalent). This should hepl when trailering or heavily loaded by boosting the rear suspension height after driving a bit with the suspension overcompressed.

 

Good luck finding any different struts, only thing I've ever found as a direct replacement are the OE KYB struts.

 

The only shocks, struts I could find are KYB GR-2. You are right festerw. I called KYB customer service and they told me the KYB GR-2 replacements were 10-15 % firmer, those are the only ones I could find. I was just looking for a better strut, shock upgrade when I put on Stus coils, just waiting to get them. Actually mine are fine but when they go out the lifetime warranty won't cover them with stus coils, if the warranty covers them at all. I have the Lifetime Powertrain Warranty on my 07 Patriot. As long as the CVT and Engine are covered, I'm not worried about the other parts. I'm sure some members are thinking I'm flirting with disaster on my Lifetime Powertrain Warranty, but I'm not worried. I wanted to see if other members were having strut, shock problems at low mileage and if they were, I was going to change mine while I had it apart, Let the Dogs start barking!

 

I had the rear shocks leak and were replaced under warranty around 17,000 miles.

 

I plan on installing Stu's coils and took mine in last week to have the suspension looked at since it was starting to ride a little rough. The dealer told me that the TSB that was out applied to me and that they were ordering parts. I know they are replacing the fronts, but I can say about the rears.

 

I just took mine in to the dealership today because I was hearing some squeaking/clunking when I would drive in town. Apparently the rear struts were leaking. They were replaced at 25000. Perhaps this happened because I transport heavy music equipment through cities and sometimes several hours away?

 

The dealer said my "shocks" were leaking in the rear at 85.000 miles on my 2007. It has lifetime warranty. They said that they were not covered under the warranty because they were shocks and not struts. Have any of you had any expereince with this?

 

The lifetime warranty is only for the powertrain. Engine, CVT and any mechanical 4x4 stuff.

 

I've only seen them listed as struts but I'm not surprised they aren't covered as they are generally considered a wear item.

 

Need some advice

I have a jeep patriot 2009 currently at 83000. No idea if it's a strut or shock but I'm guessing a shock. No heavy loads ever replaced the rear shocks at 65000 and now just a year later, just after the time the warranty ran out (of course!!!). I have to replace both again. I don't know what kind of shock they put in there but it's obviously junk. Here are my questions:

1. Is there a difference between a strut or a shock. Should I consider a strut over a shock?

2. Now either a shock or strut. Should I be looking for a more heavy duty or some type of softer one because I would like the best ride as I can as we don't use our jeep for anything but hockey equipment.

3. I can do minor repairs such as rotors and brakes. Could I change my own shocks? Are they that difficult?

3. If I change my own should I consider doing all at the same time including the front?

 

It's not a matter of choosing a strut or a shock, but what the vehicle was designed to use. For the Patriot, it's struts. Rather then continue to use the OEM units though, I would look at getting the KYB struts aftermarket. Monroe also makes replacements for the Patriot, but I've never had Monroe's last very long.

As for DIY, you will need a strut spring compressor to do the job, but those can be rented from just about any parts house (Advance auto has a free rental, you pay for the tool as the rental fee, then get it back when you return it). Other then that, common hand tools can do the job. They're not difficult to do. You will need an alignment after replacing them (so yes, if you can afford it, replace both fronts and rears so you only pay for 1 alignment) though but you can save yourself a ton of money doing it yourself.

 

Still have not replaced shocks with the kyb shocks but will be doing it soon.

Any suggestions for tools to purchase as I plan to learn how to change the shocks on my own from now on.

 

Just rent a spring compressor, have sockets/hand tools and a floor jack with jack stands. Take your time, it's usually a pretty easy job on most vehicles. Penetrating oil will probably help and take it in for an alignment right away after install. I need to probably do mine soon also since I'm approaching 60,000 miles and the ride is getting softer and has more bounce.

 

I had the struts replaced all around at 60k miles with Monroe parts.

 

I also put KYB GR-2's on all four corners of my Patriot (and my last car, 2002 Mitsubishi Lancer, I like the firmer struts) and did it myself except for the spring compression part. I just took the strut assembly out and had a buddy take me to the near by Sears Auto center where they swapped out the struts for a small fee. Then I took them all back and installed back into the jeep. Don't forget now is a good time to replace the strut mounts while you have the strut assembly apart, it's highly recommend.

 

166000 miles, but not all the way shot, but will replace soon.