I see KYB mentioned a lot here, but also found a pair of 2 rear struts for less than half the price https://www.ebay.com/itm/284594055806 and am wondering if anyone has experience with cheap struts and how long they last.
I've actually had some pretty cheap struts go the distance like KYB gas riders the GR series instead of the gas a just . I've also bought way cheaper struts maybe Monroe Gold series complete units with springs for like $100 a leg that's not too bad to get new springs and everything top plates and the whole nine I don't know what they offer for the Prius and just the other day I had my Prius up in the air and I stuck a set of AE101 which is a Corolla derivative coil over that I had for this series of car that was never installed and it looks like they'll practically bolt up the mount is right for the strut bar and everything it might need shorter links because it's down a little more but it looks like the Corolla links will work so it looks like there's all kinds of options I was looking for something that I could have raised and lower at will by just turning a couple of collars
I bought a pair of rear struts & springs pre-assembled for a $100 years ago because the overall materials used to build them were of impressive quality. However, when I installed them the mounting plate on top was a few degrees off and wouldn't fit so I returned them. Then over a year ago I decided to try again with a different $100 pair of struts & springs, but haven't installed them yet.
When you say a few degrees off you mean the three studs that go through the strut tower or off just enough to make it not go up? Usually a little smack and they just go up you might have to knock the stud the tad one way, but generally that doesn't throw any angles off once the studs bottom out in the top of the strut tower and everything seats in a bolted up those built-in degrees are just there
Like enough of an angle that when the bolts are in on the strut tower you can't connect the bolt to the axle bar. Or if you connect the bolt to the axle bar it will no longer bolt to the strut tower.
Only about 5 degrees of wrong... I bought another pair elsewhere for similar price and decided to try again a year later, but they've been in a box for over a year. As it's easy to procrastinate on trying again at a car repair that didn't work out last time because you remember what an awful day it was to put the old shocks back on and it's for your own car not someone else's car.
Like I said tomorrow the next day this is the 4th of July weekend isn't it I've got not much going on I'm going to take this pair of or one side of at least these aluminum fully adjustable coilover struts that I bought for a AE101 which is a Corolla chassis . And just slide them up into the holes put the nuts on loose let them hang measurement wise they look good I might need to use the strut rod bars for the sway bar from the Corolla which I have and then I can also make them adjustable if I need to No problem think turn buckle.