When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
A lot of the original suspension equipment for these GM cars labeled as ACDelco were actually made by Monroe Auto who were bought up later by Tenneco Automotive. These were extremely well built suspension units and were manufactures in Canada and the U.S.A.
Tenneco in a misguided effort to make more money closed down the Canadian and US facilities and moved production to Mexico and China.
What you are getting now labeled as ACDelco is a poor quality product compared to the original equipment. Poor management and greed has its costs.
Just to further your point, in the past month we have received: (2) struts wedged into one AC Delco box (definitely NOT sold as a pair), (3) struts back to back that were stuck in the middle of travel, and fought either way making it impossible to mount to the strut mount (number 4 was manufactured properly" and a shock that had an integrated mount/bushing omitted. All AC Delco "oe replacement " but with the originals discontinued from gm.
Never say never.
I helped manufacture these ACDelco shocks and struts for 35 years at Monroe Auto, so I'm a bit of a sucker for the brand, and keeping the car original was a factor. I recently bought ACDelco units, and although the packaging was banged up from transit, they worked OK. Keep your original dirt shields as the new units don't come with them anymore.
If the strut rod doesn't extend when you remove the transit clip it means the nitrogen gas has leaked out and the unit needs to go back for warranty. Once the clips have been removed place the strut rod end on something solid, and push down on the unit. The force required to compress the units should be equal between the pair. Beyond that, fit, ride quality, oil leaks, and squeaks are your only indicator as to their build quality.
I like the OEM look of the ACDelco strut in your picture. However, it's obvious at this point, nothing will equal WS6 specific struts.
I have Bilstein's in my basement, but they are too stiff for daily use. They were great for auto-x and road courses, but I had to take them off for the streets.
I may go with anything on Rock Auto that is black in color.
