Options for replacing rear struts needed.

[Ronnie]

4 minutes ago, 2seater said:

This new development has pretty much knee capped the development of the alternatives. 

That may be true but I wouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water. The supply of Monroe struts will probably be short lived and we will still need alternatives..

[DAVES89]

I too appreciate what others have done for us in regards to an alternate for rear struts. A vote of thanks should also go out to Marck at East Coast Reatta for his negotiating with Monroe to make a batch for him to sell. It's because of his efforts that Monroe took their excess inventory of the correct "blanks" they had in inventory to make another run of struts that fit our car.

What's surprising to me is that Rock Auto got them before Marck did [to date there has been no announcement from Marck that he has inventory] and are able to sell them. I know Rock Auto has inventory because I just received a confirmation that my order was shipped complete.

 I also believe that no one should make an announcement to any other forum [Facebook or AACA] that rear struts are now available from Rock Auto. this gives Marck and anyone else [Alchemist] fabricating rear struts a chance to sell off their inventory. Also gives Reatta Owners Journal a little more prestige as the "Go To" forum for all things Reatta.

Edited June 20, 2023 by DAVES89

[Ronnie]

25 minutes ago, DAVES89 said:

A vote of thanks should also go out to Marck at East Coast Reatta for his negotiating with Monroe to make a batch for him to sell. It's because of his efforts that Monroe took their excess inventory of the correct "blanks" they had in inventory to make another run of struts that fit our car.

What's surprising to me is that Rock Auto got them before Marck did [to date there has been no announcement from Marck that he has inventory] and are able to sell them. I know Rock Auto has inventory because I just received a confirmation that my order was shipped complete.

About a week ago the subject came up on Marck's Reatta Facebook group about his prices for the Monroe struts he was getting were overpriced. I rarely post in that group but I did so to let everyone know that I appreciated Marck's willingness to get these discontinued struts made and keeping other hard to find Reatta parts in stock. I let the members of that group know that we weren't trying to find alternatives to the discontinued struts because we didn't like Marck's prices but because we needed to find something that would work to keep our Reattas on the road.

 

I think Monroe screwed Marck big time by letting RockAuto stock them before Marck had a chance to sell and ship his. I hope the price he is paying for them is the same as the price RockAuto is selling them for. If so, at least he might be able to sell his without a loss.

 

I'm holding my breath for someone to receive their order of the shocks from RockAuto. I hope what they ship is what you ordered. My luck buying from them hasn't been great. Although they do have the best prices I don't like their shipping prices and policies.

[TripleC321]

I feel bad that I accidentally lit the fire on that one guy on Facebook who started complaining about the ECRP price for struts. 
 

my only intent was to give the original poster all the options currently available. Not start a heated argument over ECRP price. 
 

I apologize for accidentally getting you involved in that Ronnie. 

Edited June 20, 2023 by TripleC321

[TripleC321]

1 hour ago, DAVES89 said:

I too appreciate what others have done for us in regards to an alternate for rear struts. A vote of thanks should also go out to Marck at East Coast Reatta for his negotiating with Monroe to make a batch for him to sell. It's because of his efforts that Monroe took their excess inventory of the correct "blanks" they had in inventory to make another run of struts that fit our car.

What's surprising to me is that Rock Auto got them before Marck did [to date there has been no announcement from Marck that he has inventory] and are able to sell them. I know Rock Auto has inventory because I just received a confirmation that my order was shipped complete.

 I also believe that no one should make an announcement to any other forum [Facebook or AACA] that rear struts are now available from Rock Auto. this gives Marck and anyone else [Alchemist] fabricating rear struts a chance to sell off their inventory. Also gives Reatta Owners Journal a little more prestige as the "Go To" forum for all things Reatta.

right as you say that, someone spills the beans on Facebook. 
 

the cat is out of the bag, and Mark doesn’t appear too happy about it. Understandably so if Monroe is willfully undercutting him. 

[Ronnie]

25 minutes ago, TripleC321 said:

I feel bad that I accidentally lit the fire on that one guy on Facebook who started complaining about the ECRP price for struts. 
 

my only intent was to give the original poster all the options currently available. Not start a heated argument over ECRP price. 
 

I apologize for accidentally getting you involved in that Ronnie. 

No problem. I rarely post in that group but I felt I needed to say something. I didn't want anyone to think we (the ROJ forum) were out to hurt Marck by trying to find an alternative to the struts that had been discontinued. If the news is true about the struts being back in stock, it's good in the fact that they are available again but it's bad because Marck and other parts vendors won't stick their neck out again to try to get parts produced that are no longer available for the Buick Reatta.

 

 

[alchemist]

Wow, it is crazy how this topic has turned on a dime, both in the past 24 hours (with Rock Auto stocking again) and within the last month (with ECRP announcing).

 

My guess is the combination of ECRP asking, along with many of us calling or emailing Monroe, caused them to send someone to the tool room and they found the dies for the stabilizer bar bracket.

 

My retirement from the strut building industry came early, at least for now.  I made enough money for a few 12 packs of my favorite double IPA and glad I was able to help out a few folks along the way.

 

Good people all coming together for a common cause.  We need more of that in the world today.

Edited June 20, 2023 by alchemist

[2seater]

The pair I ordered show as shipped also and should know Thursday if they are in fact correct. I have four pairs of other alternative strut substitutes, four different types. The strut cartridges and the set with a spring mount may wind up being eBay'd or given away, or even repurposed. This really caught us by surprise.

[DAVES89]

42 minutes ago, alchemist said:

Wow, it is crazy how this topic has turned on a dime, both in the past 24 hours (with Rock Auto stocking again) and within the last month (with ECRP announcing).

 

My guess is the combination of ECRP asking, along with many of us calling or emailing Monroe, caused them to send someone to the tool room and they found the dies for the stabilizer bar bracket.

 

My retirement from the strut building industry came early, at least for now.  I made enough money for a few 12 packs of my favorite double IPA and glad I was able to help out a few folks along the way.

 

Good people all coming together for a common cause.  We need more of that in the world today.

In the final analysis I wished I would have waited until everyone had a chance to turn their inventory over. It all started with an e mail from Rock Auto telling me that inventory on the strut MOUNTS I was interested in were still out of stock and would I be interested in staying on their list of people to contact when inventory was in. So on a flyer I checked the inventory on struts and was surprised to see they were there. 

I feel the worst for Marck at East Coast Reattas as I believe that Monroe allowed Rock Auto to get inventory before he did. I hope that his inventory arrives and he gets his orders shipped before too much damage is done to him and his business. He is the one that took on a big risk and could be hurt terribly by this happening.

Edited June 20, 2023 by DAVES89

[Ronnie]

27 minutes ago, 2seater said:

This really caught us by surprise.

I think this caught Marck by surprise to. He might stand to lose a lot both with people wanting to back out who pre-ordered and with holding the bag with some expensive struts he can't sell. I hope Monroe will make it right with him.

[alchemist]

It will be interesting to see how things play out between ECRP and Monroe.  Wondering if the Terms and Conditions of the contract between them had any exclusivity called out.  If I was Monroe, and I am going to bring a tool out of storage or make a new one, I am going to bang out as many as possible (within financial reason) once I have things setup to run.

 

I hope that all parties (ECRP and Monroe)make things right.  Marck and ROJ have done great things to keep these wonderful cars on the road!

Edited June 21, 2023 by alchemist

[DAVES89]

Hopefully it was just a minor hiccup for Marck at East Coast Reatta as Rock Auto no longer shows a listing for the rear struts.

That almost has to be the shortest listing and fastest sellout of an item in their history.

I checked both Ebay and Amazon and neither one ordered any so it must of been just Rock Auto that got the chance to buy them. Interesting to me that Rock Auto didn't list them as a "Factory Closeout" as they usually do. I wonder how many they received. Marck claims he ordered "100 pairs" so that would be 200. I'll bet the overrun was less then 50 to cover any damage in shipment or other shrinkage factors. At any rate they are gone, and I'm quite sure we will never see them again. So Marck should still be able to sell his inventory and Alchemist hopefully be able to liquidate what he has as well.

However my order shows it was complete and has been shipped, due to arrive tomorrow...

Edited June 21, 2023 by DAVES89

[alchemist]

10 hours ago, DAVES89 said:

At any rate they are gone, and I'm quite sure we will never see them again. So Marck should still be able to sell his inventory and Alchemist hopefully be able to liquidate what he has as well.

DAVES89, all is well, I have recovered my cost (plus a little beer money) and have one set left, sitting on the shelf for when they are no longer available again and someone needs a set.

 

FYI, on the pair of Riviera 71801's that I bought...  I removed the air bladder and upper case, so now I have my set of replacements for whenever the time comes.  They are exactly the same as the 71966 once the added air spring items are out of the way.  The boots attach perfectly and everything.

Edited June 21, 2023 by alchemist

[DAVES89]

16 minutes ago, alchemist said:

DAVES89, all is well, I have recovered my cost (plus a little beer money) and have one set left, sitting on the shelf for when they are no longer available again and someone needs a set.

 

FYI, on the pair of Riviera 71801's that I bought...  I removed the air bladder and upper case, so now I have my set of replacements for whenever the time comes.  They are exactly the same as the 71966 as soon as the added air spring items are out of the way.  The boots attach perfectly and everything.

I have a "mixed" pair of rear struts. One is a Reatta strut and the other is the Riv strut with the airbladder you describe. Good to know that one can remove the bladder and upper case so I will have a matched pair. Any trick to it's removal?

[DAVES89]

Just received an update on my strut order from Rock Auto. The order is coming from "Monroe Auto Equip". So if I read that right it means that Rock Auto never stocked them but probably was the vehicle for Monroe to burn up the last of the run they made for Marck at East Coast Reatta.

[alchemist]

8 hours ago, DAVES89 said:

I have a "mixed" pair of rear struts. One is a Reatta strut and the other is the Riv strut with the airbladder you describe. Good to know that one can remove the bladder and upper case so I will have a matched pair. Any trick to it's removal?

First, remove the star retainer that holds the air bladder housing on the threaded end of the rod.  Next, I used an oscillating saw to cut through the crimped band on the upper housing and removed the band.  Slit the air bladder from the fold to the top where the crimped retainer was.  Peel the bladder back down towards the bottom of the strut.  There will be some heavy oil on the inside, but you will also see another crimped band that holds the bladder to the main strut body.  Cut that band, slit the rest of the bladder and remove.  Clean up the oil and paint satin black.

Edited June 21, 2023 by alchemist

[alec2538]

2 hours ago, DAVES89 said:

Just received an update on my strut order from Rock Auto. The order is coming from "Monroe Auto Equip". So if I read that right it means that Rock Auto never stocked them but probably was the vehicle for Monroe to burn up the last of the run they made for Marck at East Coast Reatta.

 

I ordered a set yesterday as soon as I read the news on Facebook. I just checked my order status, and it's showing as "At warehouse" with a projected ship date of 6/23.

 

When I click the hyperlink for the expected ship date, I get the following message: "Our warehouses do not have this part, but we can order it from a supplier. It will take up to X business days (Monday - Friday) to get the part and prepare to ship it to you."

 

Given your order is showing as coming directly from Monroe Auto Equip, I believe your hypothesis is correct. I think Monroe produced MAYBE a dozen extra pairs (24 units) beyond the minimum order that Marck placed, in case of defects probably. Once they fulfilled his order, they immediately contacted RA in an effort to clear the last few units they knew they'd be stuck with.

Edited June 21, 2023 by alec2538

[2seater]

This is strange that there are different messages for similar orders. Mine shows FedEx departed Paragould, AR, to Jonesboro, AR and departed Memphis, TN at 5:30 am via FedEx for delivery tomorrow??

Actually I didn't receive a message, I just looked at the tracking.

Edited June 21, 2023 by 2seater

[alec2538]

1 hour ago, 2seater said:

This is strange that there are different messages for similar orders. Mine shows FedEx departed Paragould, AR, to Jonesboro, AR and departed Memphis, TN at 5:30 am via FedEx for delivery tomorrow??

Actually I didn't receive a message, I just looked at the tracking.

 

Mine are shipping out of Paragould as well, which makes sense as Monroe has a large manufacturing plant there. It does appear that these really are leftovers from the stock Marck had made.

[1989reatta79106]

I ordered 1 set of rear as well from RA. Shows label created on fedex tracking coming from Paragould AR. We will see if we actually get the order fulfilled.