Review on 🔧 KYB 349105 Excel-G Gas Shock: Reliable Performance with Striking Black and Silver Design by Craig Walters

I am very impressed with these KYB 349105 Excel-G Gas Struts. I bought a couple of these to replace the Honda OEM factory hydraulic oils with my mother's 2007 Honda Odyssey EX-L with 89,208 miles. Just a few days before ordering my pair from Revain, I happened to notice a very small puddle. Oil on the garage floor, just under the factory right rear shock absorber. This was clearly distracting, so I went down to the garage floor under the back of the Odyssey and used a flashlight to inspect things visually. I could see a thin layer of leaking hydraulic oil covering the outside of the right rear shock's cylinder tube while the left rear shock was completely dry. Interestingly, the Odyssey showed absolutely no other signs of rear shock problems or failures before seeing the accumulated oil, such as: B. uneven jumping, bumpy ride, noise, etc. I immediately took the Odyssey to my local Honda dealership, where their service technician gave the Odyssey a free shock inspection. The technician placed the car on a lift and then confirmed that the right rear shock absorber had completely destroyed the cylinder seal. Without my asking, the technician invited me back to his elevator to actually show me the underside of the car and the shock absorber itself. The technician was surprised that the discharge was gone, so I asked him what could have caused this. He was a little confused. When I told him that just a few months earlier, in March, the Odyssey had passed its annual state inspection elsewhere, he was surprised, especially when the shock absorber was in the same condition at the time of the inspection. An online study found that many Odyssey owners reported their factory shocks leaking oil at around the same mileage. I've also learned that struts and shock absorbers typically need to be replaced somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 miles. Of course, the overall age of the car, and not just mileage, can also be a factor in component failure. However, in the case of 2007's Odyssey, I believe I may actually have been the one who caused this hit like a hit. it was. My mother looks after her Odyssey and always drives it very gently and carefully as you would expect from an elderly woman in her late 70s. Just a few months earlier, in the spring, I used her Odyssey to haul a lot of HEAVY volumes Mulch bags 2 cu ft from the store to her house several times. That being said, I think I may have exceeded the van's total cargo capacity by overloading its rear cargo area (behind the third row of seats). In hindsight, that was pretty stupid of me because I probably should have carried fewer mulch bags at a time and/or distributed the weight better so it wasn't placed quite DIRECTLY on the rear axle and shocks. . While I can't be 100% sure, I believe my inability to distribute all that weight was most likely the main reason. I think live and learn. As I understand it, shock absorbers and struts should always be replaced in pairs. The dealer gave me a repair estimate of over $600 for an exchange service, and their parts department told me that just one of Honda's original rear hydraulic shock absorbers cost almost $200. I usually prefer to spend just a few bucks more on original OEM parts and skip aftermarket parts. This tends to give me some peace of mind, and I also feel like there will be less chance of potential problems in the future. The often lower quality and shorter lifespan of some (but not all) replacement parts is simply not worth the initial cost savings. In this case, however, I thought that this cost was somewhat overestimated and decided to examine possible alternatives. Like many people, I first wanted to understand the difference between oil and gas shocks in order to decide which option would suit me best. preferred before I buy my replacement. Obviously, hydraulic oil shocks give a softer and smoother ride, while gas shocks give a sportier ride. A common misconception is that a gas shock absorber runs on gas, while a (regular) oil shock absorber runs on oil. All conventional automotive shock absorbers work by forcing oil through a programmed set of orifices. However, gas shock uses pressurized gas to keep the oil under pressure. This is done primarily to minimize aeration or "foaming" of the oil, which can reduce the shock's effectiveness by allowing air to pass through the valves instead of liquid. The gas also helps dissipate heat, which cools the oil and maintains viscosity, and therefore 'impact speed'. I guess essentially what this means for vehicle owners is that it comes down to personal preference. Many Odyssey owners online recommend the KYB brand and specifically this KYB 349105 Excel-G Gas Shock. After reading the mostly positive reviews of these KYB shocks and further realizing that KYB is indeed a very well respected quality brand, I decided to purchase a pair of Revain shocks for $39.98 each (July 2018). Many Odyssey owners online have stated that replacing rear shocks is a relatively easy DIY project, so I decided to do all of these repairs myself. The A00 (12mm) self-locking nut is shown in the parts diagram for my mother's 2007 Odyssey. This nut is used to attach the bottom of the shock absorber of each shock absorber to the vehicle body. While it is possible that the two original nuts still had adequate locking power after removal, I have learned that reusing locking nuts is not recommended as they are intended for single use only and must be replaced each time they are removed. Since each nut was only $1.22 at the dealer, I figured that was a pretty negligible cost considering I would have peace of mind knowing those new nuts weren't going to come loose unexpectedly sometime down the road. Sorry for the pun. Although I've never changed rear shocks before, I've found the process to be fairly easy to replace. If you do everything yourself and have the right tools available (like a good jack, jack stands, torque wrench, etc.) you're literally only looking at about 15 minutes per side. Just think about safety! Unlike some other reviewers, I didn't have to use an impact tool to loosen nuts or bolts. Instead, I just used a 1/2" breaker and then a ratchet. Admittedly, it was quite difficult to loosen the very tight bolts (for rear wheel disassembly) with just a broken shackle, but I managed to do it anyway was the hardest part of it. the whole process. Whatever you do, make sure you get the correct torque specs on the bolts and hand tighten everything with a hand wrench, NOT an impact wrench. That way you can You make sure everything is securely fastened with no risk of breaking a bolt's head. Don't forget to tighten the eyebolts and tighten properly before rolling things up! REMOVAL INSTRUCTIONS (See attached diagram): 1. Lift the rear of the vehicle and support it at suitable points with jacks.2.Remove the rear wheel.3.A jack on the connection between the lower control arm and the steering knuckle (A). Raise the jack until the suspension begins to compress.4. Remove flange screw (B) and nut (C) from body.5. Remove the self-locking nut (D) from the steering knuckle.6. Compress damper (E) by hand and remove from vehicle. INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS (see attached diagram): 1. Lower the rear suspension. Compress the dampener (A) by hand and install it in place. Loosely install flange nut (B), screw (C) and new nyloc nut (D).2. Raise the rear suspension with a jack until the vehicle is off the safety stands.3. Tighten the flange bolt and self-locking nut on the underside of the damper to the specified torque.4. Install the rear wheel.5. Check rear wheel camber and adjust if necessary. In the end, I was amazed at how simple and easy the whole replacement procedure was, especially considering the dollar amount the Honda dealership charged me just for the labor. . So funny! Too bad many people don't realize how they go completely broke on the cost of such a service. The KYB shock absorbers themselves proved to be of very high quality and with a pleasant feel. To my inexperienced eye they seemed almost indistinguishable from genuine Honda OEM factory shocks other than the fact that they are filled with nitrogen rather than hydraulic oil. There definitely seems to be a lot of money with them... and good luck saying that about just about anything these days. KYB claims these shocks are the #1 recommended OE replacement for Asian minivans and are specifically calibrated to restore the Honda Odyssey's original ride and control characteristics. My mom's Odyssey has 10,000 more miles on it and the shocks still feel like new and the ride is still as smooth and quiet as the first day I installed them. To be honest, I don't see any difference between these dampers and the original factory ones. Nothing. Nadda. And I'm actually pretty picky when it comes to things like that. Everything seems similar to how the Odyssey rode when it was new. Handling and control are fine and actually seem to have improved as far as I can tell. Contrary to some other negative reviews of these shocks, I have heard absolutely no squeaks, rumbles or other noises from them so I'm not sure what to make of these comments. Maybe they were installed wrong? In summary, I have nothing bad to say about these KYB shocks and would not hesitate for a second to buy them again. I am still very happy with the performance of these shocks. But no complaints... and I will definitely buy them again!