STRUT FAILURE: This Jeep Grand Cherokee Had A TERRIBLE Front End Noise

After trying to buy a lot of cars, Eric and my sister ended up buying this loaded 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee. It's been very well maintained but with 150,000 miles on the clock a few parts have started to fail. The front struts had started to make some noise and the front end was jerking around when it would go over bumps in the road. Today we're going to jump in and replace the factory struts, hopefully the new set also makes it 150,000 miles!
Masterpro Jeep Grand Cherokee Strut Assemblies:
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#Durango #Dodge #OreillyPowered

[@Cartier_specialist]

That Jeep is really clean for the year and mileage. It must've seen a whole bunch of highway miles.

[@WatchJRGo]

Yeah it’s super nice, just a has a couple things like the struts and sunroof shade we need to fix 🍻

[@marcusdamberger]

@@WatchJRGo I just "fixed" a Kia Sorento 2011 (155k) sunroof shade that wouldn't stay closed. Got it to stay closed but couldn't get the tension correct, so made it lose so it stays closed for now. Its the kind that rolls up because the vehicle has a panoramic roof for the rear passengers. Ultimately the whole mechanism will have to come out and that means removing entire headliner and then the sun shade assembly that has both front and rear sun shades. A nightmare job to do that I'm going to pay someone else to do. I had to remove the top sunroof glass and drop the front part of the headliner to get to some tiny screws holding the roller mechanism in place. So I could untangle the mess it was in. Then reassemble the roller mechanism and adding tension back into it by hand while holding it all together. Way harder to do than it would seem, and ultimately figuring out the mechanism is somehow broken, too far gone to hold itself in place properly. I gave up and adjusted it so it would stay closed. Hopefully the Jeeps is not one of these roll-up types. I later found out Kia only kept that design for one year, and the newer mechanism is much easier to replace.. Good luck with that if you decide to tackle the sun shade.

[@mds2465]

I need to do front struts on my friends Jeep Grand Cherokee as well. The drivers side is completely blown out! Yesterday we did a 90k service which included new spark plugs, oil change, and a tire rotation. The 8th spark plug was very difficult to do, but I got it done!

[@billpar]

this was a great video, Eric and you are fun working together , great team work, keep up the great videos

[@kevinjohnson7330]

If the engine is the 3.6 Pentastar V6 it’s likely the oil pan leak is actually the oil filter housing. Those plastic units would leak in the valley and eventually run down the back of the engine and appear as a pan or main seal leak.

[@SteveBassen]

Nah it's got ah hemi

[@TheBibliofilus]

The transmission mount looked like it had collapsed and was resting against the cross member..

[@TheRealAlpha2]

I know it wasn't going to break, but man that crowbar looked way more flexible than I thought it should with the weight of two grown men hanging on it.

[@77nizzova53]

a weird thing just happened if you read this!!!! When you tried to clap that bug, at the exact second you did that a bug flew past my phone right where your hand smacked.

[@MrWatthefuckareyou]

Love the color of it and love what you do keep it up 💜

[@michaelday1073]

Just did struts and shocks on my 2007 Grand Cherokee at 160,000 miles. And they were the originals too. Now, because I'm in Minnesota with all the salt/rust the lower fork bolts aren't removable, so we took the pinch bolts out which makes it a lot harder. But what a difference in the ride and handling. Not to mention that it's now level front to back and it has some wheel/tire clearance again.

[@richardr5888]

Great video, thanks! Those Michelin will last more than twice as long as the Goodyear Forterra's that came on my Grand Cherokee. The Goodyears lasted 32,000 miles. Replaced with those Michelins and I'm at 83,000 miles now and it's crazy how much tread I still have (and with hard driving/cornering).

[@clifbradley]

I think Darrell does a great job 95% of the time. But since he has started filming for you, we miss the stuff you are looking at. If he could get some B roll to insert into the area you were just looking at, or just maybe let him get in there to see wha you are talking about. Like at the beginning of the episode when you were under the vehicle looking at things, the camera was focused on you and we didn't see what you were seeing. Now for the actual repair, that was shot very well. Just a minor complaint but sometimes I notice that we aren't seeing hat you are seeing, hich is different than when you were filming solo or had Jake helping,

[@31dknight]

Great video from JR.

[@albertcoburn5674]

Love it when a plan comes together.

[@low-keylukey6528]

Buy a fleet of mopars and you will never run out of content lol

[@Natethegreat200c]

Not true . You’ve been watching way too much drunken Kilmer.

[@low-keylukey6528]

@@Natethegreat200c I work for a dodge dealership bro wtf

[@69Dartman]

If you want to play the break it loose and try to haze the tires turn the traction control fully off. I did that a while back with my 06 Charger RT and went around a slow garbage truck at low speed and matted it. It dropped a couple gears and started hazing both rear tires and started to punch sideways, quite a lot of fun in such a heavy pig. 😱

[@Pislui]

I have a 2015 limited with 180k miles and mine us super clean too, running on original strut too but I will replace those soon

[@bozodog428]

Good job guys!

[@ggriffiths99]

JR - "We're going over the worlds worst road". Me - "Welcome to Pennsylvania".

[@ConeyFUKINC]

Right On!

[@guykwalter1693]

It’s nice to find out your tools are better than expected. Rather than snapping a 6pt 3/4 drive 5/8 craftsman socket 5 times in a row. I put on a lot of miles driving back to sears 5 times for a new socket. And no I wasn’t using an impact. I broke them with my bare hands. Not even using a breaker bar. I was trying to put a 5/8 bolt into a ford trans to block. That was a long cold winter.

[@maxium4x4]

Almost 200,000 on my 2011 GC and still original, no noise yet but I have been thing about the front struts for preventative.

[@69Dartman]

I have a set of rear struts for sisters 99 300m but just don't want to deal with throwing them in in my carport. She was supposed to be driving mom's old low miles pt cruiser but she likes the 300. I don't think the pre loaded ready to go struts are always that hard to do but if we're not keeping it much longer it seems like a waste of time. Give them to the new owner and they can deal with it. It is hilarious to ride in bouncing down the road and rattling like you heard on the jeep. If I had a lift it might be a a bit more of something I'd want to attack. Good on ya for being the family repair man and warranty provider 😎

[@TheJeracuda]

Front Struts and sway bar link on my 2014 Compass need to be repaired it's just recently hit the 120k mile mark

[@gabrielarock368]

Thanks good job!

[@aaronguerrette]

I have Michelin LTX Defenders. LOVE THEM. the perfect All WEATHER tire on my Explorer. SUPER DUPER fun in the snow.

[@WatchJRGo]

That's what's on the F-250 too, they rock! 🍻

[@robsdeviceunknown]

Man I was cracking up when the camera had both you guys shooting from behind in the same scene. JR looked like a small child next to him lol.

[@southernxposure4790]

To check the transmission fluid level I am pretty sure you are supposed to have the Jeep running and up to normal operating temperature with the transmission in Neutral. (You can do this procedure without setting your emergency brake if you like living life on the edge.)

[@AaronSmith-kr5yf]

Always loved the 2010's Grand Cherokee. It looks sharp, nice interior, not too big/hard to park like a Tahoe or Suburban but still plenty of space for people/cargo if you don't need that 3rd row seat. Rides nice, quiet, drives great, still a real 4wd truck underneath with an actual locking transfer case/low range. Main thing is even with the V6 its faster than a 4Runner, then you can get V8 options from stout to STUPID lol. Always felt like if you "upgraded"(or downgraded to a Caddy SRX or Lincoln) to a BMW X5, Audi Q5, Benz ML you really didn't gain that much, not enough to justify the $10k to 15k price spread.

[@ua7pyro591]

it amazes me that you put aftermarket junk, esp STRUTS. good luck with even more noise with these bad boys.

[@markchambers8641]

Nice video. 👍

[@v.l.3553]

This thing is FLAWLESS... except for the leaks, squeaks and rattles 🤯🤯

[@michaeldominguez7329]

I have the same vehicle just an 11' with 128,xxx on the odometer. Check the motor mounts, they're likely completely blown out. Also, the oil pan on these are completely plastic. If you replace the motor mounts, replace the pan at the same time. You can get the pan out with the engine jacked up, if you remove the fan and radiator ...

[@hellkitty1014]

Transmission mount too. People forget those on the GC.

[@pddixon]

I like Eric’s commitment to wearing a white top

[@zaccorpseman7366]

I sure miss it when this was still my problem, lost my 2011 GC Overland recently in an accident. Thing was in showroom condition, then she's gone in the blink of an eye...

[@GDLutz]

Had a 2011 grand Cherokee. Same color as your Durango was. Laredo X package, so it had the V8, leather and backup camera, but otherwise base. Unfortunately one of the lifters collapsed at 120k miles and took out the came shaft too.

[@Kmclemore]

Same happened to mine in 2020

[@austinaubinoe]

On the 2011-2013 5.7L Grand Cherokees, the still used basically the same chrysler transmission from the 1999 V8 Grand Cherokee. I highly recommend flushing it every 35,000 miles for it to last a long time. My air struts finally wore out (still held air, the shock part was done) at 130k miles on my 13 V8 overland, cant recommend the OME 2.5" strut kit for these enough! ALSO, the upper front control arm bushings are notorious for causing a clunk, replace the whole assembly with ball joint. (usually last 100k miles of normal use). Just saw where you said the oil pan was leaking. You have to drop the entire front cradle (and support the engine from above) to change it. It's a one piece gasket, but I recommend changing the whole pan. The bronze bushing in the plastic pan is known to break out. Mine never did, but you should install a drain valve in the new pan to be safe. Change the motor mounts at this time too. -I think a video on this would be awesome. Took me a long time to find all the info and details on doing it myself. Its really not hard once the knuckles are off. The hardest part was getting the front driveshaft off. Very doable.

[@Kmclemore]

Flush or change tranny fluid?

[@BL41D3R]

I have the same squeaking sound coming from the front of my 2011 grand cherokee! Do you think it is also the struts or maybe the upper control arm bushings also?

[@WatchJRGo]

Upper control arm bushings on this looked great 💯

[@93jummy]

My sway bar was noisy on my 2012

[@onlyonecannoli3952]

I have a W164 Mercedes ML500. It has EXACTLY the same component parts and also requires to slide out the knuckle from the CV axle to get the strut out...sometimes you can get away with partially sliding the CV shaft out of the way and sometimes you just have to remove it (not too complicated). Looks like Chrysler raided the Mercedes parts bin for the Jeep...which explains why the Jeep has all the same qualities of the Mercedes...great while it works, but built with suspect quality parts.

[@spencerelsbury9110]

Cool love my 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee summit EcoDiesel with air suspension

[@tiredoldmechanic1791]

If you use the pry bar with the bend turned up, it won't slip off the stud.

[@charleslitzler7460]

Hi jr, I have a 2015 jeep Cherokee, and I was backing up and hit the back quarter panel right by the tail light on the driver side,have a picture of it,can it be pulled out, without replacing the whole quarter panel

[@bren70ssss94]

Is this the sister who had the old Camry wagon ? That was the first video of yours I ever watched lol 😄

[@marcusdamberger]

Yeah I was wondering that too. Or maybe he has another sister? The one with the Camry I thought was much younger, maybe in highschool or collage at the time and the Camry station wagon was the perfect car for her at the time, reliable and had enough room to move stuff.

[@jimmieromero8181]

I would assume this needs an alignment after because you removed a suspension component and will probably wear tires unevenly. (Just a thought, parents own a local mom & pop front end shop thats been in the family for 50 years- twas my grandpas before he got sick and passed) just a suggestion, would hate for the Michelins to wear unevenly. Solid content, I love this channel.

[@seanwieland9763]

Are MasterPro any good or cheap Chinesium? Or is it just O’Reilly’s white label for Moog or AC Delco?

[@Ieatpeople2]

Lol at JR hanging on the pry bar. I'm 400lbs, I can hold the pry bar in one hand and the torque wrench in the other hand and hit 250tq+ all day lmao

[@toddrobertson1398]

That’s why I’m fine buying cars with highway miles that our maintained… my 2017 cherokee has 84 gran on it and it feels and looks like new. City driving on cars is brutal.

[@bsdubois]

I wondered why you didn’t purchase the rear shocks at the same time. Perhaps you enjoy trips to O’Reilys.

[@tomjo9838]

At that 14 min mark, torquing the axle nut… safety second. Lol

[@titanicfilmsbymark]

What's next for the building?

[@RandomRichZ]

i have a 2012 overland same is this only difference is mine has 146k and air suspention and its black. mine is just as clean. Mine has the same oil leack. Did you ever address it?

[@chriskeiser5809]

Those Michelins rule. I used the LTX M/S tires on my old 3rd gen 4runner and I got 100k out of one set and like 90k out of the second. I cheaped out and got coopers on my F-150 and they’re ok, but I regret not getting the Michelins.

[@JonBlondell]

Dealers and shops that try to sell you on repairs you don't need really piss me off!!

[@druideverett1603]

Just a thought, screwdriver in rotor vent hole through caliper window to unnut/ nut axle, may take summer teeth out of the equation. 👍

[@chipete1]

If you had to do it all over again would you purchase that same Jeep Grand Cherokee and how much did it set you back for

[@andrewward4246]

I always wear white long sleeves when I change struts lol....

[@HeavyB5611]

Hey how's your burn out truck coming along. Been wondering about it.

[@neilquinn]

Curious what you use for a microphone when recording? Hidden lapel mic or shotgun mic from the camera operator?

[@WatchJRGo]

Rode VideoMicro 🍻

[@USA01930]

what struts did you put in? i have the same car with a serious bottoming out in the front end

[@terriannefitch]

Ugh! Gosh I wish my mechanic was as honest as you appear! Anyway….they put v6struts on my 2012v8 GC. They say it’s ‘ok’. Is that right? I really appreciate your feedback 😊

[@TheBrokenLife]

Why not pop the center caps out of the wheels and torque the axle nuts on the ground?

[@jetjazz05]

I always put the thing back on the ground then remember I need to do it, cuss and curse, lift it back up, take the tires off, pop the caps out... what a pain.

[@TheBrokenLife]

@@jetjazz05 As a one man show, doing it on the ground is the only choice I have and it generally works fine for me.

[@Misunderstoodboygenius]

I see Wichita has the UV streetlight problem. I hear there’s a class action against the company whose lights failed.

[@hellkitty1014]

Two things about the WK2: The factory shocks SUCK and will leak(especially the rears. And this probably has the tow pkg, which throws in the self-leveling rear shocks. If it has vented rear rotors, then yes, it has that package). And all 11-13 HEMI oil pans leak. That said, for 150K miles, this Jeep is in really great condition. They're great if you are meticulous with your maintenance.

[@Kmclemore]

About to replace by oil pan this week lol smh

[@baileytillman7144]

Is the Toyota wagon still around?

[@pas-kv8ud]

A white shirt is a must when working on a vehicle. lol.

[@DEValentine]

Why so much more disassembly on the driver side compared to the passenger side? Nice video.

[@Engineerd3d]

You can tell the family resemblance with the Mercedes w164 chassis. Same style of suspension.

[@Aaron-kx7oi]

Did he replace all four tires ? per wizard’s video on the transfer case / computer freaking out and destroying the clutches if only two are changed

[@seymourcake752]

I hope Monroe improved on the longevity of their complete strut assembly.

[@chickballz313]

That was masterpro struts, the oreilly brand

[@B0xlife1]

So what happened with the Escalade and other car before this?? Are these generally reliable?? Also between this and the durango is it just preference to why one u like better or is perhaps the Jeep better quality/better made?

[@WatchJRGo]

Escalade needed a trans and had accident damage, the Avalanche was rusting out, we drove hours to see those cars 😬

[@B0xlife1]

@@WatchJRGo ugh crap I remember now about the rusty avalanche! Atleast you mentioning it. Hate ppl who list cars as mint and there bad lol

[@bearing_aficionado]

Just woke up to late night drop

[@teseract4755]

Too bad it doesn't have the air suspension, I'd like to see how he'd handle that nightmare system. Hope it's not a pan leak though last I looked at the FSM that's a job that requires supporting the engine and dropping the entire front suspension and crossmember. Whatever you do don't over torque the drain plug, it's a **plastic** pan with a metal insert. Factory torque is only 25ft/lb as I recall.

[@cwheeler42]

Yep--had the dreaded oil pan gasket leak on mine. 9.5 hour book job. I got it done for about half because they already had the transmission out for another problem (long story).

[@dickfitznyew4579]

Two years ago this was a 6,000 SUV, now it's 18,000.

[@renoflames]

BAM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@GeronimoJenkins]

The WK2 looks better than the new body style. Jeep should offer it as a “classic” or whatever they did with the previous gen RAM 1500 pickup.

[@steeveomcjameson8673]

Should of added the Rough Country Leveling kit while you had the struts out..

[@ekimp252]

That’s what I was thinking too. Want to put them on my’12 WK2.

[@steeveomcjameson8673]

@@ekimp252 DO IT. It just one of those jobs where you might as well replace the struts while your in there. No point in putting back shitty worn out struts

[@FordFanatic27]

put the brakes on before torqueing the axle nut next time, and get your broski to push the brake pedal to make torqueing it a lot less of a struggle.

[@vincentdsnt]

You got that right but it's fun watching two guys trying to tip a truck off the hoist ! As you say put the vehicle on the ground brakes on ,torque them up. It's no wonder the floors aren't wet from all the wet behind the ears there !

[@Tig-Wan]

What’s with the purple street lights?

[@DuggleBogey]

Wow, I got a shout out!

[@HousesandCars]

I thought it was "Yeet!"

[@broncobill3902]

Something happened with the drivers side fender liner.

[@user-kw5ze5ky5q]

There’s no need to replace struts or shocks just due to age or mileage. I have never done that to a customer. If they aren’t leaking, making noise or bouncing, and functioning as they should, then there is no problem. The shocks on my 04 Grand Cherokee are original at 280k. The shops that recommend struts every 50k are ripping people off. I could not sleep at night working at a place that did. There’s enough other crap that goes wrong plus maintenance that comes out of their pocket to fix. a technician can make a good living at a good shop(not a dealership, 11 years was enough for me) without ripping customers guts out. Stop it belle tire, just stop, you’re the reason people don’t trust us.

[@WatchJRGo]

Who is recommending that? These have 150,000 on them and they were shot 🤷‍♂️

[@rock70star]

A 2016 GC Laredo 88k for 24k$ is it worth it ?

[@bikeman1x11]

should have done the rears too- with lift it way easier

[@WatchJRGo]

We had to order those, they're coming 🍻

[@KINGMUFASA]

13:42 HAHAHAHAHAHHA

[@Chrisgpop]

It’s easier if you stand to the right with the breaker bar.

[@adamwells4794]

If it’s the 3.6 check the valley and top of the tranny for oil the oil filter housing on Chrysler 3.6 love to leak oil and it’s a pull the upper and lower intake manifolds to replace it

[@WatchJRGo]

HEMI 🍻

[@michellericard4850]

RALLY FIGHTER PLEASE 🙏🏼

[@sheerwillsurvival2064]

How does that have a dip stick 2011-current are sealed with cap no dip stick 🤷🏼 and I wouldn’t put aftermarket struts on it if your going to keep it dealership OEM not that expensive if not air lift ones

[@yiyangcheng]

I feel like this is what Tyler Potter has to go through lol

[@kencrouch668]

How did I miss the fact that Eric married your sister? The last I saw your sister was when you were helping her look at a White Toyota Station Wagon and that was when you were still riding your motorcycle around and had a real job! (lol)

[@WatchJRGo]

Different sister 😂

[@agustinherrera5600]

Do the top mounts on these shocks have bearings?

[@hereinoz7051]

No. The strut doesn't turn

[@josh8344]

Are those zip ties holding the heat shield to the exhaust?! 😅

[@boelensds]

I do nit get it why wheels on lift are always lifted to shoulder hight.

[@awxx2006]

My Eric? (in the video description)

[@GroundhogzGarage]

I keep wondering why you don't fix/finish the Rolls. Then I wondered if it was a KZbin failure but looking back at the video's you had pretty decent viewership on it. If you get to work, you have plenty of time to get it to LS Fest. Or down to one of Cleetus' burn out events.

[@WatchJRGo]

Because the whole rear end has to built from scratch and that's not what we do. Waiting on a shop.

[@GroundhogzGarage]

@@WatchJRGo There is always a first time! :)

[@JimFlanagan4206]

Granch!

[@princesukhram180]

Is that a HE MI 😮

[@RodderFiles]

They are Def Cheap enough to make a noticeable Difference

[@saudshabra1068]

Good luck replacing the oil pan with that 4WD

[@maxxmich]

you check fluid when the vehicle is running.

[@mr_jake.y8348]

Whats up with the blue street lights?

[@WatchJRGo]

All the LED streetlights in the US failed long ago, they're all being replaced again 🍻