Gabriel Struts Review: Are They Worth the DIY Swap?
By Wesley Cole, automotive · updated 2026-07-26
Worth it if you're doing this in your own driveway.
A quiet yes for the right vehicle and the right driveway
around $160price at time of review — check Amazon for current
- Worth it ifYour vehicle is a 16-19 Ford Explorer or Police Interceptor Utility
- Skip it ifYour vehicle isn't on the listed fitment
Amazon shoppers rate it 4 out of 5 across 2,654 ratings. That is their number, not ours.
Affiliate link. Opens Amazon in a new tab.
As an Amazon Associate, Is It Worth It Reviews earns from qualifying purchases. It costs you nothing extra, and it has never changed a verdict.
You feel it before you can name it, a soft clunk over speed bumps, a little extra dive when you hit the brakes, a front end that used to feel planted and now feels loose. That's usually a strut giving up, and if you've priced a shop job already, you know why a gabriel struts review is what you're reading at midnight instead of just booking the appointment.
A strut's real job is boring but critical: it controls how fast the spring bounces back after a bump, so the tire stays planted instead of hopping. When that control fades, you get the dive, the clunk, the vague steering. Replacing a strut normally means using a spring compressor to squeeze the coil spring down before you can pull the old unit off and load the new one, and that's the step that sends most DIYers back to a shop, because a loaded spring under tension is genuinely dangerous if the compressor slips. Gabriel's ReadyMount assembly skips that step entirely. It ships as one complete unit, strut, spring, and upper mount already fixed at the correct extended and collapsed length for this specific Explorer and Police Interceptor Utility application, so there's nothing left to compress. You unbolt the old strut at the top and bottom, bolt the new assembly in the same two spots, and you're done. That single design choice is what turns a multi hour, tool heavy job into an afternoon in the driveway with a basic socket set.
You're not really buying a shock absorber, you're buying your way out of the one step in this job that scares people: the loaded spring. Whether that's worth it comes down to one thing, do you want to do this yourself or pay someone else to own that risk.
Worth it if
- Your vehicle is a 16-19 Ford Explorer or Police Interceptor Utility
- You're comfortable with basic hand tools and want to do the front strut swap yourself
- You want to avoid using a spring compressor at home
Skip it if
- Your vehicle isn't on the listed fitment
- You'd rather have a shop handle any suspension work
- You only need a bare strut and already own a compressor
Drivers outside the 16-19 Explorer / Police Interceptor Utility fitment, or anyone who'd rather leave suspension work to a shop entirely.
If you're driving a 16-19 Ford Explorer or Police Interceptor Utility and you own a socket set, this is a quiet yes, it removes the one genuinely risky part of a front strut swap. If your vehicle isn't on that fitment list, or you'd rather a shop handle spring work regardless of the assembly type, this particular part isn't the thing to search for.
Check price on Amazon · around $160 or Add it to your Amazon cart to sit on it
Before you go
Who makes Gabriel struts?
Gabriel is one of the longest running ride control brands in the US, and it makes both individual shocks and struts as well as complete pre-assembled strut units like this ReadyMount version.
Are Gabriel struts better than KYB?
There's no universal winner, the real difference is format: this Gabriel unit ships as a complete assembly with the spring and mount already in place, while many KYB options ship as a bare strut you build up yourself, so the better choice depends on whether you want to avoid spring compression.
Are Gabriel struts better than Monroe?
Same answer, it's less about one brand beating the other and more about whether you want a complete, ready to bolt in assembly or a bare strut you assemble with your own spring and mount.
More automotive reviews.