'93 Del Sol with 36,000 miles needs new struts - normal wear & tear?

My 1993 Del Sol (that is used as a summer ride) didn't pass inspection this
year; they said the struts were leaking. My question - is this due to the
age of the car? I know things don't last forever but the mileage is low and
this car has been pampered.

 

I have been reading this group for a few years, and it's
rare to have damper (strut) leakage reported on older
Hondas. It seems post 1997 Hondas have a much higher
occurence of this than older ones like yours. The older
Hondas have their own set of unique suspension problems,
like the bushings and coil springs failing.

Particularly with the low mileage on this 93 Del Sol I would
not expect leakage. Still, according to the archives, damper
leaks happen at times on the older Hondas. And you say at
least two struts are leaking? That's perhaps no coincidence.
I would think age in years, not just mileage is a factor.
For your own experience, and if you haven't already, get the
wheel off and look at the strut yourself. If you see dust
accumulated right beneath the damper joint, that's a sign of
oil leaking (then dust accumulating on the oil).

You might consider non-OEM dampers to save some money. Word
at this group is that dampers are one item for which OEM is
not essential.

One of the regulars here suggested KYB GR-2 struts from
http://www.tirerack.com, for one, for my 91 Civic, recently,
when I started rebuilding my suspension. (I subsequently
disassembled the damper/coil assembly and found my original
dampers were fine.)

 

only 36k? take it to a different inspection place - they've probably
sprayed oil in there to sell you on unnecessary work. hondas rarely if
ever leak oil at that milage. 360k, maybe. not 36k.