Mine didn't end up exactly like pictured. Like I said I had to move more of the spacers under the plate. I'll have to look at it when I get home.
Progress Thread 12th Owner: My '93 Notchback Restoration & Performance Build
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You want the shaft of the strut to be as high as possible but enough spacers to prevent it from hitting the hood.
The idea is that the higher the strut shaft, the more it is extended out of the body which gives it more range of motion without bottoming out..which is a need for lowered cars.
Just use enough spacers below to clear the hood.
Mustang5L5, you sound exactly like Maximum Motorsports who I just spoke with.
So, I have to pull my struts back out and visit the hardware store to buy the necessary washers to lower the strut enough to clear my hood. That's basically what it comes down to. Ugh.
So, I have to pull my struts back out and visit the hardware store to buy the necessary washers to lower the strut enough to clear my hood. That's basically what it comes down to. Ugh.
How about this for a different approach? Is it possible that I'm just over tightening the strut? I had no problem closing the hood until I finished everything yesterday. I installed an Allen wrench to the top of the strut and just kept tightening it with an opened box wrench until it got to this point. I can always untighten it which will lower the strut sufficiently to clear the hood. I have FMS B springs with Bilsteins and have plenty of room/travel within the wheel well. I also don't track the car.
Once I get home from work I'm going to unscrew the nut to see where the top of the shaft naturally rests. That will tell me a lot.
Once I get home from work I'm going to unscrew the nut to see where the top of the shaft naturally rests. That will tell me a lot.
Those look like BBK plates, they are the only ones AFAIK, that use poly bushings. There should be a steel sleeve in the bushings, you shouldn't be able to raise the strut by tightening the nut, once it's tight against the sleeve it can't go any further. If you go to LMR's web site, you can download the BBK instructions, that should help to clarify things.
So I was able to wrestle the struts out of my car and took one along to the local hardware store. There I found a 3/4"x1"x1" collar that seemed to fit perfectly. Bought two and installed them. They worked perfectly and the car is now fully mobile (no remaining bugs after the full suspension and brake system install). I have an alignment scheduled for tomorrow morning. Things are looking up.
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Just an observation. In the before pictures of your setup the top of the shock was sticking way up, that was the issue. Now looking at your setup it looks like the shock is only coming up to where you can barely get the nut on. The passenger side doesn't look like you have full thread engagement. I only point this out so that someone smarter then me can chime in and see if its a problem. I would think that you would want to top of the CC plate such that you can thread the nut on and have at least a thread or two sticking out.
I agree. That nut may not be threaded on far enough now. The top of the nut contains the nylon insert that resists loosening. That needs to be fully engaged on the thread.
Close up pic of that?
Close up pic of that?
Mine are very Similar with my UPR plates and no issues at all. Been that way for over 2 years prob at This point
I'll be reinstalling my panhard bar tonight. Alignment tomorrow and then I'll write up a very thorough conclusion to this entire process by Friday.
Big thanks again to everyone who encouraged me to order and install the brakes and who helped me troubleshoot the issues that cropped up.
Big thanks again to everyone who encouraged me to order and install the brakes and who helped me troubleshoot the issues that cropped up.
I did that and then drove it fairly vigorously -no movement, but I can probably squeeze one more turn out of it.
Be careful not to over torque it. Tightening to much is just as bad as not having it tight enough. You might not have any problems, but one vigorous drive will not reveal if you have a problem. Follow Mustang5L5's advice and use the white out.
The nylon in the top of the nut acts as a lock washer. If it doesn't have good thread engagement it simply wont work as designed. If you do take it to get the alignment done tomorrow you could ask them about it. You might not ever have any problems. The last thing you want to do is get an alignment then realize you have an issue that requires you to bust things apart again, requiring a new alignment.
Also, it wouldn't be a bad idea to ask the guy doing the job to give everything you've done a good once over. Having another set of eyes take a look is always a good idea. That's what I did when I finally took my car to get an alignment.
The nylon in the top of the nut acts as a lock washer. If it doesn't have good thread engagement it simply wont work as designed. If you do take it to get the alignment done tomorrow you could ask them about it. You might not ever have any problems. The last thing you want to do is get an alignment then realize you have an issue that requires you to bust things apart again, requiring a new alignment.
Also, it wouldn't be a bad idea to ask the guy doing the job to give everything you've done a good once over. Having another set of eyes take a look is always a good idea. That's what I did when I finally took my car to get an alignment.
Sound advice. Maximum Motorsports suggests that owners complete a post recheck/re torquing of all nuts and bolts once 1,000 miles have passed.
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I checked today. There's approximately 1/2 inch of thread engagement by the nut and the strut is pushing upward. I think I'll be OK, but appreciate the comments. I went ahead and marked it.
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