HELP! strut tower brace problem questions.....

[Allforspeed]

i know this is like the king of easy mods, but i got a MAC strut tower brace and i was wondering if i should expect it to fit real perfect? my car does not have a bent frame and has never been hit, but the flanges on the shock towers do not fit up flat, its like the angle is greater on the two flanges thanwhat would be perfect on the shock towers, i hope you can tell me if this will make it not work that well and/or i can shim it with washers, it is not hugly off, but certainly not fitting flush like i expected, do MAC products just suck?
did you guys have this problem, when you installed yours? and if anyone could post a close up pic of where there brace fits against the shock towers and firewall i wil buy them a beer

 

[Mavrick]

Mine did not fit perfect, but a little elbow grease and once the bolts are tight, that brace isn't going anywhere!

Mustangs like to flex/twist, i wouldn't worry about it. Mine was off about a half inch, rather than using washers i just made it fit

 

[ratrapp]

my bbk has the same problem.plus it didn't clear my intake.that was a waste of $100.i think unless you get maximum motorsports or kenny brown,they all will have some type of fitment problems.plus cars shift and get slightly tweaked over the years without being in big accidents.

 

[Allforspeed]

thanks a ton, i think i feel a little better,
what do you mean "made it fit"!

did you just hammer on it or did you bend it or shim it? does it just bend in place once it all tightens up? i am afraid to hammer on my new brace cause i think it would probably just break instead of bend
i was alos wondering if jacking up the car so no stress is on the front wheels would help cause then when you lower it there is tension in the chassis on the brace... whadya think?

 

[Mavrick]

I installed it while the car was resting on the suspension.. as I believe thats how you want the car to stay, rather than bracing your front end while its already under the wrong flexing conditions. (same idea as installing frame connectors).

I did not hammer on my chrome strut tower brace, no way! I tightened up the bolts on the firewall and the passenger side strut tower, then started the bolts on the drivers side and tightened them up, which made the brace sit flush on all surfaces...

 

[ALMOST STOCK]

Mine did not fit perfect, but a little elbow grease and once the bolts are tight, that brace isn't going anywhere!

Mustangs like to flex/twist, i wouldn't worry about it. Mine was off about a half inch, rather than using washers i just made it fit

That's sounds almost exactly like the old one I had .

 

[Mavrick]

That's sounds almost exactly like the old one I had .

Funny thing, eh Paul?

 

[Allforspeed]

thanks alot, was kind of sweating. i'll bolt it up and try and get it to fit, as long as its not useless not fitting flush, i can survive,

thanks for your help man, good karma and a beer in SF to ya!

 

[ALMOST STOCK]

Funny thing, eh Paul?

So I take it everything worked out?

 

[Mavrick]

Yep.. turned out shipping wasn't all that expensive, well worth it. Thanks to you and Tim for letting these parts go! I'll be putting them to good use, thats for sure.. the plates might have to use a new coat of paint, but the brace looks like it just came out of the box!

I have no clue as to how to set the CC plates up.. as the strut tower has so much adjustability with the mounting holes being 3inches long. Ill have to research it a little, and take the car to a speed shop for a decent alignment (of cc plates and bumpsteer kit etc).

Thanks again to you and Tim, i'm stoked about these parts!

 

[ALMOST STOCK]

If it helps I still have the original installation instruction sheets that the C/C plates came with and I’ll be glad to send them to you, just email me.

 

[Mavrick]

Thanks Paul but i still have them from when you emailed them to me earlier

They don't mention anything about the strut tower holes, how they are elongated like they are.. is your 89 like this too? The two bolts for the CC plates that are beside eachother.. the holes that they go through, in the strut tower, are elongated big time (from the factory).

 

[ALMOST STOCK]

All you should have to do is remove the strut nut, get rid of the old factory adjustment plates and install the Steeda plates.
You shouldn't have to elongate any of the holes in the Strut Tower.
Let me see if I can show you how they were installed on my 89 with pics.
Factory Holes In Strut Tower
View attachment 519261
Left Side
View attachment 519263
Right Side
View attachment 519265
CC Plates with STB
View attachment 519267
If none of this make since, email me and I'll talk you through it. No reason to take up any more space on this Forum.
Paul

 

[Allforspeed]

thanks for the pics, cheers!!

it is the angle of the flanges on the tabs that bolt ot the shock towers if i put the top one flat, the bottom one is now not flush, maybe away from the metal of the shock tower like 1/4 to 1/2 inch, if the bottom (vertical facing) flange is flush with the metal than the top horizontal flange is pointing up a little , probably fine, but am afraid i might have gotten a part for a different year stang, those pics are super helpful, looks like your fit a bit better than mine,

i think i'm learning that aftermarket stuff seldom bolts up perfect, no matter what part of brand.......

for real, though, thanks for the pics thats really cool to spend some time and help out a stranger

 

[Mavrick]

Allforspeed.. mine was identical. You want the top (horizontal) flange to be flush, and then when you tighten the bolts it will all bolt together nicely. My brace was also a MAC, and if it happened to 3+ members on this site with the same bar, then obviously its a MAC design error.


Paul, you got mail.

 

[Wil]

All you should have to do is remove the strut nut, get rid of the old factory adjustment plates and install the Steeda plates.
You shouldn't have to elongate any of the holes in the Strut Tower.
Let me see if I can show you how they were installed on my 89 with pics.
Factory Holes In Strut Tower
View attachment 519251
Left Side
View attachment 519253
Right Side
View attachment 519255
CC Plates with STB
View attachment 519257
If none of this make since, email me and I'll talk you through it. No reason to take up any more space on this Forum.
Paul

damn that's a nice engine, if only I could do that. What brace do you all recommend? I was leaning towards Steeda or KB

 

[ALMOST STOCK]

Wil
Thanks for the complement!
That pic was taken about 3 yrs ago, Ive since changed things to clean it up more.
I had A Mac STB and I now have a MM STB.
I think as long as you get something to tighten the strut towers and that won't tear out from the fire wall it makes no difference which STB you get.

The MM STB will clear with most intake and attaches to the pinch weld if that helps?

 

[Mavrick]

If you can afford the MM brace, i'd say go for it. Would save you the trouble of having to swtich STB when upgrading your intake, and i'm sure the MM is stronger than any other 3 point brace. But quality cost $$$.

 

[Henceforward]

What brace do you all recommend? I was leaning towards Steeda or KB

Purchase a Maximum Motorsports Strut tower brace. Mine fit perfectly, and really shut up all the cracks, and chassis noise.

 

[PonyBoy90]

I have the same MAC chrome brace as that in the picture provided. I too thought I'd have fitment issues when I laid mine out in the engine bay. Ended up fitting great though

Do you have subframes under your car? If not, I seriously suggest getting those installed also as if you don't, all that chassis flex will be transferred to your brace and will end up elongating the holes where the brace is bolted up. A brace should be used in conjunction with subframes ALWAYS.

5.0 Pro Racer Joe DaSilva (and my mechanic ) explained to me that if you have good subframes, a strut tower brace isn't even necessary. At that point it's little more than engine dress-up Unless you're going to race oval courses, the subframes should suffice. Granted I have both for added strength to an old chassis I would never have installed one without the subframes.