After taking the garbage out to the curb, I went back to my car, in the garage. Stared at the cracked top of the RIGHT REAR strut tower for an hour, and almost broke into tears. The thing is a complex shape. It seems to be three layers of thin steel, from three different pressed pieces welded together. The sides are odd angles. Also, there is little /no access to the other side of the sides. This is a daunting problem, and I have yet to figure out how to solve it. I wonder if others have seen this. Wonder how to attack the thing. I have never seen such crap on any American car. Closest I have seen to it, was when a friend bought a new Renault Fuego, went over a bump, and lost the entire front strut tower. Went right through the hood. At least Allen was able to make Renault eat the car. My shock nearly went through the hatch glass. The car is too perfect; and nearly a show car. Cannot throw it away.

Still waiting for your ideas. I won't get much sleep tonight.

Seth

 

Holy crap dude thats freakin nuts. I have no idea what you would do about something like that.

 

Still thinking. The cup is an odd shape. But maybe, I can fabricate a large 'L'-shaped piece if steel, and bolt it/weld it to both the deck, and the rear firewall behind the rear seats. This would bring the shock stud too high to be hidden under the deck carpet.

OOh, OOh, Idea- cut into the 'L' -shaped new bracket (is the deck strong enough to hold it?) can be a cup (with a hole in center) welded to it to accomodate the shock stud, nut, washer, rubber. Am I on the right track? Or shooting blanks? As I didn't take the car to bed, I am working from memory as to the basic shapes of the deck floor, rear firewall, and cracked cup/strut tower ( whatever the **** you want to call it).

One more edit: I may be able to back up both ends on my new bracket, if there is access from below the deck and between the rear firewall and the fuel tank. And if the metal is very thin, perhaps bolts/nuts alone will be better than a weld. I can use ALUMINUM PLATE. I can make a recess cup by bolting several layers of material under the plate, and drilling through them to make the cup shape. One thing at a time.

Good Night

Seth

 

You got any pics????
Sounds strange....... 3rd gens run shocks in the rear (no struts) and the mounting point is right behind the rear seat at the top of the tunnel made for the gas tank.....there is not "strut tower" ???

 

I need pics too. I may of done a simular repaor but need pics before I comment. Also no strut tower in the back.

 

I am simply referring to the sheet-metal mounting area as a 'strut tower'. It is really nothing more than a shaped area that resembles a recessed cup of sorts. I own only film cameras.

The cracked area is the size of the steel washer that goes over the bushing. The repair will be much complicated by the fact that the shape is very complex, and the entire area is not any bigger than that washer, and seems to be several layers of metal. I owned a British car for so long, that I am using the term "Strut Tower". I apologize.

I got no sleep thinking about this. Counted sheep all night. Maybe a cold shower will wake me up.

Seth

 

calm down bro, heh
its not the end of the world, and its entirely fixable.. as to how, thats up to you to figure out, or to pay someone to figure out for you, but its definately not a loss :P

if you think thats scary, go look at your front strut towers, i believe its only 2 layers of sheet metal
its not as weak as it looks, but of course it could be stronger
I would just weld in a new peice of sheet metal myself, might be one of those jobs you would need to drop the gas tank for though, not sure

 

Thanks for attempting to ease my mind.

While I am still wiping the sleep from my eyes, I have some thoughts that can only be tried out after I do morning chores.

Even Doggie (my Persian cat), can feel the stress.

I am toying with the idea of cutting the top 6" off an old front shock, and bolting it to whatever is nearby (like the rear fire-wall). If the rear shock fits inside is yet to be examined. The top of the old front shock has a cap that can hold the rear shock stud. Lots of assumptions, such as---Will this fix fit in the given space; will the rear shock fit up into it; is there room to work; is there a place to bolt-through; will these bolts make the space too tight to accomodate the rear shock????????

BTW, the gas tank seems far enough away to stay put, I hope.

Must feed Doggie (I know, he was very confused when I named him).

Seth