Ok, I want to clean up my strut towers, and my plates have slight surface rust. I wanna clean them off and repaint them.

How do I go about removing them? It seems to me that the strut rests inside them? I have the Chiltons and Haynes manuals, but they go through a full strut removal. Are the steps in a strut removal the same for removing the plates? In other words, is all the previous strut removal stuff necessary, or can I just throw a jack under the controller arm and remove them?

Also, I've done a search on this, and the placement of these affects alignment, correct? I usually have an alignment done at my uncles Pontiac dealership (he doesn't own it, he works there). Do they usually adjust these when they do alignments at a dealership, or will they just adjust the rest of the suspension components according to how I have the mounts set? How reliable is it if I just mark the location of the plates and put them back based on my marks?

Thanks tons,
Mathius

 

I took off my upper shock mounts the other day so I could slot them for more negative camber.

It's not hard at all to remove them. I put the front on jack stands then put a jack underneath the lower control arm. I think it's a 13mm socket to remove the three nuts on top. Pop the plastic cover off with a screwdriver and there's one big nut on the shock. I think it's a 7/8 wrench for that and an allen wrench at the top of the shock to keep it from spinning. Repeat on the other side

You can probably mark everything beforehand and it shouldn't be too far off when you re-install everything.

If you take your car in for an alignment, they likely won't touch the upper mounts for caster/camber changes unless the readings are uneven on each side or they are "out of spec" (I autocross and roadrace and my camber settings are usually considered "out of spec" ).

 

Ok, I realize this is two monthes later, but I'm finally getting around to doing this.... My friend and I were talking this over and I have a question...

If we put a jack under the lower control arm, won't this compress the strut? Then if we take the caster camber plate off the top, won't the strut shoot out the top?

Maybe I'm just ignorant of how these things work?

I need an answer soon, we're dismantling my engine bay for paint.

Anyone?

Mathius

 

No. The spring will be held compressed with the weight of the car. When the car is raised from under the LCA, the strut is under no pressure (or very little). Undo the strut nut, and push the strut down and out. Or just undo the nut and then the 3 holding the plate down and lift it off the strut. Remember that the horsehoe shape plate under the inner fender will drop off when the 3 nuts are undone!! Remember to catch it!

Just do it-trust us!!

Andy.

 

Thanks for the quick reply Andy. I still don't understand it completely, but I'll trust you. We should get this done tommorrow then hopefully.

I guess I just don't get how struts work properly then. I thought they were held in place by the strut towers and the LCA, so if you jack up the LCA, the struts would compress, and moving the strut towers off, would cause them to decompress, sticking out the top.

Mathius

 

Hi Mathius.
Yep, I understand your concerns. The damper in the strut doesn't exert any force on anything. In fact it resists only when force is applied (i.e.damps) going over bumps. There is no load on the camber plate when the car is not moving. There is a load on the plate when the suspension is going up and down only.
Try it for yourself when the plate is removed. Grab hold of the top of the rod and pull it up and down. In fact, I bet when the nut is removed, the rod will sink downwards. If the strut is new, it will try to push upwards, but not by much.

Good luck.
Andy.

PS When the nut is removed and the plate also, the rod MAY try to sink downwards into the strut. If it does, the whole "leg" will move sideways (pivoting on the lower ball joint) and could hit the fender lip. Try to hold it while the plate is removed. I then use a tube (jack handle) put over the top of the strut rod and stuck out of the hole in the inner fender where the plate used to be. If you want a photo, I am sure I can find one somewhere.

 

Ok, another question, my camber plates are not centered with the car, they're about equal, but they're way off center of the car, is this normal? I would think not, but then I don't know. I'll post pictures...

Anyways, is there a diagram that shows where they should be set? I know that with stock tires, I should have around a -.5 camber angle, but I don't know how to achieve that by moving the caster camber plates. I know that moving them will set the rest of the car out of alignment, but I can always take it to a shop to fix that.

Do these shots look normal?

Mathius

 

Passenger Side

 

My original plan was to mark their position and put them back where they were when I re-installed them, but they're looking way off to me. I would think this would cause abnormal tire wear the way they're positioned.

Can anyone help with this?

Mathius

 

If you arent' experiencing tire wear now, then put them back exactly where they were. Do not move them. You will mess up the alignment settings.

And honestly, after removing the strut mounts, it would be best to have the front end alignment checked.

It might be easier to just get a drill with a wire wheel and clean and paint them on the car. You can take one nut off at a time, clean around it, then replace it and go to the next one. This way you won't mess up your alignment settings.

 

Hi Mathius. they look fine to me. Mine are in about the same position.

When I removed my plates to get them chrome plated, I went round the circumference of the plate with masking tape to mark their exact position, and then removed the plates. Since I was going to paint the inner fenders I then made up a cardboard template the exact shape of the plate and placed it back in position to line up with the masking tape on the top of the inner fenders. I then went under the arch and drew round the large hole and each of the 3 slotted holes. This left me with a perfect alignment tool for when they went back on! I then removed the masking tape and painted everything.

Good luck.
Andy.

 

Just to clear some stuff up. The strut mount is the ONLY way to adjust camber and caster--that is how the alignment is done(plus the toe of course). All that matters is the alignment settings, not how the strut mounts 'look' under the hood. Your's look to be set for the max negative camber.

Like he said before, the strut isn't under pressure. The car is held up by the springs. Put them back right where they were before and the alignment will remain about the same. I would still get the alignment checked though(any time you have the suspension apart).

 

Don't I want -.5 camber? I have stock rims/wheels. How do I achieve that?

Mathius

 

Take it to an alignment shop and tell them you want -.5 camber. They will then adjust the strut mount to achieve that setting. Keep in mind that some third-gens can only get to -.3 at the maximum negative, while some can get -.75. Just a difference in manufacturing and/or wear and tear.

 

i removed my plate by accident and im unsure if i put it back the exact way i took it off so now when i hit a bump the tire thats on the side i removed makes a weird rattle noise that sounds horrible...will a front end alignment fix this problem? it started after i messed with the caster camber plate so thats what im guessing it is

 

Ok, I'm having troubles here. Hoping someone can help me, 'cuz I'm stuck until then. I'm having a big problem with jacking points, and there isn't any good posts indicating where I should put my jack stands safely. Telling me "subframes" doesn't help me out here, I need pictures or something extremely detailed, because I'm just not getting it.

I tried following the front rails back from the impact bar, and I'm supporting the car there, but when I jack up the a-arm, to remove the strut towers, the whole car lifts up and is no longer supported by the jack stands under the rails. I assume this is not good? If we're talking the possibility of the strut swinging out, won't my car fall then?

Anyways, the only jacking point I see safely, and the one that everyone uses is the k-member, going below the engine, but there isn't enough room there for my 2 1/2 ton jack, and then 2 jack stands, to get it all positioned.

I'm in a real jam here. Who can help me out?

Mathius

 

Hi Mathius.
If you are removing the plates, you need the car supporting under the lower control arms. I use 2 jacks with a piece of stout timber on the top of each, and jack up right under the spring or as close to the wheel as the jack and tyre will allow. The weight of the car MUST sit on the springs/control arms if the camber plate is being removed.
Alternatively, raise the car by the K member and then get a pair of ordinary ramps with some wood on top and place them under the control arms, as close to the discs as possible. Then lower the car down on top of them and remove the jack. Don't remove the centre strut top nut until the weight of the car is completely on the springs.

Good luck.
Andy.

 

Ok, thanks Andy. See everything I've seen for removing shocks or even the caster camber plates as stated here, says first, jack up the front end, then place jack stands under the controller arms. I guess I just misinterpretted. I thought you had to have the car supported under the front end, and THEN put additional jackstands under the a-arms to hold them in place.

Thanks a ton! Sorry I sound like such a retard, but this is my first time doing this!

Mathius

 

No problem at all Mathius.
We all have to go through the first stages of learning. I have been doing this for 22 years and you would be amazed at the stupid/simple things I do from time to time!!!

Don't hesitate to ask for any more help.

Best Regards.
Andy.