Edit: I found out these strut mounts are meant to accommodate the early third gen cars as well as the later ones, which moved one of the slots about 1/4". These are not defective parts, its the way they are designed. I will not be using these strut mounts on my car.













Here's a pic, you can see the extra wide slot that may explain my outburst in the title:



Not a hard fix either way, but should I make a spacer/washer to fit the gap, or actually weld a patch in the extra space?

 

What's the problem?

 

I circled it in photobucket's edit app, but apparently it hasn't updated yet.

See the lower most bolt in the pic? The one that is in a slot wide enough for the entire nut to fit through?

 

Every company has failures. What we should judge a company by it how they handle it.

I think you should have contacted them before posting. Then if they replaced it ou could have told us how bad it was BUT that they promptly replaced it. Or told us they said too bad & didn't replace it.

Don't judge a company by a bad part, just how they handle it.

 

I don't think it's a bad part, they're both different part numbers, it's unlikely thats not how they're supposed to be.

So what do you think, should I just make a loose spacer or should I weld one in?

 

I dunno what you mean by "different part #s", but I already said what I think you should do. The router that cut that slot outr could easily have been an operator error by putting in the wrong bit size, so it cut the wrong sized slot & there might have been several of those cut like that before it was caught at the factory & yours (or more) slipped through QC & made it out the door.
Contact them & ask if they'll replace an obviously defective item.

 

Hmm, stock photos on rockauto.com and summit show a correct mount. Maybe they are defective. I mean right and left strut mounts are different part numbers, meaning different job numbers, meaning different machine setups, meaning different operators, likely on different days. The likelihood of ordering two strut mounts and getting two different part numbers that each slipped through QC on two separate occasions is pretty slim, but maybe that's what happened.

I didn't bash the company anyway, but for your sake, I'll change the title

 

Ah. I understand what you mean now. I got the impression that only 1 of them was "defective". Have you asked rockauto.com about it? I dunno what they cost, but you could think about getting the aftermarket tall mount ones, or see if rockauto.com will look on the shelf & see if all theirs are defective like that.

As an ex-CNC mill operator I cam see how 2 different parts could get the same flaw. Not real likely, but I can see how that could happen. Sure would be a fluke accident for the stars to like up for 2 different parts to get the same defect, but entirely possible to do.

 

I got a pair of strut mounts from oreilly's that were built the exact same way... I used a couple extra thick washers to bridge the gap. very annoying and not good looking at all.

I guess the oreilly house brand mounts are made by KYB....


point is, it's not a defect... they are just making them that way

 

That's what I was wondering...

I have some 1/8" steel flat. I'll cut a chunk to narrow the slot, and weld it in place. I have some gloss black epoxy paint that shouldn't show too much against the powdercoating when I'm done.

 

I am not sure if its a defect or not but I would personally not spend money on something that isnt right. I would send them back and get the correct ones. you will be happier in the long run

 

These are the "correct" ones. The "defect" or "design flaw" whichever it is, is not a big one. It will take me 15 min, 2ft of MIG wire, and a shot of gloss black paint to fix and you will never know its there unless I tell you its there.

You probably wouldn't like the cut/weld I did on my A-arm mount today to make room for my 1 3/4" long tube headers. I think I'll be just as happy with it as I would be if I sent them back, and had someone fab me a $1600 set of custom headers. And also, I'm a lot less broke.

 

I'm not trying to dis on them. I figured if you paid good money for replacement parts you want them to be the same without the customizing. If you got a great deal the by all means, due what you must. I'm just saying there are other brand replacements that are identical as the factory. I just replaced mine with a set from founders .

 

The above is the 'new' design, which fits all years. Previously, there were two designs, one for 82-86 and the other for 87+. If you'd like more info on the subject, check the pics/info below (especially take note of the mounting slots and their size):

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...elp-quick.html

Oh, and this link, check #20 for a pic of the KYB:

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/susp...86-camaro.html

JamesC

 

Thanks for the explanation James. I guess it turns out KYB strut mounts DO just plain suck.


But then again it looks like they all just pretty much suck. I'm gonna turn a pair of stepped washers with an offset hole. Give me a couple minutes I'll get a pic.

 

Here's what I'm gonna make next time I'm bored at work.

 

I'd suggest that all after market versions, along with the retainers, are based on the 87+ design, so either the retainer is part of the package (which is the case with Founders, IIRC), or it's purchased extra, as is the case with Spohn.

JamesC

 

I ordered the founders CC plates today, and arranged to return the KYB's.

 

Good choice on returning the retainers rather than slapping a band-aide on them. Hope the Founders are built correctly. I look forward to hearing a report on them from you, even though I haven't seen anyone post anything bad like this about them.

 

UPS dropped off the Founders CC plates today. All I can tell so far are they appear to be very nice pieces. They were very well packed and didn't have a scratch on them (except a mark where they were hung on the powdercoating rack, no way around that really). All the fasteners threaded together easily by hand, (except for the retainer nuts, which are a locking design).So far I am very impressed.

While the Moog strut mounts may not have the enlarged slot like the KYB pieces, they and the the retainers are about equal in cost to the Founders CC plates. The KYB strut mounts are significantly cheaper, but suffer from design shortcomings. I would highly recommend the Founder's CC plates over any OEM style strut mount. I cannot compare them to other Caster/Camber plates, since I have no firsthand experience, nor will I be using the added adjustability they offer, since my car sits at factory ride height.