arcano Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 (edited) What is the right way to install strut spacers? I put them between the strut mount (also called strut isulator in the nissan service manual) and the strut topper plate (the part that had the bolts which were pressed out and replaced with longer ones). Is this right? If this is the right way, is it normal for the inner part of the strut mount (where the strut shaft is bolted on) to "sink" into the hole in the center of the spacer? Mine are doing that, and they are making some loud clunking and poping sounds when going over bumps. It almost looks like the pressure from the coils is too much for the strut mounts to withstand. When rocking the truck while looking at the mount from inside the engine bay, I can actually see the inner part of the strut mount moving up and down over half an inch inside the outer housing! Is this right? Any suggestions would be appreciated before I tear the strut assemblies apart to check everything...again. Edited May 22, 2007 by arcano Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPLORx4 Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 No, that is not the correct place to install the spacer. Doing so has damaged the strut mounts (isolators), and they will need to be replaced. The spacer should be placed between the fully-assembed strut and the body. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcano Posted May 22, 2007 Author Share Posted May 22, 2007 Thanks XPLORx4...I thought so. After looking at it some more I came to the conclusion that the strut mount needs the topper plate (called strut bracket in the nissan service manual) right below it to support the inner part of the strut mount. I guess I will be replacing those mounts soon, I can tell they are completly busted. For the time being I will install the spacer as you suggest, but I don't like that approach too much either, since the only thing holding the spacers and the whole strut assembly in place is the three bolts. In other words, with the spacer installed between the strut assembly and the body, the hole in the body, where the center "hump" of the mount is supposed to fit, does not contribute to holding the strut assembly in place against shearing forces, beacuse it does not go in at all. While looking at some previous posts I thought about something: Maybe I can get a second set of topper plates from a JY, pound the bolts off, and place them between the strut mount and the spacer. So, I would have from the top down: the strut mount, a strut bracket, the spacer, another strut bracket, and the strut bearing, etc... That way the mount would go all they way into the hole in the body as it is meant to, the mount would have a strut bracket right below it to support it, and there would be another strut bracket below the spacer to mate with the bearing and spring upper seat. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissandoms47 Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Thats too much work for no gain.. I had a 1" strut spacer on top of the whole strut assembly and some 1.5" long grade 8 bolts and it held up fine.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmorgan4 Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Like Alex said, I wouldn't be worried about "only" having 3 bolts holding the top of the strut holding things together. I've had this setup on mine with 4.5" spacers and everything is just fine. Put it through some pretty good abuse and haven't had any issues. Hope you get things worked out on the spacers soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPLORx4 Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 There's not really much shearing force on the upper mounts, so I wouldn't worry too much about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcano Posted May 22, 2007 Author Share Posted May 22, 2007 Well, I just took a couple of hours off from work and went down to the suspension shop. They switched the spacers around like you guys suggested, on top of the new mounts, above the whole strut assembly. The old mounts were KYBs, and they had completely come apart. I already had a pair of Nissan strut mounts that I bought a while ago when the dealer was having a sale on parts for older models. While looking at the destroyed mounts I realized that I could take advantage of the upper parts of the old mounts by placing them above the spacers, so they would go completely into the holes in the body and provide extra support for the strut assemblies. I think I agree that is probably not necesary, but it probably wont hurt either, so we tried it out and it seems to be working real good. As a bonus it provides like 1/16" of extra lift. So, now the truck handles great, sits perfectly leveled, and most important, makes absolutely no noises when going over bumps. Thanks for all the advice, and thanks to Tyler for the spacers . The truck is really comming together. I'll try to take some pictures to post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmorgan4 Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Awesome! Glad to hear they worked out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
02silverpathy Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 (edited) Maybe I am just stupid because of my left-handedness, but were we talking about this piece the whole time? Edited May 23, 2007 by 98silverpathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcano Posted May 23, 2007 Author Share Posted May 23, 2007 (edited) Yes, that’s the part that got destroyed. Apparently it needs the bracket with the pressed-in bolts right below it for support. I initially installed the spacer between the mount and the bracket, as I saw it done in some previous post, but in my case it didn't work out to well. The tension from the coils pulled the inner rubberized parts right out of both mounts, and they were popping and clunking like crazy. I had to replace the mounts and re-assemble with the spacers above the mounts. I also placed the top halfs of the busted mounts on top of the spacers, so they fit into the holes in the body and help keep the strut assemblies in place. Now its working fine, but the total length of the strut assemblies has increased by about ¾”. Do you think the extra length is enough to damage the CV joints when fully extended? I have manual hubs, so it would only be an issue when off-road. Edited May 23, 2007 by arcano Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissandoms47 Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Yes, any extra length will risk damaging the CV when full extended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcano Posted May 23, 2007 Author Share Posted May 23, 2007 I see. So, maybe my original suggestion a couple of posts back could work: use two strut brackets, one to support the mount and one below the spacer. In other words, I could put the strut mount (isolator) at the top, followed by the first strut bracket (with the bolts pounded out, or course), followed by the spacer and the second strut bracket (fitted with longer bolts). This way the mount would go all they way into the hole in the body as it is meant to (for lateral support), the mount would have a strut bracket right below it to support it, there would be another strut bracket below the spacer to mate with the bearing and spring upper seat, and most importantly, the total lenght of the strut assembly would not be increased significantly (to be precise, it would only be increased by the thickness of the additional strut bracket, maybe 1/16"-1/8"). I know it sounds like a lot of work, but it seems as if any other way to install the spacers has a disadvantage...risking damage to either the strut mounts or the CV joints. i'll see if I can find an extra set of strut brackets in a local junk yard to test my idea and will let you know if it works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPLORx4 Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 What you've just described is practically the same as getting stiffer springs. The biggest disadvantage to your idea is that you will have a higher probability of topping out the struts under average driving conditions, since the strut is closer to its maximum extension. It will also be a little harder to install the upper strut assembly because the coil springs will have to be compressed another inch or so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmorgan4 Posted May 23, 2007 Share Posted May 23, 2007 Are you still running a sway-bar up front? I probably wouldn't worry about over extending the struts with the swaybar on since both tires really have to come off the ground to get full droop on either side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwrounds Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 What diameter bolt(s) and length is used when adding a 1/16" spacer. I will be going to a bolt shop to pick up the bolts and am not sure of what I need.. Any help would be great... danny.rounds@gmail.com Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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