1/4" gap betwen upper rubber bushign above strut bearin

l8_apex_it · Post by **l8_apex_it** » 27 Mar 2005, 00:04

Just swapped out struts and put in new Bilsten Touring Class shocks.
Was driving fine and then started hearing clunking noise.
Opened hood and noticed approximately 1/4" gap or slightly less between the rubber stop above the strut bearing and the strut bearing itself.

Did I do a bone head move on the assembly / install?

I know I tighted the nut as tight as far as I could with the spring completely relieved. So what happened? Please help. It appears as though some parts settled/

greeselightning · Post by **greeselightning** » 27 Mar 2005, 09:18

I'm about to replace my struts too but I'm waiting for misc hardware I've ordered (i.e rubber spring seat, lock nuts and bolts, etc.)

What car do you have? I don't exactly understand where the gap is...

Do you mean a gap between the cap and the strut mount?

ref this part's view: http://fcpgroton.com/volvo850shocks.htm

850wagon · Post by **850wagon** » 27 Mar 2005, 10:46

Take the 21mm nut off the the top of the rubber bushing your speaking of ( while its on the ground ) and look to see if the "x" nut is tight and that the strut mount bushing hasn't broken through. if this checks out ok i would recheck the installation procedure

hope it helps
g

l8_apex_it · Post by **l8_apex_it** » 27 Mar 2005, 15:42

It is a 2000 V70 GLT with 60k miles.

Thanks for the suggestion regarding the x nut. Late last night before seeing your post I tried just that (That is when I noticed the 1/4" gap between the bottom of the upper rubber stop and the top of the strut bearing when sitting on the ground.) I wasn't able to tighten the x nut strut it any more. Not sure if I wasn't able to tighten it any more because of the high forces from the spring tension and weight of the car or if it is as tight as it is going to get. No conclusion. I guess I'll have to remove it to find out more.

I'm afraid it might be the strut bearing going bad or some other hard to find suspension component? So I will just have to take the strut out again, compress the spring and make sure everything is as tight as can be. If the strut and spring seats all look good I will have to look more heavily into the strut bearing, sway bar linkages, steering joints, etc. I don't want to start replacing items just hoping it is the problem.

Hopefully it is something very clearly wrong. I hate the random buying of parts!

Guest · Post by **Guest** » 27 Mar 2005, 16:12

Did you put in new upper spring seats (the hard rubber deals with the steel bushing molded into it) when you changed out the struts? If not, the action of a new new strut is a lot stiffer than a worn out one and may have caused one of the old seats to fail.

l8_apex_it · Post by **l8_apex_it** » 27 Mar 2005, 23:43

I should have posted that earlier. Yes, I did replace the upper spring seats. With just 60K miles the old ones were cracked and you could tell they were starting to go.

So as it stands now I am hoping to fix the problem w/o removing the strut so that I don't have to get it aligned again. But I'm not holding my breath. I just might have to remove the strut and spring tomorrow night in order to rule it out. Is it possible that it could be the upper strut bearing? Is the 1/4" gap normal above the strut bearing to the bottom of the rubber bumper above it?

I plan on checking the sway bar end links on the driver side, what components on the steering should I check and how do I check?

AJU · Post by **AJU** » 28 Mar 2005, 12:28

I think your strut assembly is fine - that gap should be there. Clunking probably from some other component - sway bar links most likely.

jschick · Post by **jschick** » 29 Mar 2005, 09:50

you are fine, I also changed my spring seats on my 850, did the first one and noticed same 1/4 gap but other side was only about 1/8 or less, I removed the assembly again and still same 1/4 gap. I assume it is from the new speing seat but I could not get it less then about the 1/4. I also had a rattle in the front end which I could not pinpoint, replaced every bushing even the swaybar links still their, I am guessing it is not in the suspension at all but maybe something else loose???

l8_apex_it · Post by **l8_apex_it** » 29 Mar 2005, 10:15

well that is discouraging that you still have the clunking noise after replacing bushings and the swaybar endlink! The gap seems odd to me in that it seems to add potential for the bumper to slam into the uppers surface of the strut bearing.

The noise for me did not show up until after replacing the front struts. The week before I installed the IPD front and rear swaybars and did not have any issues.

Can somebody who does not have a clunking noise check for the gap we are referring to? For some reason I find it odd that it is there. Seems like it would not allow the strut to do it's job well on rebound or when the tire drops away from the car do to pot holes.

I did notice play in both strut bearings. Could it be the strut bearing is bad and changing out the strut changed it's position enough to allow the clunking noise after reassembly?

Post by **dosbricks** » 29 Mar 2005, 19:40

l8_apex_it,
I think there is some confusion as to where the "normal" 1/4" gap is. It is normal to have about that much gap under the bowl shaped steel cap with the 4 tabs on the bottom that is directly under the strut nut.

It is not normal to have any gap under the soft light colored cushion under the steel washer that is below. That cushion should sit on the top of the strut bearing, as you say. If it doesn't, then the strut is not firmly affixed at the top (probable klunking).

That said, strut bearings hardly ever go bad, especially with only 60k, unless your previous struts were some super stiff performance brand that knocked the heck out of everything.

When you figure this one out, let us know the outcome.