['88 90Q] Front strut mount is FUBAR

[Brian O']

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[ Picked text/plain from multipart/alternative ]

 nothing broke, just the rubber on the upper strut bearing bad, probably ha=
ppened about 195,000 miles ago. the only thing that does hold the shock ass=
. in is the upper washer, that should have a hard plastic ring around the e=
dge, but yours is probably gone by now !!! thats probably not your wobble e=
ither !! they just make clucking noises over bumps. wobble is probably cont=
rol arm bushings or bad cv joint, grease em and replaced boots lately ?? th=
ere is a tool for the shocks, any foreign parts place or any tool shop shou=
ld have it, its pretty cool, i suffered many of em before i found out about=
 it !!!!  the upper washer will be tight to the shock and the car when its =
new, but about 3-4 weeks later it will be loose again, maybe longer in your=
 5 cly. car. get the ones from blau, or anyone that has the urq ones, im st=
ill kicking my butt for not doing so myself, now sometime this summer im go=
nna take my struts back out just to replace the upper bearings, cause the k=
nocking noise drives me nuts !!!!
                                                                           =
                        brian o'
93 90 cs
93 100 csq
90 80 ( sold and in holding pattern till totally paid !!! )


  James Wagner <jameswagner at visi.com> wrote: I've looked around a little fo=
r more details on this, and have had no luck,
so please forgive if this is a FAQ.

When looking for an ever-increasing wobble in my front, I found that the
front right upper strut mount appears to be FUBAR. The car's got 205k
miles, so no surprise. When I allow the front right to go to full droop,
the dished washer (underneath the plastic cap) actually comes in contact
with the bodywork! The driver's side does not do this. I'm certain I've
found the major cause of my wobble.

What frightens me is that I can't figure out exactly what keeps this from
happening anyway. I don't understand what keeps the upper strut connected
to the body. The Bentley manual is horrible in this kind of detail, I'd
love a cross-section. It almost seems as if something has come un-welded
from the body, allowing this much movement. I'm assuming the function of
the dished washer is to prevent the strut top from departing the body
entirely when the car is airborne if the upper mount goes bad.

Have I broken something serious, or is this merely a defective upper strut
mount? If it's just the mount, has anyone got any advice on the standard
vs. ur-quattro-esque parts from Blau?

Any advice on creating the special tool that allows you to hold the *&#!
internal-wrenching strut still while turning the nut? I was thinking of
grinding a couple of flats on a crappy socket, holding said flats with a
vice grip, and running the Allen through the 3/8" drive hole.

If anyone could hook me up with a better drawing or concept of how the upper
strut mount is held firmly in the car, I'd appreciate it.

TIA,
Jim Wagner



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