4kq bad strut mount followup... Fixed!

[R Mangas]

   You may recall that I was having a problem with suspension freeplay at
the strut mount following a bearing install on the front of my 4kq.  Took it
apart again (6+ times, yikes!) last night and finally got some success!  The
issue turned out to be a combination of problems...

  First off, props to Martin Pajak- he's the one first tipped me to the fact
that the retaining collet would *loosen* when driving the top nut down with
the impact.  Martin, I owe you a coldie!

  Second issue was that whomever installed the dampers which are currently
in the car did not have/did not use the nifty double-spline tool to tighten
the collet.  Instead they used the venerable hammer-and-screwdriver
technique.  This resulted in some deformation at the top of the collet- it
got a little mushroom like.  Then, when I drove the bell washer down onto
that with the impact gun it spread more and as a result the collet bound up
in the strut bearing instead of getting tight.  20 seconds with a grinding
wheel returned it to proper dimension and 5 minutes later I was on my way.

  Many thanks to all who replied!

  Robert

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