[s-cars] My baby has been scarred - Upper Strut Mount FAILURE!!!!!

[Mark Pollan]

Hi all:

Looking for some sympathy and some guidance/advice.  Went out today to get
my haircut, driving at a leisurely pace.  Hit a few large washboard bumps
along the way and heard an unpleasant but not gut-wrenching knocking from
the front right.  Figured I'd have a looksee for any loose nuts/bolts upon
returning home.  Had about 10 miles to travel so...

On the way home some more washboard bumps and a VERY unpleasant clunk.
Slowed WAY down (2 miles to travel at this point in time), got her home,
lifted the hood, and much to my chagrin the right upper strut mount was
toast.  The bonded rubber bushing separated completely from the plate.  No
biggie I figured, got another car, will order the part and put it on this
week.  However...I then noticed the upper strut nut punched a nice size
dimple in my fairly pristine hood - F@#K!!

I have not yet jacked up the front end to have a closer look at the strut
assembly to see if something else gave out causing this to happen.

Questions/advice:

1. Has this happened to anybody else out there?  These were brand new mounts
I installed when I changed to Bilstein/Eibach back in May of '03.  Seems a
tad premature for this to occur.
2. Do you recon I have any recourse by claiming manufacturing defect for
something of this nature?
3. Anybody have a recommendation for a good body shop in the DC area?  I'll
probably wait until Spring for the repair but...

Thanks as always for your indulgence.  Oh, and go check your strut mounts
for any signs of failure/rubber cracking/separating.

Best regards,

Mark
'95.5 S6 with a nipple on the hood.