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

[Mark Strangways]

But there really is not weight on the strut mount bolt...
It's not bearing the weight from the spring, that is taken care of by the
strut tower.
You can take that strut and mount off without removing the weight of the
car, so why did the bolt go thru the hood ??
I would look very closely at the entire spring area, is there any damage to
the strut tower at all ?

Mark S
----- Original Message -----
From: "Fred Munro" <munrof at sympatico.ca>
To: "Mark Pollan" <mark.pollan at mci.com>; "S-Cars (E-mail)"
<s-car-list at audifans.com>
Sent: Saturday, November 15, 2003 2:57 PM
Subject: RE: [s-cars] My baby has been scarred - Upper Strut Mount
FAILURE!!!!!


> Seems like an odd failure, Mark - a new mount shouldn't fail like that.
Most
> parts are warranteed for 1 year, so you may have recourse if the part is
> defective. I'd check the shock to make sure it isn't seized or isn't
> bottoming out before the suspension is fully compressed. I have heard of
> Bilsteins seizing up but haven't heard of top mounts failing.
>
> Sorry to hear about the damage.
>
> HTH
>
> Fred Munro
> '94 S4
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: s-car-list-admin at audifans.com
> [mailto:s-car-list-admin at audifans.com]On Behalf Of Mark Pollan
> Sent: November 15, 2003 2:11 PM
> To: S-Cars (E-mail)
> Subject: [s-cars] My baby has been scarred - Upper Strut Mount
> FAILURE!!!!!
>
>
> 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.
>
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