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

[The Gagnons]

Mark,

I had the exact same failure about two years ago.  I had a shock replaced
and the springs replaced all around and the shop forgot the metal cup that
Paul describes.  The shock caused the strut mount to push up into the hood
and put a nasty ding in the hood.  It took about two weeks for this to
happen.  The shop denied that they forgot the piece and claimed it must not
have been there when they took it apart.  I argued with them and told them
that if one side had it and the other didn't they should have noticed
something was wrong.  They eventually offered to buy a new strut mount and
install it, but the hood repair was on my nickel ($375 to be exact).

In my mind the problem was clearly their fault and they should have been
responsible for the whole repair.  This was a difficult situation as they
are one of the only shops around with experience on Audi's and other high
end cars. They also allow me to bring my own parts which many shops do not
allow.   I boycotted the shop for about nine months until I had another
repair cost me an arm an a leg and a whole bunch of time elsewhere.

Jack

> -----Original Message-----
> From: s-car-list-admin at audifans.com
> [mailto:s-car-list-admin at audifans.com]On Behalf Of Paul Gailus
> Sent: Sunday, November 16, 2003 1:49 AM
> To: Mark Pollan; S-Cars (E-mail)
> Subject: Re: [s-cars] My baby has been scarred - Upper Strut Mount
> FAILURE!!!!!
>
>
> Mark,
>
> Sorry to hear about your problem.
> You might want to take off the failed strut mount in order to verify
> that there is an inverted metal cup on top of the strut piston shaft.
> This is needed to spread out the compression loads on the strut mount:
> http://www.audifans.com/pipermail/s-car-list/2002-December/008957.html
>
> If the metal cup is present, then it's likely that a defect in the strut
> mount
> or the strut insert caused the problem.
>
> Paul
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Mark Pollan <mark.pollan at mci.com>
> To: S-Cars (E-mail) <s-car-list at audifans.com>
> Sent: Saturday, November 15, 2003 1:11 PM
> 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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>
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