dire strut help needed

[greengiant]

okay so today has been a complete disaster but thats besides the point. i got some monroe sensa tracs to replace my beat tokicos. i've got eibachs for springs. when i went to put them back together they definately don't work. as you can see in the pictures the struts are not long enough for the springs and compressing the spring would be useless and dangerous. are these two not compatible or what. i need to finish this project this weekend and things arent looking good

old tokico number

blown to **** strut

 

[K-Dawg]

http://www.shoforum.com/showthread.php?t=63959

 

[greengiant]

the guy at the parts store asked me and i gave him the production date and he gave the "right" strut but i guess he didnt or something is wrong. i double checked and they say i have the right one. my car is post march 1994 and should take this other strut. so i don't have the right one???

 

[rubydist]

It doesn't really matter whether you got the 'long' ones or the 'short' ones - the only difference is the bottom end - how far it goes into the wheel hub clamp piece. The actual length of the stroke is not affected.

You should compare the extended lengths of the rods with the spring perch level between the two designs. the extended lengths will be virtually identical.

The shorter ones are easier to assemble and disassemble, since you don't have to slide them as far into that clamp piece on the hub asm.

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

That is a pretty LONG way to compress the coil to get the mount installed.

Is the part # on the strut itself? The part # on the box is the one you need. Maybe the wrong strut got placed in that box?

Is the other strut you picked p the same story?

 

[K-Dawg]

The way I understand it, you have the wrong struts. Doesn't matter what the parts store says. From 86-95, the Taurus unibody is essentially unchanged as far as the suspension is concerned.

 

[greengiant]

as far as i know they are the same i'll check in the morning though. if i put these springs with these struts the spring will be compressed to the point where its almost touching itself in the resting position nevermind bumps, so they won't work. at this point my car is screwed it can't be fixed or put back together so i need something to help the situation

 

[K-Dawg]

Did you read the thread I linked to?

The extended length of the part number you have is almost 3 inches shorter than the correct part number strut.

 

[greengiant]

i'll check it now, i'm scrambling to get things done

 

[greengiant]

so what that says is i need to get early 94 and older struts and that monroe is stupid and made useless struts? sorry the whole back and forth with part numbers is beyond my brain's power at 3 in the morning

 

[K-Dawg]

 

[rubydist]

according to both monroe.com and rockauto.com, the parts you have should work fine.

 

[greengiant]

that coil is not meant to be compressed like that, i don't feel safe using my cheap ass spring compressors to do that job either. i'm looking for the 71781 strut right now.

 

[Shoaz]

The long and short struts for the rear are completely interchangable. Many people have swapped between them, with the same springs and mounts, with no trouble. I personally prefer the short struts because they're a LOT easier to remove and install. I don't think the long struts provide any more travel than the short struts.

That being said, it's still hard to say whether you have a good strut there or not. Are both of the Sensatracs the same extended length? I just shipped a loose pair away or I'd measure them for you, but IIRC the extended length was around 24". I had to compress them a bit to fit in a 22" box.

It's unusual to not have to compress springs to assemble struts. That's what the compressors are for.

 

[LOUDSHO92]

That is a 96+ strut. You have the wrong strut. You need 71781.

 

[greengiant]

24 inches, i'm going for it, see what happens

 

[greengiant]

loud sho, i just looked at that strut at the parts store, it looks the same, are you positive that will work

 

[LOUDSHO92]

Yes. The spring should actually be slightly loose with the mount on.

 

[greengiant]

thanks man it was the wrong part, the new ones i got work fine. the parts store insists its the other one but its not

 

[Shoaz]

Glad to hear you got that worked out. Hooray for SHOforum!