Strut Rod Drama

[the4biddendonut]

My 93 ATX has clunk noise in the front suspension. When I tore it apart, I realized it has a bad strut rod. The strut rod was just spinning where it connects to the subframe. It moves back and forth about a 1/4". I can tell the previous owner's solution was to take the nut off, that joins the rod to the frame, and stick some washers in there to stop the back forth movement.

I've looked on the forum for an answer and don't quite understand some things. Is it the strut rod itself, or is it the subframe that wears out? Do I need to replace the strut rod AND use the repair kit, or can you use one or the other to fix the problem???

Thanks for any help.

 

[NJSHO]

As long as the strut rod is not worn away from rust, you should just need the subframe repair kit.
edit:
as long as it doesnt look like the strut rod on the right:


at a min you should get the following:
MOOG K8737 Crossmember Repair Kit Qty 2
MOOG K8516 Strut Rod Bushing Kit Qty 1
MOOG K8613 Strut Rod Bushing Kit Qty 2

rockauto is your friend

 

[Phoenix]

As long as the strut rod is not worn away from rust, you should just need the subframe repair kit.

What he said.

Another solution is to weld it (the donut that came loose) to the subframe , many have done this without any issues. Saves a good amount of $ , the kit is like 60-70$.

While your at it , you can change your bushings too.

 

[92inPA]

Here's the instructions for welding the frame, if that is actually your problem.

Strut Rod Bushing Repair

 

[Roady94]

- More Info Here.

 

[Electricat]

That's good info on the weldup job, I need to do that to mine soon, as it is clunking nicely.

But to the OP, especially considering your location, it is likely that you have both issues here: that your strut rod is rusted away where it goes through the bushings, along with the mounting cup being broken away from the subframe. So be sure to leave yourself time and funds to take care of replacing the rod itself also, if you find it is also bad.

 

[St Louis SHO]

New from ford they are about $70 each IIRC. I replaced both in my dads silver frost 95 a couple years ago.

 

[the4biddendonut]

Thanks for the help, I get it now. I hadn't completely understood the repair guide by Roady the first time I read it. I wasn't sure why he replaced the strut rods and used the repair kit. Hopefully I can get away with keeping the strut rods. I have a feeling that the rods are rusted, just because this car has been such a ****** in the past.

I'm going to see if I can get someone to weld it up for a cheaper price than the repair kit. I'll pretty much just do what's cheapest. That repair kit sounds pretty expensive for 3 pieces of metal.

 

[Roady94]

Thanks for the help, I get it now. I hadn't completely understood the repair guide by Roady the first time I read it. I wasn't sure why he replaced the strut rods and used the repair kit. Hopefully I can get away with keeping the strut rods. I have a feeling that the rods are rusted, just because this car has been such a ****** in the past.

I'm going to see if I can get someone to weld it up for a cheaper price than the repair kit. I'll pretty much just do what's cheapest. That repair kit sounds pretty expensive for 3 pieces of metal.

- Feel free to email any questions on any of my posts. I'm pretty good with timely responses.

The reason I replaced the cups with the Moog kit is because I didn't have enough "cup" left to weld.

The reason I replaced the strut rods is because corrosion had diminished the diameter of the oem pieces to the point that I felt replacement $$ was justified. Same for the rear as well.

As far as the cost of the Moog kit goes, I didn't look at it as big $$ for three pieces of metal. I saw it as the most cost effective route to a tight ride. If I could have achieved that goal for less money, I would have. Proof of that on the rear strut mount here.

 

[the4biddendonut]

I found a local shop to weld it up this Friday. I told them that the kit kit costs around $90 and they laughed cuz they thought I was joking about the outrageous price. They said they'd weld the cup back on for around $50. Hopefully there's enough cup left to weld back on.

Thanks for the help, and I'll send any questions your way, Roady.

 

[the4biddendonut]

Turns out that there wasn't enough cup left to weld back on. So I ended up installing the repair kit myself. No more shifting and knocking noise coming from my front end now. Thanks for the help guys.

 

[Roady94]

- Congrats on the fix.