welded strut towers

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

lincster2

Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2008
Messages
148
Reaction score
9
Location
Las Vegas NV.
O.K. here's the final report of all my modifications of the suspension of my ride, 92 MTX . The reason for writing all this stuff/final report is to hopefully save some time, expense for all of you who want to upgrade the front/rear suspension of your sho's.
First off I was not satisfied with the lack of front end adjustment (welded strut tower plates) so off came the plates, then a few hours of cutting/grinding bingo bigger holes to adjust the caster/camber. But now there's a big bunch of gaps.....hhhhhuuummmm. what to do?...the plates were basically bent/destroyed......so I slapped on a used strut tower brace I bought off this forum from one of the friendly forum members.
The car now seemed a bit better but it still shook & vibrated at speeds above "legal". Also it seemed to not be able to hold a proper alignment for more than a few weeks. So after the latest alignment....took the ride to my favorite muffler shop to have them weld the strut tower brace to the strut towers.. 3 small welds on each, just in case I have to remove the brace later.
The Ingalls adjustable strut mounts ( bought from the helpful folks at SHOSOURCE) offer me a small amount of adjustablity so I think it should be a long lasting solution. So you ask me what happens at super speed? Do I get the same old shake, rattle & roll? **** NO.... seems that the shaking, vibrating & non ablity to hold an alignment was due to the evenual looseningness of the STB. Well it seems logical that something has to welded up there to hold it all together.
So what can we glean from this? skip the slotting ...keep the welded plates...adjustable strut mounts are good...& that strut tower brace looks like the nuts...( poker term meaning the best hand ) Everything that could be replaced ...was. Bushings, ball joints, steering rack... you name it ...it was. This just points out that if you want a old car to behave like a new one....you have to spend a few bucks to make it happen.
I'll like to thank the forum members for all the help through out the years with their experiences....hope this post helps the uninformed. :salute:
 

Shoaz

Studly dood
Joined
Mar 25, 2003
Messages
4,637
Reaction score
593
Location
Scottsdale, AZ
To be honest, that's the first I've heard of anyone re-welding the strut plates once the factory welds are broken. Also the first time I've heard of anybody welding a strut tower brace in place, if I understand correctly.
 

lincster2

Member
Joined
Apr 5, 2008
Messages
148
Reaction score
9
Location
Las Vegas NV.
Well someone has to be first...a trailbrazer of sorts...
I did weld the strut tower brace(plates) to the towers.... but as far as the original strut tower plate ..it's long gone, it was all bent mangled up, I had to remove it somehow. Will report back if there's any problem, but so far it's been really good. At really fast speeds it's as smooth as sitting in your favorite living room chair.
The only problem I see is if I had to remove the stb...then I could just grind off the 3 little welds (about an inch long).
 

Forum statistics

Threads
107,077
Messages
1,181,195
Members
16,141
Latest member
grapnelg

Members online

Back
Top