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Newby, left front strut loose?

J

jakemeister

New CEG'er
Joined
Sep 24, 2008
Messages
21
Location
Toronto
Hi:

I have a clunking noise coming from the front left of my 98 Contour at low speeds, after reading through the forums, I did some checking, and found it to be a loose front strut or top mount?
I can turn the top mount around, as it seems to be loose, but the nut is really tight?
Is there a way to tighten this up, as the struts seem to be working properly, or is the strut or top mount toast?
Any help or suggestions would be appreciated?

Thank you, Jake.
 
If you can't tighten the nut for the strut, you have a problem with the wrong strut being installed or the thread being stripped.
 
Front left strut mount

Front left strut mount

Mount replacement
HI:

I have a small gap between the strut tower and mount, on my left front strut/ mount, and it is clunking. The mount turns when grabbing it, but the bolt on top is tight?

OK, I am going to try to replace the strut mount, and was curious if you can just remove the bolt using a hexhead to hold the strut from turning, and a wrench to remove the bolt/ and then the mount?
Do you have to use the spring compressor, or can the mount be safely replaced by doing the above?

I am new to this and just want to be sure the strut doesn't go flying into the air?
Suggestions greatly appreciated!

Thanks, Jake.
 
How loose? The top of the strut is actually just held in place. The tension from the spring is pushing up and the nut keeps the strut from being pulled out when the car is jacked up (or if the tires leave the ground). Try to tighten it first. You can use an Allen wrench and a 3/4" wrench. I actually put the wrench straight in and then used a second wrench on the head to turn it as the angle is very steep. If you find that there is no tension on the shaft and can turn it freely with the Allen wrench then the shaft is probably broken and the strut needs replacing.

Make sure you borrow some spring clamps. They are a little more dangerous to use but make the job a lot easier because you don't have to disconnect the steering linkage. The job is pretty straight forward with most nuts and bolts easy to find and get to. The one tricky part is the bottom of the strut fits into a tight fit on the knukle. Make sure you remove the pinch bolt and then you have to either hammer the strut up from the knukle or hammer the knukle down.

Good luck.
 
As I just changed the strut mounts and strut bearings in my Contour I have a few things to watch for...

I had the knuckle bolt that holds the strut in lock in place from rust. I had to drill it out and replace it with a larger nut and bolt. Just be prepared to have to do a lot more work that you want to if your undercarriage is rusty at all.
 
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