jj32 Posted June 26, 2009 Report Posted June 26, 2009 Hello All, I replaced the front strut cartridges on a '95 Lumina sedan 3.1L last weekend. The old ones were the original and the new struts were Gabrial Ultra's. Things went smoothly for the most part except for the strut cartridge nut on the passenger side that was rusted on and needed to be cut off. I've been driving it for 4 days and whenever I go over the least bit of rough surface on the road I get a crunching/grinding sound coming from the front end. I reused the old jounce bumpers and strut mounts. Any idea what is causing this sound? This may sound like a stupid question but how do you install the jounce bumpers? I just pushed them on the strut cartridge shaft until they wouldn't go any further. I read through a couple of posts on this site and some say you use the GM tool to reinstall the jounce bumpers? Am I missing something here? There were no nuts/retainers holding the bumper down. It just fits down into the strut housing. Should it be suspended up higher so as to fill the space/hole in the strut tower or pressed down into the strut housing until it bottoms out on to the strut cartride retainign nut. As you can tell this is the first time replacing struts on a front wheel drive car . I'm use to working on RWD pickups. Quote
Crazy K Posted June 26, 2009 Report Posted June 26, 2009 Did you fill the strut tube with 2 oz of oil? Did you get the strut cap piece with the 4 tab slots tight? a good tip is to put some grease on the threads so they don't freeze up in the future The jounce bumpers should go down all the way, just force them down and physically center the strut shaft to do so if needed. Are the giant rubber bushings at the top of the strut tight to the top of the strut? I have the same junky struts in 3 of my cars, and had to add a simply washer between the nut and bushing, as the nuts would be tight but would not be tight on the bushing. it needs to be tight on the bushing. Quote
White93z34 Posted June 26, 2009 Report Posted June 26, 2009 what ken said... also sometimes you will need to add a washer between the top of the strut before you put the retaining nut down on the top of it. pull it back apart and see if you have any up down play when pulling up on the strut shaft. If not do what Ken said and add a washer between the strut mount and the nut. also you really don't need to add oil in the top of the strut. I've always removed it with no ill effects. Quote
Crazy K Posted June 26, 2009 Report Posted June 26, 2009 what ken said... also sometimes you will need to add a washer between the top of the strut before you put the retaining nut down on the top of it. pull it back apart and see if you have any up down play when pulling up on the strut shaft. If not do what Ken said and add a washer between the strut mount and the nut. also you really don't need to add oil in the top of the strut. I've always removed it with no ill effects. I said what you said in your "also" reply. your oil statement is a little confusing. When i said 2oz of oil, the oil is supposed to go into the strut bore before the new cartridge goes in. how much oil is that? if you stick the new cartridge in and press it all the way down and pull it back up, the catridge body will be about 75% covered in oil. no oil goes on top of anything. Quote
jj32 Posted June 26, 2009 Author Report Posted June 26, 2009 Did you fill the strut tube with 2 oz of oil? Did you get the strut cap piece with the 4 tab slots tight? a good tip is to put some grease on the threads so they don't freeze up in the future The jounce bumpers should go down all the way, just force them down and physically center the strut shaft to do so if needed. Are the giant rubber bushings at the top of the strut tight to the top of the strut? I have the same junky struts in 3 of my cars, and had to add a simply washer between the nut and bushing, as the nuts would be tight but would not be tight on the bushing. it needs to be tight on the bushing. The directions on the new struts said to add 30 ml of oil (this is about 1 oz ?) which I did. Hydrolic jack oil. I tightened the 4-tab closure cap to 82 ft-lbs per the service manual. Used a torque wrech and the GM tool. The problem may be the black rubber bushings. I could not seat them all the way down so I used the strut plate to compress them about 1/3 and tighted the 3 bolts. What size washer do you recommend? BTW, anyone know if you can buy the strut retain nut anywhere? I think it is 23mm or 24mm. Quote
jj32 Posted June 26, 2009 Author Report Posted June 26, 2009 Did you fill the strut tube with 2 oz of oil? Did you get the strut cap piece with the 4 tab slots tight? a good tip is to put some grease on the threads so they don't freeze up in the future The jounce bumpers should go down all the way, just force them down and physically center the strut shaft to do so if needed. Are the giant rubber bushings at the top of the strut tight to the top of the strut? I have the same junky struts in 3 of my cars, and had to add a simply washer between the nut and bushing, as the nuts would be tight but would not be tight on the bushing. it needs to be tight on the bushing. Forgot to mention that there is a slight gap between the nut and the bushing. I couldn't use a torque wrech on this so I tighened it until it wouldn't turn anymore. Hmmm...I'm sure this is the problem. I assumed that the strut tower plate would hold everthing nice and tight when put back on. I guess I was wrong. Quote
Crazy K Posted June 26, 2009 Report Posted June 26, 2009 I stated the oil amount from memory, but again... the amount basically covers the lower 75% of the strut cartridge. the top nut on the strut shaft??? pm me, I can mail you one for a little $ one way to tighten the nut is to use a vice grip on the upper shaft to hold it from turning, while tightening the nut. it has to be maybe 1/4inch down from the rubber, and won';t hurt the sturt as that part will never go into the housing. I don't know the washer size, but if you still have the old strut, just run to a hardware store and find a suitable washer. Quote
GP4U2NV Posted June 26, 2009 Report Posted June 26, 2009 Wow, I didnt know that there was supposed to be oil in there. Luckly, the stocks where blown and the housing was filled with oil. Quote
Spilly Posted June 26, 2009 Report Posted June 26, 2009 Stupid quick question that I'm sure I can find the answer to elsewhere, but all I need is a yes or no. Do the first gens have cartridges too? Quote
Crazy K Posted June 26, 2009 Report Posted June 26, 2009 Wow, I didnt know that there was supposed to be oil in there. Luckly, the stocks where blown and the housing was filled with oil. the OEM strut cartridges are pure hydraulic and not gas sealed. so... oil is normal. Quote
jj32 Posted June 29, 2009 Author Report Posted June 29, 2009 Did you fill the strut tube with 2 oz of oil? Did you get the strut cap piece with the 4 tab slots tight? a good tip is to put some grease on the threads so they don't freeze up in the future The jounce bumpers should go down all the way, just force them down and physically center the strut shaft to do so if needed. Are the giant rubber bushings at the top of the strut tight to the top of the strut? I have the same junky struts in 3 of my cars, and had to add a simply washer between the nut and bushing, as the nuts would be tight but would not be tight on the bushing. it needs to be tight on the bushing. The washer trick fixed it like a champ. Thanks for poining this out!! Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.