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I'm no stranger to wrenching on my 2004 Mini Cooper R50, but I think something is wonky with my fresh front suspension install.
My passenger side strut tower was cracked, so I ordered new Moog strut towers from RockAuto, along with new Bilstein front suspension because she's about due anyway. After installing the new struts, boots, strut mount, etc (reused springs), I took her out for a spin.
Upon returning and inspecting, it appears that the strut towers are domed on both sides, after just 9 miles! I'm not sure what's going on here, it's not like I haven't done suspension before. Everything went back together the way it came apart just fine, but I'm blown away at what I'm looking at. Faulty parts? Normal "break in" for this aftermarket brand? Not sure, any advice is appreciated.
left side: cracking of coating on strut mount, as well as heavy doming after a 9 miles drive
right side: cracking of coating on strut mount, as well as heavy doming after a 9 miles drive
Last edited by ryangschultz; May 10, 2016 at 07:02 PM.
Thanks a ton for the thread reference, lots of good info in there and I was glad to see I'm not the only one having this problem. Sounds like OEM, Sachs, and Lemfoerder are all good choices. Let's see if we can get her patched up.
I had the same problem, when I replaced my original mounts with Monroe's got them off eBay, mistake, I had confidence in the Monroe name from other cars I have had. They started to squeak when ever I turned the wheel when driving, on the first day. Solution stick with OEM and you won't have any problems. The only bonus in this, was that now I can remove the shocks in about 15 min a side. Good luck Foo
Glad to hear it Foo, yeah apparently Moog's aren't any better. I'm going to take a shot with the Sachs, sounds like people have had success and at a fraction of the cost of OEM. I figure on the off chance those are bad too I'll get my money back and just get OEMs.
And ha! Gotta love how much quicker you can do a job after you've already done it.
Just to post an update in case anyone stumbles across this thread, I purchased a replacement set of Sachs strut mounts from RockAuto and installed them a couple days ago. I noticed an immediate difference, no massive flex in the mounts like there was with the Moogs. RockAuto is taking the Moogs on return no problem.
Just put down about 500 miles on the Sachs and they still look perfecto, so not bad for a $35 per side alternative to the $130+ per side OEMs. We'll see how they handle in the long run. Thanks guys!
