hi,
im pretty new here, think it might be my first post on NAM, but been reading on and off for a couple of weeks. Great source of info!
anyway, i've read a few threads on the dreaded mushrooming, and was just wondering how exactly would you diagnose it?
i tried putting a ruler (well a protractor) along the top of the strut tower to see if it was flat. it seemed to be slightly off ( a tad more so on teh passenger side....... i think).
So, is the piece of metal on the top meant to be exactly flat? or is there meant to be a slight bend?
thanks in advance for your help
ps i'll try to post some pics up asap

 

here are the two pics of the strut towers.

 

You've got mushrooming. Those bolts should be pointing staight up. Do a search on mushrooming to find a fix (from Home Depot) and a prevention (from M7) You should check the black plastic part inside the mounts that you can see from the top and check for cracks as well. Thats a more severe problem. Good luck and welcome to NAM!

 

Yeah, it looks you have some mild mushrooming. Mild as it may be, its not a static situation. It only gets worse unless you get ahead of it. Check the many threads. The fixes range from camber plates from below to M7 strut reinforcement plates or the M7 strut tower brace. There's good discussion regarding the pro's and cons of all. I developed some passenger side 'schrooming and opted for the easier (less $) fix and got the M7 SRP's. So far so good, no more 'schroom, just zoom. (Sorry, wrong make )