strut top bearing

[jas98]

hey just a quick question with the srtut tops is there a way of replacein the bearing that is pressed in there? (standared rubber strut top) ? i dont think it is possiable but wanted to make sure first

cheers =)

[hakhawk]

pretty sure you can only change the whole strut top

[VTPREDATOR]

yeh its one whole piece. not too hard of a job if you have the right tools.

[calais_cruzin]

Biggest pain with changing them is, undoing the nut on th strut and also gettin the shaft of the shock back up thru the bearing plate if its worn.

[Calais_5sp]

you cant take them out from the top, you have to pull the whole strut assembly out. if you have a rattle gun and some spring clamps its pretty easy

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

For the price of the standard top, it's not worth doing just the bearing. If the rubber has any perish cracks in it, just replace the whole thing.

[slo_firo]

nolathane it!! seriously easy job, i replaced the strut tops, put in z shaped sway bar links and replaced all the bushes on the sway bar in a couple of hours - whilst drinking a couple of beers (i had a rattle gun and clamps though + other fancy tools)

[jas98]

hey thanks for all the replys.........yeh i didnt think u could replace them but wanted to make sure its just the one that has the play in it (out of car) has good rubber on it......and yeh i know how there a pain in the ass lol me and me dad have replaced the srtuts in a vn and vp not log ago lol BLODDY PAIN IN THA ASS lol

oh and with the bearings are they supposed to have play in them? i mean the force of the spring is on them?

[br14nh]

As far as I am aware, it is not recommended to replace the strut top rubber with nolathane/urethane - I have been advised by several sources that these do not provide enough shock absorption and over time this will cause deformation of the body at the mounting points.

[jas98]

yeh im not gonna nolathane it as 1 its only stock 2 there alot dearer (then rubber) and 3. as what u said as i have herd this elswhere aswell

[slo_firo]

really.... i hadn't been told that before - we have a vk wagon, vb chev powered wagon and used to have a vn exec all nolathaned and never had any problems, hmmmmm - lucky its going to loose its daily drive status soon then lol.......

[Morton]

It's possible for a few funny things to happen with brands like nolathane from time to time. Because of the harder bush, you can have issues such as link-pins assimilating themselves with the rings on your swaybars. Interesting results (only if you regularly drive like a nutcase, though. And I imagine if you purchased a swaybar designed for use with aftermarket bush products, you would have no such issues.)

[jas98]

hey guys gonna get new ones (strut top bearing plates).....is there such a thing as a left and right hand side ? as the 2 that i have here (old ones of another car) have LH and RH on em but i always thorght they were the same either side?

cheers

[greenfoam]

There's a left and right and don't get nolthane ones, I have them and not only are they too hard, they are allready bending after 2,000ks of normal bush highway driving

[hakhawk]

maybe you installed em wrong greeny, mine are fine after like 20,000ks.

[jas98]

yeh im getting rubber ones (49.50 each from repco) the only place im not gonna use rubber with the suspension is the rear trailing arms as i got a set (4 bushes) of polyurethane ones for 23 bucks!! and just plain rubber ones are 17 bucks each lol

but yeh with the strut tops the guy at repco said that there the same!! that it only says in the book "strut top bearing" and no left or right............but yeh ill find out about that

thanks

[greenfoam]

maybe you installed em wrong greeny, mine are fine after like 20,000ks.

When I say the roads in the South West are no good I mean no good we are talking pot holes more than 10cm deep all over the joint I know where most of them area and swerve around them but once in a while I new one gets you by suprise

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

The genuine ones were marked left and right but replacements aren't. There is no difference between the the two sides.

[VTPREDATOR]

is it true that the nolathane ones sit like an inch higher than standard?

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

More like 10mm maybe a bit more or less. People have said they can see the difference after they have fitted them.

[slo_firo]

yea you can deff see the difference in height with nolathanes, im getting my superlows re-set to drop it lower again

[hakhawk]

yep, roughly a 10mm difference as Not_An_Abba_Fan said. generally when people see a big difference, is when the original strut mount is stuffed and sagging half an inch lower already.

[aussieghostrider]

I had all new shocks and bearing plates changed but mechanic said they only have nolathanes aftermarket ones,I also have a strut bar going across engine. Some of you say they arent good ?? deformation of the body at the mounting points.

Can the rubber parts be replaced so it will take more of the shock and not be causing any damage ? the car isnt lowered or anything and still has original springs as mechanic said they were fine and car sits normal height.Should I look at new springs to help the shocks ?

What could I do to stop any damage from occuring besides dodging big pot holes ( we dont have that many around here anyway). I only just had all this done and dont want to have to replace brand new bearing plates.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

VN with 195k's and you have just done the bearing plates. Parts wear out. If you don't want to have to replace bits and pieces periodically then don't drive the car. There is nothing you can do to stop parts from wearing out.
Bushes absorb the shock and allow movement of parts that are supposed to move. If you want a comfortable quiet ride, then keep all the bushes rubber. Any polyureathane bush will stiffen up the ride, and transfer more noise and shock to the body of the car.
A strut brace helps with the torsional twist of the car. If you don't drive it like a race car, IMO, I don't think they are necessary.

[friedchicken]

If you have gas shocks (ie they expand by themselves) you can replace the tops without dropping the struts out. you can also change the springs if your patient enough. well lowered springs anyway. disconnect the sway bar first up, it will save a lot of annoyance.

The life of the top bushes depends hugely on springs/shocks/wheels/roads