gap at upper strut mount?

[428CobraJet]

I'm just buttoning up strut replacement. KYBs. I have a gap below the upper strut mount (engine bay). Normal? I knew this was the case beforehand...figured it was indicative of worn struts (among other symptoms)

Gap is about 3/8" on both sides when fully tightened (holding 6mm hex).

[LTHatch]

Do you have lowering springs? I noticed that gap after installing lowering springs, ride is fine and dandy as usual. Normal is my vote.

[428CobraJet]

No...standard springs. 130,000 miles.

[Exiwolfman]

Normal on a yaris

[428CobraJet]

Well...what keeps the upper suspension location from moving around?

[Exiwolfman]

They are floating top caps ...park car on uneven ground and ull see how they work ....and yes they float its why upper strat bar is pointless on a yaris.

[428CobraJet]

Interesting. Thank you. I hope my struts were in fact bad...

[Exiwolfman]

The strut is held by 2 nuts and a cup that u see in ur pic ...upper nut keeps it in place the lower one under keeps the spring in place.

[sheekeebut]

Lots of threads about it here.
It's called floating strut mount.
Main point of it is to allow the struts to rotate freely at various steering angles while accounting for caster, camber, etc. Similar in purpose to a ball joint. You'll notice this effect by turning full lock, pop the hood to see. The hats tilt a little relative to the towers.

Other cars have it, not surprisingly in the same segment.

[sheekeebut]

And exiwolman's not totally right about the strut brace being pointless. My strut bar has just added 20 style points and a kilo of weight to my engine bay. That should be worth some extra hp, right?

[Exiwolfman]

And exiwolman's not totally right about the strut brace being pointless. My strut bar has just added 20 style points and a kilo of weight to my engine bay. That should be worth some extra hp, right?



LMAO....agreed at least 10 points for appearance

[428CobraJet]

:-) :-) :-)

Btw Chris07LB article on changing the strut really saved the day.

[SirDigby]

And exiwolman's not totally right about the strut brace being pointless. My strut bar has just added 20 style points and a kilo of weight to my engine bay. That should be worth some extra hp, right?

the brace still helps against tower collapse over time. as a vehicle ages the towers will change shape/geometry due to gravity and use. a strut brace helps to counter-act this effect and keeps the geometry more correct for the longevity of the vehicle.

[Rigaud]

They are floating top caps ...park car on uneven ground and ull see how they work ....and yes they float its why upper strat bar is pointless on a yaris.
Strut tower bars don't mount on the cups or strut itself in general but on the strut tower which technically is the car frame!