Blown Strut Causing Sagging?

[Protege2K]

Is it possible that a blown strut could cause my car to sit about 1/3-1/2" lower then before? I have had Ground Control coilovers on my car for awhile now and I believe they caused my rear driver side strut to blow. I attempted to adjust the collar up and got no response. So earlier tonight I put a Goldline spring on the car and the fender still sits down on the tire.

I am getting ready to order a new strut but just wanted to make sure that was the issue. The car has nearly 60k miles and the last 10k or so have been on the coilovers.

 

[pro00]

damn....never heard of that before. I am sorry, can't help you with that.
it sounds like a possibility, but never actually heard or seen of it before.

*bump*

 

[Protege2K]

It really is puzzling me and my friend. The car did come off the jackstand before the problem occurred, but it only dropped maybe 4". I figured this could have caused some stress on the strut causing it to pop. We checked the underside over very closely to make sure nothing was bent and everything looked just fine. There is nothing that is jumping out at me that could lead me to believe anything other then the strut being the culprit.

 

[Protege2K]

Well after checking some other threads it does seem the problem is the strut. Just placed my order with Horsepowerfreaks.

 

[JCell]

which ones did u go with?

 

[Protege2K]

I just ordered a replacement Tokico blue.

 

[NVP5White]

Unfortunatly, my understanding of suspension disagrees with your conclusion. It's the spring that supports the car wieght. Period. A blown strut would not cause a stationary car to sit low.

That said, the problem could still be strut related, or rather strut mount related. It is possible to damage the rubber isolation peice on the front strut mount. With anything greater than a 1/2" "sag" you should be able to visualy verify that this is the source of the problem by popping the hood. The spring perch may also be the problem, but I see that as unlikely as the perch is welded at serveral places around the strut and a catostrophic failure of the magnitude would take a very extreme circumstance.

Good luck

 

[Protege2K]

Well we tried two different springs. First the GC coilover, and then we fitted the Goldline spring. Both caused the car to sit in the exact same position. The strut itself felt very weak when we mounted the Goldline. It would barely offer any resistance when pushing down on the top plate. The strut had been giving indications that the life was just about over with it. And I think the force it came down with when the jack ****** up was enough to finish it off.

At this point we could not think of anything other then the strut. So I hope this fixes the situation, if not then I will start getting worried. Just to clarify, this is the rear strut on and not the front.

 

[MikeBlueP5]

sounds like it could be a bent seat on the strut or the mounting of the strut, it wont cause the car to sag, unless the spring isnt seating right or the strut itself isnt mounted right. the actual gas in the strut doesnt support the weight.

 

[dmitrik4]

i agree w/ what NVP5 said. are you sure your strut mount isn't broken? it's easy to blow out the rubber bushing in the rear mount, esp if you didn't use the metal cap that covers the dust boot (which itself doesn't fit inside a typical 2.5" GC spring). that cap distributes the strut shaft's force to the mount body instead of the rubber bushing. if the strut and mount experience a severe shock, the rubber can blow out (ask me how i know!). i'm still not sure it would affect the static ride height, though.

have you removed the rear deck to check out the top of the mount? maybe something got bent up there (i hope not); you wouldn't be able to see it from underneath.

 

[Protege2K]

I am pretty sure the strut mount is in fine shape. When I installed the coilovers I removed that dust cap, slid on the adjustment collar and then re-installed the cap.

By the rubber bushing are you referring to the semi-triangular rubber piece that sits inside the strut mount from below?

The top of the mount showed no visible damage and the strut mounted up there just fine.

 

[Sveivo]

So what was the cause of this?

 

[Protege2K]

Combo of blown strut and under-inflated tire.

 

[Sveivo]

Combo of blown strut and under-inflated tire.

Okay, thanks. I have some sagging going on. I must need new struts really bad.