Topic: Strut rod failure!
in Forum: C3 Engines, Driveline and Handling
I think this is pretty serious. A couple of us on here have decided to go with the adjustable type strut rods. I put a set on mine, my car has only been moved out of the shop a few hundred feet to the front garage and back, such a minute distance the odometer won't register it.
Here's the problem; The new strut rod stripped out!!!!!!!!!! It was threaded in about an inch and completely pulled the threads out of the tube! Obviously I'm more than a little ticked right now, keep in mind this occurred at a phenominal speed of less than 1 mph. What would have happened if this POS part failed at highway or even vette speeds? This is VERY SCARY!
I'll be contacting the manufacturer first thing in the morning. I'm curious as to what the "tech support" folks will tell me.


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Joel Adams
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I put adjustable struts on mine last year & took it to be alligned. Drove it about 10 miles to test. When I got back the left strut was almost to the point of falling offf. The jerk mechanic didn't tighten the bolts. It was not good seeing that wheel in the turned it position. Pick a good shop & check it yourself...glad you wern't going faster than 1 mph.
Alan
I put new strut rods on mine,last year,used the original solid design.those adjustable ones just did'nt look beefy enough to me,if the cam adjusters are in good shape,you should'nt need adjustable struts,unless something is really messed up under there.just my $.02
C3VR Lifetime Member #93
[QUOTE=kstyer]Scary stuff. Even left loose, it would not do that. I wonder if the temper was way off?[/QUOTE]
The hollow tube is the failed part, looks like a mild steel. I thought I was upgrading to a much better part, my old rods had the "adjusted with a floor jack" look to them.

I pulled all the strut rod parts off the car tonight, wanted to get a real close look. Looks like the tubes are the culprit. The threads inside the tube don't have the distinct ridge I'd expect to see on them, it's kind of flat at the peak points. After looking at the male threads on the bushing ends, I noticed that even after running them all the way in, they still had paint on them. The tubes must have been bored a bit too big prior to threading.
I called the vendor today, initially the guy I talked to seemed concerned, but I told him I couldn't produce a receipt so things got fuzzy for a while. He finally agreed to replace the bad parts, but I have to send the old ones back first, I suppose not a bad deal.
I want to let this issue pan out before announcing the vendor's name here, either way, I'll let you guys know what they do and who they are.

I am still going to install the strut rods on mine just going to pay real close attention to the parts before installation.