vphokie

I purchased a strut tower brace from Blue Oval Industries earlier this week. Went to put it on today, but...um....I don't think it fits as advertised. I bought the one from them that claims to fit over the engines with the plenum cover. But when I took the nuts off and slide the brace on, it didn't fit properly. I could only get one side of the mounting bracket to sit flush, the other one was lifted up roughly 1/4 to 1/2" Then I looked and noticed the center brace was sitting on my plenum cover.

I'm 99.9% sure I'm not doing anything wrong. I even turned it around to see if that would help, but that made it worse, so I know I was putting it on with the correct side facing forward.

http://www.blueovalindustries.com/pr...p?pid=99012205

That's the one I got...can someone sanity check me and see. They have a picture of it over a plenum cover BUT I don't think that's the OEM Ford one (which is what I have). The only other thing I can think of is that the tubes weren't bent properly when it was manufactured.... Either way, any comments on this would help. I'm thinking I might end up trying to return it (if they'll let me) or selling it. Thanks.

Joolander

You're right, the plenum cover they have is not the OEM Ford cover.

that sucks, I've been looking fo a Strut towwer brace that fits between the OEM Plenum cover and the OEM Hood also.

It might just be bent though... make sure, and if it's not then I'd definitely return it

vphokie

It doesn't LOOK bent, but then again I'm not exactly sure of the angles and measurements of the bends and etc. I was all giddy cause it claimed to fit over the covers AND it wasn't expensive. haha oh well.

Funny, I just replied to one of your posts joolander.

CityDave

BMR has one that fits over the cover.

http://www.bmrfabrication.com/2005MustangCHASSIS.htm

I would like to add that I had the same issue in 2005 and had to make some changes to my brace before they came out with one for the intake cover.

Here is a link to the thread.

http://www.ymrforums.com/showthread.php?t=14863

mlcrycc

Unless the STB is bent, it will fit over the OEM cover. However, what you may need to do, to gain some additional clearance, is to remove the factory plenum cover, use something to reem out the rear rubber feet gromets on the plenum cover, and re-install it with the rear feet UNDER the stud that holds on the fuel rail, instead of just capping the fuel rail stud.....

vphokie

Here is how much of a difference there is in the two sides. One side is set flush on the strut tower. These pics show how much the other side is raised up. The reason is because it's sitting on the plenum cover. I'm not sure if shaving down the rubber is going to give me enough space. Especially since those pics show a significant amount of clearance. I think I'd be struggling just to get mine to fit, let alone have that much gap.

157dB

Looks like its for show and not functionallity. []
The crimped tube ends where they are welded
to the mounting plates looks weak.
But hey, for $69, what do you expect.
BlueOval is just not up to specs on their offshore
produced Stang parts.


Now thisRoush Strut Tower Brace that looks
like it might actually be functional.
[IMG]local://upfiles/69445/935ED57D9AD24F58B9187B0AD893CD19.jpg[/IMG]

Or this FRPP Strut Tower Brace.

[IMG]local://upfiles/69445/68A997718BBD4BC0BD3C20A29136D314.jpg[/IMG]

vphokie

Well it's not like I'm gonna be racing it. I figured that 1. it makes the engine bay look a little snazzy and 2. it might provide just a little bit of structural support. Some of us wanna be mod guys can't afford to always by the high end stuff haha [8D]

mlcrycc

I think we all know that this mod, for normal driving, is more show that function.....

That said, vphokie, it looks like about 3/8 of an inch of flex. Going by memory, I believe mine had some flex as well. I would suggest pulling off the factory plenum cover, just remove the rubber grommets from the back feet, and re-install loosly below the fuel rail stud. Then set the STB on, and push the flex out of the STB. Snug one nut on the strut tower down, and see what the clearance is at that point. It should tell the story if it will work with reeming the rubber feet out a bit.....

Just a thought, let us know how it goes....

Mike

howarmat

also not all vehicles are the same, so the small variances in engine height can play a role