I have an 86 mustang, we needed to replace the front struts, so off I went and bought the new struts. I get home and remove the old struts. As I tighten the last bolt on the strut, I notice that I can very easily shake the whole strut. So I took the strut off and compared it to the old one, and found that where the bolts go into the bottom of the strut near the hub is about 1/8" wider on the new struts than on the old ones... So I ran around to 5 different parts stores and all the struts I found were still 1/8" wider. All the struts from 79-87 are listed the same.

anyone have any idea what could be up?

any help is appreciated..

 

i think the struts come with spacer washers in the box??i could be wrong its been awhile...since i last brought some..

 

Id think so, but the boxes were all glued shut and all that came with them was the strut and the nut

 

humm. i had monroes..on my 83 back in 88..??yes i remember they came with shims in the box on mine...that when on both sides of the shock..call parts house see if they messed up ...got 90/10s now with coil overs

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you should have gotten the spacers with the struts. you can make some out of some 1" wide by 1/8" thick steel flat bar, just cut them to length and drill the holes big enough to pass the bolts through them and use one on each side of the mounting plate. I just put on some 90/10's and the spacers came with the struts in the box, so you got shorted the spacers.

 

I got the cheaper KYB's and they went right on with no problem.

 

yea you guys are right, I found Monroes which came with the spacers unlike the ones all the other places sold.

thanks a lot for the help guys

 

I gotta 93 5.0L Lx and 83 3.8L stang I had to replace the old shocks in the back of the 83 stang, I bought these cheap gaberials they are good shocks, they looked dif from the older ones, I did the same thing went to a few diff parts places they were all the same, I just added a few washer plates to make up for the diff, Its a pain do all that running around, I still thinking its weird.