[Shotimes] Operating on the strut tower

[Carl Prochilo]

The plates go for $30 per pair.

About the fender washers, I'm trying to picture how this would work.  Are
you saying that you simply drop the strut tower and apply the washer
where, on top of the existing plate or between the plate and the bearing? 
I need to reference a good schematic of how this is assembled because I
can't really see that well into the tower itself.

One other thing for anyone else contemplating this job.  Nothing can be
done unless the spot welds are broken.  Basically a stock Taurus
(including SHO) has no adjustments that can be made outside of tweaking
the tierods to set toe.  On the 92 I have, there wasn't even an adustment
that could be made for rear camber/toe.  The rear control arm center box
just had straight through tubes, so I needed to have specialty products
eccentric bushings installed to allow that adjustment to be done. 
Starting in 93 I  believe Ford included eccentric bushings to allow for an
adjustment to be made there.

Disclaimer:  If you're not going to bother with modifying the suspension
with aftermarket springs that would have an affect of altering the
suspension geometry, ignore this note.
-- 
Cheers,
Carl Prochilo
1992 Ultra Red Crimson

George Fourchy said:
> On Wed, 7 Jan 2004 20:52:31 -0500 (Eastern Standard Time), Carl Prochilo
> wrote:
>
>>When I have a reason to pull the struts, I may throw the spacer plates
>> in, but it's not      >really a pressing issue anymore for me.
>
> The spacer plates are kind of expensive for what you get....a couple of
> stamped
> steel plates with holes in the right places for the strut top and for the
> bolts.
> They used to cost about 15 bucks or so...maybe more nowadays...I've been
> told
> how much they are now, but I keep forgetting.....not interested in them, I
> guess.
>
> For about 80 cents one can get 6 1/16th inch thick fender washers at a
> hardware
> store that will do the job, and the bonus is you don't have to remove the
> strut to
> put them on.  Lowrider has the plates, which I didn't know I could bypass
> when I got
> them, which removed the groaning.  Two or three other SHOs and a couple of
> SLOs
> around here have washers.  Takes about 10 minutes total to install the
> washers,
> where it takes 45 minutes to an hour to put the plates in.  The washers
> won't rust
> any faster than the rest of the strut tower.....if you want you could
> paint them
> with Rust-oleum.
>
> If the spotwelded camber plates have been cut loose, I think I've heard
> that it is
> possible to put the plates in from the top.  I've never removed spotwelds
> so I don't
> know.
>
> George "cheapest screw in Suisun" Fourchy and the Lowrider
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