Strut Mount Issues - Moog and others
#1
Strut Mount Issues - Moog and others
2000 T/A ls1 m6, replacing the shocks/springs and I'm having issues on the front end.
I know some strut mounts have issues and read in a few places to get ACDelco or Moog to avoid fitment issues. I did just that but still have fitment issues. Right now I have the front moog shock mounts, K6516 (Drivers side) and MOOG K6517 (Passenger side).
The passenger side mount (K6517) fit flat and nearly perfectly on the strut plate/control arm mount with no issues, (Stamped "GM-6934X" on the TOP side of the mount on the flat section)
However, the drivers side mount (K6516) will not sit flat on the strut plate/control arm mount and has about a 1/4" gap on at least one side when fitting it. It seems like either the hump contour of the mount is off slightly, or the studs are off. It's very hard to tell. If I force it down it tweaks the whole mount and doesn't seem right. I noticed this also has markings "GM-6933" stamped into it on the bottom side ledge. Thinking I just got a bad one or old stock, I ordered another one online and checked out a few locally... all are the same way and had the same "GM-6933" markings. This drivers side mount appears a bit more crudely made and a lesser quality than the one on the passenger side (which fits). Is there an older and newer design??? The boxes for all of them say "Made in India".
Has anyone else had this issue with the Moog mounts? If not, do you have different markings on your drivers side mount?
I'm almost at my wits end as I tried over half a dozen different mounts already. I have the "ACDelco Professional" mounts coming in a day or 2, but I'm not feeling optimistic after my experience so far. If those mounts also don't fit looks like I'll be trying KYB's, Monroe's, and down the line..
P.S. - I went with "Acdelco" mounts 501148 and 501149 at first and they were horrible. Two of the bolt holes are way off and don't align with control arm mounts or the body.
I know some strut mounts have issues and read in a few places to get ACDelco or Moog to avoid fitment issues. I did just that but still have fitment issues. Right now I have the front moog shock mounts, K6516 (Drivers side) and MOOG K6517 (Passenger side).
The passenger side mount (K6517) fit flat and nearly perfectly on the strut plate/control arm mount with no issues, (Stamped "GM-6934X" on the TOP side of the mount on the flat section)
However, the drivers side mount (K6516) will not sit flat on the strut plate/control arm mount and has about a 1/4" gap on at least one side when fitting it. It seems like either the hump contour of the mount is off slightly, or the studs are off. It's very hard to tell. If I force it down it tweaks the whole mount and doesn't seem right. I noticed this also has markings "GM-6933" stamped into it on the bottom side ledge. Thinking I just got a bad one or old stock, I ordered another one online and checked out a few locally... all are the same way and had the same "GM-6933" markings. This drivers side mount appears a bit more crudely made and a lesser quality than the one on the passenger side (which fits). Is there an older and newer design??? The boxes for all of them say "Made in India".
Has anyone else had this issue with the Moog mounts? If not, do you have different markings on your drivers side mount?
I'm almost at my wits end as I tried over half a dozen different mounts already. I have the "ACDelco Professional" mounts coming in a day or 2, but I'm not feeling optimistic after my experience so far. If those mounts also don't fit looks like I'll be trying KYB's, Monroe's, and down the line..
P.S. - I went with "Acdelco" mounts 501148 and 501149 at first and they were horrible. Two of the bolt holes are way off and don't align with control arm mounts or the body.
Last edited by j498; 05-17-2017 at 11:26 PM.
#2
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I just finished my front suspension and did all new MOOG bushings and balljoints, including the shock mounts. My shock mounts line up fine and sit flush in the a arms, the weird thing though is the bolts that came with them had a hard time tightening and also don't suck all the way to the fenders I think I need to install washers under each one to have them sucked down.
#3
Hmmm, would you be able to check if you have the same "GM-6933" markings on the drivers side strut mount? I'm curious if you have the same version.
As far as tightening the bolts, I noticed the ones moog provides are only regular hex bolts with no finish...vs OEM and many others are coated flange bolts.. Maybe this is a factor in tightening them
As far as tightening the bolts, I noticed the ones moog provides are only regular hex bolts with no finish...vs OEM and many others are coated flange bolts.. Maybe this is a factor in tightening them
#4
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Hmmm, would you be able to check if you have the same "GM-6933" markings on the drivers side strut mount? I'm curious if you have the same version.
As far as tightening the bolts, I noticed the ones moog provides are only regular hex bolts with no finish...vs OEM and many others are coated flange bolts.. Maybe this is a factor in tightening them
As far as tightening the bolts, I noticed the ones moog provides are only regular hex bolts with no finish...vs OEM and many others are coated flange bolts.. Maybe this is a factor in tightening them
As far as the bolts, they are the same thread pitch as the bolts that were in the stock mounts and all 4 bolt holes are equally difficult. I'll try to get a picture today of the gap I have.
#5
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BOTH sides of my Monroe mounts had one of the pressed studs spin freely in its splined hole when I was tightening them up.....
too pissed to redo it all at the time so I pounded them out and I"ve been rocking 3 mounting points on my struts for the past 2 years....
I will change them out soon when I get new suspension
too pissed to redo it all at the time so I pounded them out and I"ve been rocking 3 mounting points on my struts for the past 2 years....
I will change them out soon when I get new suspension
#7
Update and Warning!! Heavy Details Below.
In trying to avoid modifying the car to make the mounts work, I did some more experimenting with the fitting of these mounts.
For the passenger side:
I take back what I said about the passenger side Moog mount (K6517). It does not fit perfectly like I thought... it appears to be, but the 1 bolt hole is off by 1 or 1.5mm which isn't obvious until you line up everything with the mounts on the car body. The one bolt hole just starts to thread and binds up as its going in at a slight angle. Being only 1 of the holes was off a little bit, I reamed out the mount holes on the body and control arm mount a tiny bit. I had no other options. A Dremel saved the day!
I got in the ACDelco Professional Mounts (901034, 901035) both Drivers/Pass. The ones I got are EXACTLY the same the same as the Moog mounts I already had, just re-boxed. They both even had the same markings ("GM-6933" and "GM-6934X")on them in the same spots.... along with the same mounting hardware, instructions, and fitment issues - it would not sit flush against the control arm/shock mount plate.
From my Local part store I also tried the drivers side Napa mount (902947), re-boxed monroe? the part number is the same. The mount quality appeared to be absolute garbage, plus both bolt holes were off a descent amount and it didn't sit perfectly flat on the control arm/shock mount plate.
I also tried a drivers side KYB Mount (SM5118) since I was able to get a hold one of locally. Like the ACDelco Professional mounts, it was the exactly the same as the Moog mount, down to the "GM-6933" marking, hardware, and instructions... Just re-boxed. ARG!!
Lastly, I tried an autozone "Duralast" drivers side mount (142408) which rang up as a Gabriel, same part # too. Appear to be re-boxed. This was the only mount out of the bunch to sit flat against the control arm/shock mount plate AND have all 4 bolt holes line up without modification. They still appeared to be off a tiny bit, but went together fine. The small nipple shaped piece of rubber on top of the mount was off slightly requiring trimming, but this was minor. Finally! something that was kind of made right.
Check out some of the pics. In all, I've probably tried 10 different mounts to get one that world work right. Unbelievable! Makes me wonder what really goes on behind the scenes with the different brands and parts suppliers as most of the ones I got where the same thing just re-boxed under different name... and didn't work
Hopefully this helps someone to avoid the hassle I went through.
In trying to avoid modifying the car to make the mounts work, I did some more experimenting with the fitting of these mounts.
For the passenger side:
I take back what I said about the passenger side Moog mount (K6517). It does not fit perfectly like I thought... it appears to be, but the 1 bolt hole is off by 1 or 1.5mm which isn't obvious until you line up everything with the mounts on the car body. The one bolt hole just starts to thread and binds up as its going in at a slight angle. Being only 1 of the holes was off a little bit, I reamed out the mount holes on the body and control arm mount a tiny bit. I had no other options. A Dremel saved the day!
I got in the ACDelco Professional Mounts (901034, 901035) both Drivers/Pass. The ones I got are EXACTLY the same the same as the Moog mounts I already had, just re-boxed. They both even had the same markings ("GM-6933" and "GM-6934X")on them in the same spots.... along with the same mounting hardware, instructions, and fitment issues - it would not sit flush against the control arm/shock mount plate.
From my Local part store I also tried the drivers side Napa mount (902947), re-boxed monroe? the part number is the same. The mount quality appeared to be absolute garbage, plus both bolt holes were off a descent amount and it didn't sit perfectly flat on the control arm/shock mount plate.
I also tried a drivers side KYB Mount (SM5118) since I was able to get a hold one of locally. Like the ACDelco Professional mounts, it was the exactly the same as the Moog mount, down to the "GM-6933" marking, hardware, and instructions... Just re-boxed. ARG!!
Lastly, I tried an autozone "Duralast" drivers side mount (142408) which rang up as a Gabriel, same part # too. Appear to be re-boxed. This was the only mount out of the bunch to sit flat against the control arm/shock mount plate AND have all 4 bolt holes line up without modification. They still appeared to be off a tiny bit, but went together fine. The small nipple shaped piece of rubber on top of the mount was off slightly requiring trimming, but this was minor. Finally! something that was kind of made right.
Check out some of the pics. In all, I've probably tried 10 different mounts to get one that world work right. Unbelievable! Makes me wonder what really goes on behind the scenes with the different brands and parts suppliers as most of the ones I got where the same thing just re-boxed under different name... and didn't work
Hopefully this helps someone to avoid the hassle I went through.
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#10
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I also used Moog mounts when I installed my Viking coilovers. Everything lines up fine. The only issue I has was I ran out of thread on the shock stud when bolting them together and it wouldn't tighten down. Had to put a washer on top of the mount to make up the difference in height.
#11
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I also used Moog mounts when I installed my Viking coilovers. Everything lines up fine. The only issue I has was I ran out of thread on the shock stud when bolting them together and it wouldn't tighten down. Had to put a washer on top of the mount to make up the difference in height.
#12
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I actually have to do this also, the suspension in the air the bolts are sucked down but with the suspension on the ground they stick up through the fenderwell. Did you have trouble tightening them down as if the treads weren't the right pitch or there was debris in the hole?
#13
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I pulled both of mine out so I could reclock the springs to where they are supposed to sit and this time the 4 bolts are actually going all the way through, but the suspension is still in the air. When I put it back on the ground I'll let you know. The one thing I noticed was I could only tighten each bolt a little or it would cause the opposite side to flex and then the bolt at that end wouldn't tighten easy at all.
#14
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OP
Ok, my car is back on the ground after having the shock assemblies out to re clock the coils. Before I took them back out my mounts had the same issue as the your's and I was worried I'd have to buy a different set. Plus, when I would put the 2 back bolts in they would go in difficult and not all the way causing the shock mount not to fully seat, which worried me also. When I was reinstalling everything, I held the shock assembly up to the fender and reached over and started each bolt only a few threads, this was after taking the nuts all the way down in front by hand. Before putting the bottom bolts in the lower a arm, I tightened each of the 2 bolts 2 1/4 turns at a time, they finally felt like they were going in normal. Once I had all 4 on both side tightened on top I installed the lower mount bolts for the a arms. With this method I got both sides to fully seat against the fenderwell and finally the bolts were fully seated also, son o washers had to be used on the back bolts. Not sure if this will help or if you have already done it, I'm just sharing how I fixed it.
Ok, my car is back on the ground after having the shock assemblies out to re clock the coils. Before I took them back out my mounts had the same issue as the your's and I was worried I'd have to buy a different set. Plus, when I would put the 2 back bolts in they would go in difficult and not all the way causing the shock mount not to fully seat, which worried me also. When I was reinstalling everything, I held the shock assembly up to the fender and reached over and started each bolt only a few threads, this was after taking the nuts all the way down in front by hand. Before putting the bottom bolts in the lower a arm, I tightened each of the 2 bolts 2 1/4 turns at a time, they finally felt like they were going in normal. Once I had all 4 on both side tightened on top I installed the lower mount bolts for the a arms. With this method I got both sides to fully seat against the fenderwell and finally the bolts were fully seated also, son o washers had to be used on the back bolts. Not sure if this will help or if you have already done it, I'm just sharing how I fixed it.
#15
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I'm also in the process of doing all this to my Z and have been looking at strut mounts. The MOOG and AC Delco listings on Rock Auto say bearings not included. During all the times me and my budddies have lowered F-Bodies over the years I've never seen a bearing in the mounts. What exactly are they talking about?
#16
OP
Ok, my car is back on the ground after having the shock assemblies out to re clock the coils. Before I took them back out my mounts had the same issue as the your's and I was worried I'd have to buy a different set. Plus, when I would put the 2 back bolts in they would go in difficult and not all the way causing the shock mount not to fully seat, which worried me also. When I was reinstalling everything, I held the shock assembly up to the fender and reached over and started each bolt only a few threads, this was after taking the nuts all the way down in front by hand. Before putting the bottom bolts in the lower a arm, I tightened each of the 2 bolts 2 1/4 turns at a time, they finally felt like they were going in normal. Once I had all 4 on both side tightened on top I installed the lower mount bolts for the a arms. With this method I got both sides to fully seat against the fenderwell and finally the bolts were fully seated also, son o washers had to be used on the back bolts. Not sure if this will help or if you have already done it, I'm just sharing how I fixed it.
Ok, my car is back on the ground after having the shock assemblies out to re clock the coils. Before I took them back out my mounts had the same issue as the your's and I was worried I'd have to buy a different set. Plus, when I would put the 2 back bolts in they would go in difficult and not all the way causing the shock mount not to fully seat, which worried me also. When I was reinstalling everything, I held the shock assembly up to the fender and reached over and started each bolt only a few threads, this was after taking the nuts all the way down in front by hand. Before putting the bottom bolts in the lower a arm, I tightened each of the 2 bolts 2 1/4 turns at a time, they finally felt like they were going in normal. Once I had all 4 on both side tightened on top I installed the lower mount bolts for the a arms. With this method I got both sides to fully seat against the fenderwell and finally the bolts were fully seated also, son o washers had to be used on the back bolts. Not sure if this will help or if you have already done it, I'm just sharing how I fixed it.
I'm also in the process of doing all this to my Z and have been looking at strut mounts. The MOOG and AC Delco listings on Rock Auto say bearings not included. During all the times me and my budddies have lowered F-Bodies over the years I've never seen a bearing in the mounts. What exactly are they talking about?
#17
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Thanks I straightened out mine out via trying different parts until I got the one that fit. Not sure what the deal is with these different part fitments. It seems none of the manufacturers have it down right.
They way the describe it is confusing, it's not a bearing like you would expect in the other strut designs. It's a bearing "plate" people sometimes call the "dog bone". It is sandwiched between the top of the strut mount and the main strut bolt. Look at the pic below above the strut mount, disregard the blue arrow it was for something else.
They way the describe it is confusing, it's not a bearing like you would expect in the other strut designs. It's a bearing "plate" people sometimes call the "dog bone". It is sandwiched between the top of the strut mount and the main strut bolt. Look at the pic below above the strut mount, disregard the blue arrow it was for something else.