[Nuke]

I was merging onto Hwy 114 here in Dallas earlier today, when I encountered quite a large bump in the road. I remember thinking at the time, "Damn, that was hard enough to break something", but since car kept on a'truckin', I didn't give it another thought.

Then, I began to notice something wasn't quite stirrin' the kool-aid with my suspension...it just didn't feel right. So I pulled over and began inspecting the usual suspects.

Nothing, nathan, nada...couldn't find anything wrong...UNTIL I popped the left side strut cover off. See attached pic for what awaited me.

Can you say "Off-Nominal Strut Adjustment?"

 

[WV 392]

Damn!

 

[Danner]

Geez.

On the good side, a simple replacement will fix that. It could have been a lot worse.

Don't ask me how I know that ;-)

 

[R/TCLASSIC]

OUCH!!!

 

[Nuke]

The worst part

Breaking the shock and having to limp home at 20 mph in rush hour traffic was bad enough ("rush" is a misnomer, I wasn't impeding anyone since nobody could go over 20 anyway), but the worst part is it also drug off the right rear rubber jack point.

Now how am I suppose to jack up the ass-end of my car and crawl under it when I want to envision it accidentally dropping on me to bring a humane end to all my suffering?!?

 

[Nuke]

The Point to My Post to Begin With

So the reason I'm posting in this section: why would the shock break like that after only a year and 40ish thousand miles?

It was a Bilstein shock I ordered last year as part of an SRT suspension upgrade. I got 4 new shocks and paired them with 4 slightly used SRT springs.

I did the strut assembly and installation myself, so mechanic error is definitely a possibility. But I don't think it's very likely.

I'm no stranger to turning a wrench, and I followed all the directions and torque specs to the best of my abilities. So why me? Why me lord???

Okay, done feeling sorry for myself, so really, anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Hal H]

Gravity is the only thing keeping that strut and spring (along with the bottom nut on the hub) assembly on the car.

On the plus side, removing the top strut bushing/plate will be a breeze...only have to operate that spring compressor once for the install of the new front strut.

 

[Lonestar]

Could simply be the stud was made in China out of fine China metal.

 

[Nuke]

Lest anyone think The Nuke is merely inconvenienced by his Challenger's breakage, I offer up the two attached pics.

The 1st pic should illustrate the level of comfort I enjoy being 6'8" and having to drive the ole lady's car.

The 2nd pic should illustrate my state of mind - given what's in the foreground AND what's in the background.

Nuke, OUT?

 

[Nuke]

nothing to see, move along...

 

[Nuke]

nothing to see, move along...

 

[Triz]

Lest anyone think The Nuke is merely inconvenienced by his Challenger's breakage, I offer up the two attached pics.

The 1st pic should illustrate the level of comfort I enjoy being 6'8" and having to drive the ole lady's car.

The 2nd pic should illustrate my state of mind - given what's in the foreground AND what's in the background.

Nuke, OUT?

Ha! A Honda no less...I feel for ya.

 

[Nuke]

Geez.

On the good side, a simple replacement will fix that. It could have been a lot worse.

Don't ask me how I know that ;-)

I am actually very surprised I made it home, I guess I thought that particular breakage was worse than it ended up being...which begs the question, how much worse could it have been?

 

[guitar2323]

Maybe you over torqued the nut putting it back together.

 

[Nuke]

brass tacks

Maybe you over torqued the nut putting it back together.

Those top nuts and their torque specs were a wild card when I did the struts last year. And while I still can't absolutely rule out over-torquing the nut on this broken shock as the culprit here, I do not think it's the ticket for this rodeo.


But I've been wrong before, so I'll lay out the info I have and let everyone weigh in:

1. Those nuts were supposed to be torqued to 60 lbs upon strut reassembly (I'm going by memory on that, too lazy to dig thru notes for exact spec, not super relevant at this juncture).
2. Because of their end point on the shock stem and inside the shock hat when fully assembled and tightened down, the only tool I could use to tighten them into final position was a deep-bend, box-end wrench.
3. Given #2 stuff, plus the fact that shock stem has to be held in place with appropriate sized socket while torquing nut, I had no way to precisely torque those nuts down to spec during final assembly.
4. So I practiced tightening them with same wrench but w/out the shock hat to approximately 60 lbs, then tried to simulate that same effort during assembly w/ hat to get as close as possible to the 60 lbs.
5. Kept close eye on them for months following installation in car, and kept checking for loose nuts or wobbly shock stem (in the event they were under [email protected]).

So while I did not get those nuts torqued to spec w/ a torque wrench at assembly, I feel like I was close enough...I know, I know, horse shoes and grenades, blah-blah-blah...

Either way, I definitely don't think I over-torqued them. If anything, they may have been under-torqued a few lbs.

But would that lead to catastrophic failure a year later with no warning signs before hand? I don't think it would, but I don't know for sure. That's why I'm asking for input.

 

[Nuke]

Does Not Compute

Could simply be the stud was made in China out of fine China metal.

Whoa now! Let's pump the brakes a little on this...

I paid the big bucks for the SRT parts, they are unbreakable, right? I mean, if you are trying to tell me SRT parts are fallible just like the normal stuff, then I'm gonna have to readjust my way of thinking!

They can't be just more expensive and only slightly higher quality, that ain't right! It can't be!!

What's next...Is up really down?

Is black now white??

Is north really south???

I'm getting dizzy, the room is starting to spin...

The Nuke is so confused!!


I am kidding of course, I know SRT parts aren't unbreakable...but with the price I have to pay to get 'em, I sure hope they break at a much lower rate than normal stuff!!

 

[Brock Samson]

Nuke, I know this is off-topic, but this is what I LOVE about having a Challenger. At 6'-3" in height I get to play in a muscle car that makes me feel like a kid if my seat is all the way down and all the way back.

I never thought I could feel so comfortable in a car that is so bad ass!

Good luck with your suspension bro, and watch that cig while your at the pump. Wouldn't want you to have bigger problems...:eek2:

 

[Kondo]

Damn!!! From the first pic that had to be a HellofA pothole..... The pic with the cig at the pump,lmao man. I had the same look when my batt died and I had the drive my honda to work... but it was still a fun ride (H22 91 Accord). Local kids are always trying to race...lol

 

[Hal H]

Pic #2:

That picture is worth a thousand words...and it looks like you had to gas up the Honda to use it too...

 

[Nuke]

Serendipity

Nuke, I know this is off-topic, but this is what I LOVE about having a Challenger. At 6'-3" in height I get to play in a muscle car that makes me feel like a kid if my seat is all the way down and all the way back.

I never thought I could feel so comfortable in a car that is so bad ass!

Good luck with your suspension bro, and watch that cig while your at the pump. Wouldn't want you to have bigger problems...:eek2:

Yeah, the room these cars have for gentlemen 'of size' is a godsend, and it's not advertised NEARLY enough IMO as an attribute for the vehicle platform in general.
When I first decided to buy a new car (1st new vehicle ever, always used before), I originally decided to get a new Camaro, but I literally could not get into to driver's seat...guess "little people" were Chevy's target buyer w/ that redesign.

So it was kind of accident that I even ended up w/ the Challenger, but man-o-man, I am sure glad that's how it turned out!!