Destroyed Strut Bearings in 3 weeks. Halp.

[kicksonfiyah92]

Hello all. Long time lurker here. I recently replaced my stock struts/shocks to Koni Yellows. They are paired with CorkSport springs (I ran the CorkSport springs on stock struts for a while). I also replaced the strut bearings and front bump stops during the install. During the install, I noticed the CorkSport springs were a little short and the springs were loose on the front struts and I am able to move it around when the wheel is off, but I figured once the it had some load it would be okay. I made sure to line up the tab on the strut bearing with the springs and tightened everything up according to spec. First 2-3 weeks were fine, but this past week I started to hear some clunking noises like something was loose. I jack the car up and find that the strut bearings are destroyed.

I've done this install before when I replaced the stock springs with CorkSport springs and it was fine. Any idea what I did wrong? Did I forget to do something? Are CorkSport springs not a good match with Koni Yellows or am I just a dumbass? Thanks!

[Mr. Felt]

It looks like the bearing holder was not installed correctly or seated properly when you bolted on the top hat.

[Db09ms3]

I am going to go with it not being seated correctly too. I know you have to line up the tab on the bearing with the top coil of the spring where it is chopped off. Then install. I torqued it when it was on the ground, full weight, and added threadlocker. I also used cheap ass Oreilly/Checker bearings and top hats. Still good after about 30k miles.

[Mr. Felt]

Don't be afraid to use lots of grease. The grease helped keep the individual ball bearing in place when I installed the top hat on my new Koni struts.

[Db09ms3]

I put mine in dry as I believe the grease is already encased in said bearing. The pic shows that it is destroyed and obviously had grease.

[Solarsurge]

The top hat needs to be tightened properly. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen the springs break in and the top hat come loose because the top hat wasn’t tight enough. The torque specs are there for a reason. I realize most people don’t have the proper tools to do the job the right way with a torque wrench so they use box wrenches and call it “good enough.” Get a proper strut nut socket and torque wrench if you don’t want to keep pissing away money on suspension parts.

[Fstrnyou]

Since we're talking torque, some torque specs are there to keep you from overtorqing too. You can't always assume a torque spec based on fastener size.

Where I work, an assembly team member thought a particular fastener wasn't tight enough, despite having a calibrated torque wrench for that specific fastener. So this person gave it some extra torque. What that team member didn't know is that the internal components of the part were twisting and would eventually lead to a failure in the field after so many hours of running.

That careless act of opinion cost the company upwards of six figures in field repairs and unknown damages to future sales.

Follow the torque specs provided to you.

[kicksonfiyah92]

Thanks for the input everyone! Will keep in mind once I order new strut bearings.