Hardware Stackup at Top Of Front Shock

[RRoller123]

My bushings are all torn up at the top of my front Passenger side shock mount, after about 3 000 miles. Shock strut is now sitting off centered in the Shock Tower hole. No damage to the hole walls, yet. Has me thinking I didn't install them correctly. There are 2 metal cups, 2 rubber bushings, 2 nuts, 2 washers. My old butt uses the nice soft Monroe absorbers.

Is the correct stackup: (from top down)
(?) or something else?

Nut
Washer
Metal Cup (concave down)
Rubber Bushing
-----------------------------
Shock Tower Metal Hole
-----------------------------
Rubber Bushing
Metal Cup (concave up)
Washer
Nut

Thanks,
Pete

[SoFlaFiat]

That should be right Pete.
I always double nut them. Just to be sure they don't loosen up and chew the rubber up.

[RRoller123]

Here is a pic of what has happened. The nut, oddly enough, seems frozen in its position (at least by hand) but the cup and washer are loose below it. The rubber is chewed up, little bits strewn about, but maybe I can salvage the setup and double nut it. The car season ended yesterday here, raining now for a couple of days, then plowable snow on Tuesday, so I have lots of time to sort this out. Need to look at the bottom of the stack and see what is going on there too.

Pete

[SoFlaFiat]

Is it possible that the whole thing wasn't tight enough in the first place and therefore allowed movement? I would think that might chew up the rubber. It might be worth checking thread length as well. Maybe the nut bottomed out on the threads before it was tight to the rubber?
Just thinking out loud...

[rridge]

Not sure about that first nut on the underside before the first bushing cup. My shocks came with two nuts and the second nut was intended for double nutting the top. I believe the cup on the underside was held in place by a ridge on the mounting shaft but I'm sure details vary by brand. The bushings must be torqued down and squeezed sufficiently to make them begin to bulge and fill out the cup washers. The rubber bushing are generic. You should be able to pick up replacements at an auto parts store.

[SoFlaFiat]

Ridge has it right, I missed the nut on the bottom. The shock should seat all the way up with both nuts at the tops.

[RRoller123]

Excellent, thanks for the responses! I think that explains it. I will pull it apart and take a look below and double nut the top, with new bushings, if I can find them.

Pete

[RRoller123]

So it s/b:

Nut
Nut
Washer
Metal Cup (concave down)
Rubber Bushing
----------------------
Shock Tower Hole
----------------------
Rubber Bushing
Metal Cup (concave up)
Top of Shock

[SoFlaFiat]

Yo got it!

[RRoller123]

Ramzi suggested that I can get a universal hardware mount kit at Pep Boys or Auto Zone, etc, so that is where I am off to today to get this done! Drives me crazy to know it is wrong, even when the car sits in Winter doldrums. Nutty but we are that way some times I think.

[RRoller123]

Ok so this gets "curiouser". There was no bottom cup included on the Monroe shock absorber kit, and the FIAT installation drawings (manuals, fiche, etc) show only the top cup, with the bottom of the bottom rubber bushing directly against the top of the shock, and the top of the bushing up in the tower hole cavity. So that is how I installed it. But now, upon reflection and time, funny how that works... it seems to me that this just can't be right! because there is no proper large mating surface for the bottom rubber bushing to seat into/onto.

Here is what my Monroe shock top looks like after removal (no damage during removal, this is as it was sitting in there).



And the manual I have (as well as others I have seen) show only the top cup, as here:



But I think this has to be wrong! So I will find a bottom cup suitable for the bottom bushing to seat into and re-assemble the whole thing. The shock itself is fine, no damage at all. Comments welcome on this, I think it has something to do with the shape of the top of the particular shock absorber that you buy. If it can seat the bottom bushing properly, then the drawing s are correct, but if it can't as the Monroe seems not to be able to (??) then you need the bottom cup?? Do I have this right or am I missing something?

Pete

[bluespider262]

Bottom metal cup is a must.

I've also seen Monroe shocks that didn't have enough thread on the top, so when the nut stopped, it wasn't actually "pinching" the sheet metal sandwiched between the rubber bushings all the way, which would make noise and ruin the rubber and/or sheet metal mount.

[RRoller123]

That may have happened here, my error by not installing the bottom cup. Live and learn.

[DieselSpider]

Yep some shocks have the bottom cup washer molded into the top cover while most do not.

Hows that go.... Experience prevents mistakes however you generally make a few mistakes while you gain experience.

[RRoller123]

I remember thinking at the time that the Monroe cup-retaining top cylindrical section would sit fully inside the bottom bumper when I tightened the stack up and thus be supported and look like the manual drawings, etc. I guess it is possible that this is the case and that the nut on top just loosened up. Anyway, upgrading to KYBs and will put both the bottom cup and the locknut in place this time.