1990 convertible strut mounts UPDATE

[johnemac]

About four years ago I ordered a set of strut mounts for my 1990 convertible. The new strut mount rubber pieces are about an 1"and 3/4 thick. The ones that I removed were about an 1" and 1/2. I was in a pinch and mounted the thicker ones, and needless to say I've been dealing with a horrible ride. I am trying to set things straight but the application I order are the thicker style. I would appreciate any help.

UPDATE......I finally figured out the struts were Gabriel and the strut mount for those are about a half inch thinner than Monroes. That small amount makes a BIG difference in the ride and the appearance of the car. I got lucky and Rockauto has a wholesaler discounting them for $9 dollars and change,

Edited October 21, 2016 by johnemac
update (see edit history)

[2seater]

Slate made a good reply. I am a bit in the dark as to what specific part you are concerned with? If it is the bump stop on the strut rod, it should make little difference as the suspension doesn't ride on it full time? Were the struts changed at the same time? There does seem to be a perceived ride difference between brands. Was the ride quality an issue before the change?

[johnemac]

I am sorry, but I was talking about the front. The 6 and 5/8th inch wide rubber "bumper" that makes up the mount. The ride is affected and one can see the front end of the car higher. I only changed the strut mount because it was squeaky. The application that did not fit was for a 1990 and it was monroe, the next one was a 'no name" ebay set listed for a 1990. Both too thick.

[Ronnie]

17 hours ago, johnemac said:

The new strut mount rubber pieces are about an 1"and 3/4 thick. The ones that I removed were about an 1" and 1/2.

 

I changed my own struts and from that experience, I don't think 1/4" would make a noticeable difference in the height of the front of the car. I believe you must have a problem other than the thicker strut mounts.

 

One possibility that comes to mind - that would cause a noticeable difference in the height and would also effect the ride - is the spring not being seated properly in the spring perch at the top or the bottom of the strut. As you can see in the photo below, the end of the spring must be correctly seated in the indentation in the perches or the spring will be compressed more than normal resulting in more spring tension and likely some binding as the spring moves. That extra spring tension would be like having a stiffer spring installed. That would extend the strut more when the weight is on the car resulting in the front of the car being higher. I think that extra spring tension would also result in a harsher ride. I hope this helps.

 

[johnemac]

I guess what I was looking for was someone to chime in and say "there are two apps for 90's, one for hardtops and one for convertibles, you need the other". I did not proof read my math and the prior ones were thinner by at least a half to three quarters than the new ones.

 The only thing I can think of is that the prior owner had installed some odd brand or application that had a longer spring and thinner strut mount . 

[Ronnie]

To my knowledge the '88 Reatta has a front strut that is made different from other years. The '89-'91 years all used the same struts as far as I know.

 

The '88-89 used the same strut mounts. The '90-'91 used the same strut mount. I don't know if there was a difference in the thickness of early model strut mounts and the later models. Perhaps someone here has compared them and will chime in.