Did you put it together like this?

 

Yea exactly like that.

 

Only three things I can think of:
Strut mounts are collapsed

You didn't get the that nut on top of the strut mount down all the way.

The plate you have pictured and other nut go on top of what you see pictured in the BC figure above.

 

Only three things I can think of:
Strut mounts are collapsed ...

Because it's not #2 I second this suggestion. My install used poly strut mounts made by a defunct company, but for what you have in the BCs you might want to get poly ones or at least rubber replacements.

My 06 stockers came out in very rough shape at 25k miles.

Another tip for the nut that needs the allen key, is to use a deep socket with wrench flats milled onto it. Failing this, deep socket with large vise grip. However, I think more tightening of this will only make your problem worse.

 

After viewing the pictures full size it is #2.

To fix leave the car on the ground, take off the top plate and nut and tighten the lower nut all the way down tight, same as they do in the video.

 

I double checked that and it's tight....used a wrench and allen to hold rod from spinning....I am stumped on this....I've installed probably 20 sets of springs and coilovers on different cars throughout the years and never ran into this....a spacer between the upper mount plate and strut tower would fix this, but I know that isn't the right was to take care of it.

 

If everything is tight then is is collapsed mounts, what mounts did you install?

 

Not sure if you are addressing me, Tony, but I used Noltec "offset" eccentric mounts. Sadly, other than Pedders, I don't know who makes these nowadays. Duckman @ Kollar Racing probably has some too.

 

I put whiteline poly mounts on when I installed mine. Everything is perfect.

 

There’s either something wrong with the initial coil over assembly process (It’s important to get those cupped washers on correctly) or the strut mounts are collapsed. Do you have a photo of the completed assembly not installed on the car?

 

Tuesday I will put it apart again and take a pic of everything disassembled....but I followed the BC diagram to a tee and had washers same direction....that's why I am so stumped...

 

If you get new mounts, I suggest poly.

 

I was thinking I'd grab the Pedders mounts...

 

My guess is that your strut mounts are collapsed. I tried poly mounts at first & hated them so much I changed back to my Pedders rubber mounts. Different strokes for different folks…

 

Why didn't you like them? i couldn't tell the difference.

 

Ok so what's best place to get Pedders mounts from then? And would I have noticed if they were collapsed before? It seems like there was never that gap up top on the stock setup....

 

If you don't want poly mounts Andy at Kollar has rubber mounts now. Personally I can tell no difference between my poly mounts and my stock rubber mounts, other than these won't collapse. There are many tales of the Pedders mounts collapsing like a stock rubber mount. Just my two pennies.

 

Here is a thread with a good picture of a collapsed strut mount and what they should look like:

http://www.ls1gto.com/forums/showthread.php?t=372133

I recommend Kollar Racing, I have received excellent customer service Andy in the past. There are rubber and poly strut mounts available, poly will last longer but may give a little harsher ride, the rubber ones will provide a better ride but not last as long.

If you want Pedders products, I recommend Wretched Motorsports, I have received great customer service from Rob too, but I just looked at his site I don't see any strut mounts.

Not sure if you have replaced any of the other bushings on the car or want to, but if you search the site you will see what else to look for.

 

Thanks!

OP. I had the same issue after install. Turned out I had incorrectly installed the OEM concave washer along with the top-most BC washer. Once removed the problem was solved.

If that isn't it, you may have something installed out of sequence or in an inverted position which could be binding the subsequent parts.

Well Im going to order strut mounts so when I pull them apart to install I will double check that stuff...thanks!

 

OP. I had the same issue after install. Turned out I had incorrectly installed the OEM concave washer along with the top-most BC washer. Once removed the problem was solved.

If that isn't it, you may have something installed out of sequence or in an inverted position which could be binding the subsequent parts.

 

http://www.wretchedms.com/product/Pedders-HD-Strut-Mounts/Default.aspx?gfid=p777-c3985

There are 2 washers on each side, both of them face away from the mounts.

even though it's not my parts, if you have questions during an install you can call me.

 

Are those in-stock Rob? PM me shipped price using USPS Priority mail so I get them in 2-3 days. Thanks!

 

in stock
shipping is $10, no need for PM

 

you might want to do the bearings too, but that's your call.

 

Wouldn't the brand new bearings that the BC Racing coilovers came with work? They are from Whiteline apparently.

 

if you had a problem, i'm sure others are too,
where should they be in your opinion?

 

I will PM you this evening with some feedback.

OP, those bearings are good, just be careful not to damage when removing.

 

if you have new ones you should be ok,
as tony said, be very careful that they don't come apart when you disassemble the fronts.

 

Thanks Rob! Looks like I'm going to order Poly ones since I don't want to deal with the rubber ever collapsing again.

 

not to throw things in a tail spin, but this is something that i had posted elseware, and i'm sure it will bring drama, but i'll post it anyhow.

A lot of people have said to me that the poly mounts are better than the rubber ones are because the poly ones do not collapse.
I can not deny that when the mounts are removed from the car they will not be collapsed.

This however does not mean that they are 'better' or 'stronger', it just means that when you remove them from the car they are not collapsed.

This may sound like i'm talking in circles, but let me try to explain.

The Pedders Mounts are steel encased in rubber, the steel/rubber mounts are designed to collapse to help protect your cars structure. If they have collapsed, it's because the car has hit a bump (or bumps) with enough force that the design has allowed the mount to compress a bit to prevent the structure damage.
Just because a mount is collapsed does not mean that it's not doing it's job well, it just means that it has lost it's protectability (i made that word up). The main function of the strut mount is to prevent the lateral movement of the strut shaft (side to side and front to rear) the secondary purpose is to secure it up and down. So a collapsed mount can do the job 100% fine, and have zero performance degradation.

Now to the poly mounts.
Why are poly mounts not the ideal design?
It's simple, they are a very low cost (to manufacture) alternative, since they are not steel re-enforced, and have not been designed to allow themselves to collapse when a large bump/pothole is hit. So because they are simply a solid poly piece, when they are not under pressure they will be the same height.
The problem is when they ARE under pressure.
Since they are under so much pressure, and they don't have the steel re-enforcement, they can tend to allow the strut shaft to move not only laterally, but also up and down. I liken it to a sponge. You can take a sponge, squish it down, twist it, warp it, bend it, ect, but when you take the pressure off of the sponge it returns to it's original form.
Now i'm not suggesting that you use a sponge for a strut mount, but then again, i'm not suggesting that you use a poly strut mount either.

I have a Pedders Poly Strut Mount.
I be happy to show it to people, but it will never be installed on a car.
Pedders doesn't make parts just to sell them, they make parts to improve your car, and they are designed to be on a daily driven car.
Since the only way to attempt to offset the poor qualities that the poly mounts can have, is to make them very hard, this means that there will be an NVH issue. But even after making them hard, they will still have the same issues with movement and flexing.
I've removed more than a couple sets of these from GTOs and G8s over the past couple years.

So, i ask that you think about one thing, why doesn't Pedders sell poly mounts when they use poly in so many applications?

It's late and i may have babbled a bit, but i think that i've gotten my point across.

If you choose poly mounts it's your call, i can't change that.
What i can do is inform you of the issues that are present with poly mounts, and explain why the OE mounts as well as Pedders mounts are designed how they are.

the mounts being collapsed do not in it self mean that the mount is bad. The G8 collapses the mounts faster than on the GTO, (same part) due to it's angle. By the time the mounts would be fully collapsed on a GTO, there were typically other signs of failure, such as ripping and tearing of the rubber near the center ferrule on an OE mount.
because of this myself and many others got lazy and started saying that a mount was bad when it was compressed, because on the GTO it was typically the case, but not only due to it being collapsed.

When the G8 came out and we found that the stock mounts were collapsing much faster, we (and many others) continued to say that a collapsed mount was a failed mount. This however is not the case.

What constitutes a failed mount is a mount that had ripping or tearing around the center ferrule, thus not securing the top of the strut shaft as well as it should be.

The only thing that happens when a mount collapsed is, the ride height is lowered about 5-10mm, and the retainer plate under the hood raises up a bit. I did have pics of failed mounts on my site but they were confusing people so i removed them.
i'll work on getting them back online and making them a bit more clear.

now with all of this said, if you are going to replace the struts, i would replace the mounts.

 

The poly vs rubber strut mount debate will continue until the end of time. There are countless threads discussing this.
FACT: Poly Mounts are more durable then Rubber Mounts. I introduced the LOVELLS packaged poly mounts to the US market over 5 Years with ZERO warranty claims for collapsing, tearing or failure. Of the thousand or so sold in the US by me, the only failure I have ever heard of was reported by DMS. The failure was caused by IMPROPER installation.
"The poly unit that I saw go bad the entire center section came out. Both the washers were installed incorrectly" DMS 6-17-2011 Ls1gto.com
Warranty claims for "bad bearings" have been ZERO since ALL MOUNTS WITH BEARINGS purchased from KOLLAR RACING PRODUCTS are supplied with GENUINE GERMAN SKF BEARING not economy Asian sourced bearings.
FACT: A collapsed strut mount is a bad mount ...OEM or aftermarket it makes no difference. This doesn't matter if it's a GTO or G8. A collapsed mount will cause camber changes
"The center section would get weak, and then start to migrate towards the engine. Thus would cause abnormal camber changes, strut rub issues, and eventually, tearing of the OE bushings." DMS 6-15-11 Ls1gto.com
FACT: Poly will transfer more NVH then rubber. This is no secret. Some people are more sensitive than others. The majority of people running poly mounts find them to be more then acceptable. For those of you who are concerned that the NVH will be unacceptable, Kollar Racing Products offers ROADSAFE RUBBER MOUNTS. I have sold 100s of these without issue.
FACT: At the wholesale level...POLY and RUBBER MOUNTS cost about the same. I cannot comment at the manufacturers level.
In the real world the LOVELLS Poly mount has proved itself over and over as the choice of US GTO and G8 owners.

 

FACT: Bears eat Beets.....

Your statement of FACT that poly mounts are more durable is FALSE, they are not prone to compressing, but are not more durrable given alignment movement.

Your statement of FACT a collapsed mount is a bad mount, FALSE I hole heartedly disagree, unless you just want to push product. I was a Tech, I have trained Techs on alignments, I have done thousands of alignments, how many have you done?

I CAN TYPE EVERYTHING IN CAPS WOOHOOOOOOO

The FACT that you are charging the same for a poly mount vs a more expensive steel re-enforced rubber mount is not something that i would make public.

FACT: I have 4 dogs,
FACT: I have a GTO and a Charger
FACT: my toilet flushes clockwise.

 

Your statement of FACT that poly mounts are more durable is FALSE, they are not prone to compressing, but are not more durrable given alignment movement.

Your statement of FACT a collapsed mount is a bad mount, FALSE I hole heartedly disagree, unless you just want to push product. I was a Tech, I have trained Techs on alignments, I have done thousands of alignments, how many have you done?

I CAN TYPE EVERYTHING IN CAPS WOOHOOOOOOO

The FACT that you are charging the same for a poly mount vs a more expensive steel re-enforced rubber mount is not something that i would make public.

FACT: I have 4 dogs,
FACT: I have a GTO and a Charger
FACT: my toilet flushes clockwise.

:scratch:

 

OP, did you uninstall and find your problem?

 

lol,

 

Rob, fwiw, I wish you and Pedders would set up a urethane strut mount option through your sources. Everyone who had to replace stock collapsed rubbers got "so" burned through no fault of their own, and with a lot of your line being urethane upgrades ...

I guess if some folks are like me after screwing up a set of tires, and reluctant to believe in a replacement rubber part, they will go where urethane product is made. I had to seek out a NOS set of offset urethanes at top dollar, and it's probable that Pedders could reissue sets of these for the G8 and GTO with your industry contacts.

 

ive got less than 1000 miles on a set of pedders front mounts and they are toast , granted they are on my 04 gto with about 13k miles on it , so it sits more than anything

both my 04 and 06 im switching to whiteline , ive installed several sets for people and no one has complained , and ive driven and rode in a couple of them , to me the front end feels more of the road in a controlled way

granted with anything that is stiffer/firmer than factory you will feel more things , good and bad

 

Pedders mounts are trash. That being said the same mounts which were trash in my car apparently were soft enough to retain the stiffness of the extreme coilovers. Once I switched to the whitelines they just crapped out within 20 miles of driving, now my car squeaks over bumps and it sounds like a big piece of shit. I do love the mounts though and they are solid as a rock.

 

Great, I find a post with the same issue as I am having, except it wasn't resolved. And in my case, I have new mounts. How bad is it that I am not using the BC nut to get the top retainer to fit right?

 

Send me some pics Jim, also did you use the cupped washer that came with the Whiteline mounts instead of the BC supplied washer?