Strut tops...any condition..!!

[Dieselman]

Does anyone have a knackered later style strut top they can send me.

I want the metal plate so I can see if I can get them made up. I have been looking for suppliers to do this and really need a plate so an exact replication can be made.

The later units are slightly different in so much as apparently they can't come apart even if the rubber bonding fails due to the .

I have also been looking for a rubber bonder.

[Dean]

This is good, but i have to ask Will, why are you not using the lithuanian guy? you will struggle to remanufacture a top for what he can do it for and i dont think there is that much of a shortage of sound ones.
There is a Dutch? man who makes new cones that come in halfs that are bolted and welded over the original baseplate to prevent a pop up due to rusting but im not sure on that one, i do remember seeing pictures and a write up though.

D

[Dieselman]

This is good, but i have to ask Will, why are you not using the lithuanian guy?
D

Last time I asked Kingas, they couldn't do the steel plate other than welding. Judging by the condition of the steel plates on Northern European cars, I think a new plate would be a more sound proposition.

I was just about to post into that thread when I saw your post.

I believe Geff Labowski has some of the Swedish (iirc) split ones on his car.

[Dean]

How many tops do we know of that are beyond welding repair though? i know you have been doing a fair bit of work on this due to the state of your tops but are that many realy too rusty to re-use?
Ive found a lot of XM failures are due to delamination of the bonded rubber, later ones are starting to look like they may suffer sudden failure of the rubber structure due to age.
Ive found only Xantia ones seem to rust away into nothingness almost every time due to the rubber coating or are more xms than i think suffering from rusted baseplates?

D

[Dieselman]

How many tops do we know of that are beyond welding repair though?

D

I bought a top that appeared to be a bit rusty but OK only to find at the very top it's getting very suspect. A number I have seen have looked like this, so given the opportunity I think new plates are a good idea.

Is welding good on such an item and will it pass an MOT?

The reason I say that is that about 2 years ago a guy was advertising his car as the metal failed catastrophically about 1,000 miles after the MOT. It just broke off completely, so must have been rusty underneath.

I have one that the rubber de-laminated and I stuck it back on and the tester passed no comment, even when asked, so I guess it's Ok, but given the option new, decent ones provide security.

we have seen other members cars where the steel has failed, it's the most frequent failure on UK cars and will only become more of a problem.

[citroenxm]

Hi Will,

Ive lost - on here - my post about my strut top comming up...

Looking at the top, both the lower plate and upper plate is good...






Paul

[Dieselman]

I remember yours Paul. Have you peeled the rubber back yet to check the steel, though that does look good.

Here's a couple of other members strut top failures and I can recall at least one other due to the steel, was it minijet?

[Dean]

Ah that white hatch was Steve's (steelcityuk) and i think from memory it was like that all over, surprisingly brown in places in fact.
Pauls look like tearing of the rubber but then the baseplate doesnt look right to me somehow, there are some strange lumps in the rubber coating and the top of the cone looks uneven and lumpy.

D

[Geoff Lebowski]

Right, if you see the massively rusty steel part that's failed in Diesel Mans picture above, then the Swedish style of strut top replaces that. As, iirc you can't separate the part that fits underneath the failed part from the failed part or the parts above it, then you have to cut away the rusty part and then insert the swedish style replacement which is in two halves. These then bolted using the four strut top bolts/studs into position and a some Gorilla Glue is apllied between the under side of the Swedish strut top and whatever lies underneath it.

The flat coned disc just below the black part (the sphere mount???) remains. Gorilla Glue is a known strong rubbery adhesive, similar I think to windscreen bonder.
I promise I'll take a piccy and post it up

[Dean]

oh its swedish, my mistake.

So basicaly you cut away the cone thats rusted out and fit this new cone in two halves that you also glue to the rubber? and then bolt down on the 4 baseplate studs and weld the two halves together......
Pictures would be interesting when you get time.

D