Carl Nelson sells a diff mount reinforcement kit.
Heartbreak-broken rear shock mount
- Thread starter Stevehose
- Start date
EJ333
Well-Known Member
@Chris : Do you have the CN differential kit installed ?
Have we made any determination whether :
a) lowering springs contribute to the problem
b) 16 inch wheels contribute to the problem
c) rear shock tower bracing contribute to the solution
d) best method of reinforcement for protection as a preventative measure
Have we made any determination whether :
a) lowering springs contribute to the problem
b) 16 inch wheels contribute to the problem
c) rear shock tower bracing contribute to the solution
d) best method of reinforcement for protection as a preventative measure
I do not. I don't think springs and wheels are the issue, it could be normal wear and tear, corrosion and lack of rust proofing, poor manufacturing, aggressive driving.
John Buchtenkirch
Well-Known Member
Stiffer shocks. Take it from someone who has spent his whole professional career (44 + years) welding up collision damage, cracked & rotted frames and also uni-bodies when it comes to broken shock mounts better than 75% of the time stiffer aftermarket shocks are on the car being repaired. ~ John Buchtenkirch
EJ333
Well-Known Member
John,
Would you advise that if am satisfied with my stock springs and have Bilstein HDs, my chances will be lessened of this shock tower problem if I don't convert to lowering springs ? ( I would love lowering springs and the look it would afford, but like anything else, need to weigh the pros and cons.)
Would you advise that if am satisfied with my stock springs and have Bilstein HDs, my chances will be lessened of this shock tower problem if I don't convert to lowering springs ? ( I would love lowering springs and the look it would afford, but like anything else, need to weigh the pros and cons.)
12doplumbing
Well-Known Member
Here is a response from Carl Nelson (after I asked him if he had a preferable solution):
"We developed this with Mark Smith (UK) back in the 80s. I may still have some to copy. It was expensive then, more so now. The real issue was that by the time this repair was in evidence, the rest of the car was seriously rusted, The repair was questionable"
Does anyone have this old repair in their coupe?
"We developed this with Mark Smith (UK) back in the 80s. I may still have some to copy. It was expensive then, more so now. The real issue was that by the time this repair was in evidence, the rest of the car was seriously rusted, The repair was questionable"
Does anyone have this old repair in their coupe?
It's a bad design, worse now because of years of metal fatigue, I would have them fixed regardless of your shock/spring combo.
EJ333
Well-Known Member
Yesterday, I jumped inside the trunk, and pushed back the cracked elephant skin. From what I could see and feel, everything seemed intact with no evidence of compromise. Keep in mind that I did not want to worsen the cracked elephant skin around the shock towers. Let sleeping dogs lie ?
I'm letting my dogs sleep.
:razz:
:razz:
John Buchtenkirch
Well-Known Member
I agree with all of Steve’s points. Having said that I have certainly seen thru the years where stiffer aftermarket shocks have sped up the metal fatigue on shock mounts of many different cars, not just our coupes. IMO springs, lowering or 16” tires are likely have little or no effect on longevity of rear shock mounts. Probably the roughness of the roads traveled would be the second biggest factor on fatiguing mounts. It’s just a welding job, not really heartbreak…… heartbreak is when some jerk busy texting blows the nose off your coupe :shock:. ~ John Buchtenkirch
12doplumbing
Well-Known Member
Now that you asked, you're doomed. There's going to be no shutting-up that nagging voice in the background "Shock towers? They're fine, right? Right?". None of us are going to make it go away. Sorry.
Chris? I'm telling you, you're the last one I thought that would say you're leaving it alone... As nice as you do things?
Because my plastic covers are pristine and every time you touch them something cracks! And I don't drive like a crazy person. 
12doplumbing
Well-Known Member
Stevehose, you gotta quit driving like a crazy person. It's terrible.
Wait till the top of the Bilstein blows through your pristine cover and you spend 2 weeks gluing it back together bit by bit to try and salvage what's left
Thankfully mine blew out before my long drive to Amelia Island. Blessing in disguise. Take note all 2016 cross country road trippers!
Thankfully mine blew out before my long drive to Amelia Island. Blessing in disguise. Take note all 2016 cross country road trippers!
Because my plastic covers are pristine and every time you touch them something cracks! And I don't drive like a crazy person.
Last edited:
Would be cool if someone (Steve?) would repro these reinforcements?
If yours aren't broken yet you're better off getting someone to weld reinforcement washers to the existing tower. Cheaper too. I have the dimensions somewhere if you want to have your local machine shop make the ones in the pic, that's what I did.
Ya, mine aren't broken yet, so was thinking what you put on would really beef it up as opposed to just washers (side support).
It’s definitely overkill. It is difficult to weld very
thin steel to very thick steel. As you weld, the duration of time spent as you pass over the thick steel has to be greater than that of the thin metal. If you don’t know what you are doing you end up blowing through the thin steel or getting poor penetration on the thick.
Is this shock tower issue also on the E3? They seem so similarly built....