AHH!! stupid Strut bar...or...car?
 

Hey Zilvians!!

I have a stupid issue/question, i just bought a front strut bar(one of those cusco looking ones) for my s13 fb, and for some reason it WONT fit!!, i tried installing it with jackstands/no jackstands but for some reason the bar is roughly 1/2-1/4" longer. Right now im assuming my poor car is probably bend by the previous owner!!

Anyways, is there anything i can do to make the bar fit?? i was thinking about taking it to a shop to bend it a little, but im not sure. or should i just buy one of those adj. length ones?

Appreciate the help guys

Maybe it's not for an s13.

so it's a cusco look a like? get a real cusco one. do what i did, loosen one of the sides first (giant screw looking thing if i recall) if possible, and adjust accordingly. kinda hard to explain but that's what i did to get mine to fit.

yeah i think you can twist the middle bar and adjust the length

thanks guys, but i tried all that...and i cant adjust the strut bar i have right how, i cant twist the bar, the bar is a one piece, damn...i wish i can just install it and get it over with....:(

Maybe it's not for an s13.

pictures would help

:stupid::stupid::stupid::stupid::stupid::stupid: what they said

my opinion, sell that bar and get a legit piece, REAL CUSCO or other brand and not a look a like.

yeah, its for a s13, i double checked with the seller lol, pictures..ehh, ill probably have to take some tomorrow...ill try posting some tomorrow

HAHA i would gladly buy a real cusco if i wasnt in a budget, but what if the same thing happened with the cusco? my car? :X

Slot the bolt holes with a dremel and make it fit. You bought a knock off to save money....now its up to you to make it work.

highly doubt it's your car...lol that would be sad if you have no idea if you have a s13 or s14...waiting on pics...

damn....my stupid pc is not letting upload pics...anywayz if u want to visualize it, its basically a cusco os look-a-like, with the bar roughly 1/2 inch longer....so it fits one side but not the other...thanks people

It's not THAT rare for a 15 year old car to bend at the shock mounts. In fact that's where some older cars just fold in on themselves. If you lift the car so the upper shock studs are recessed you may get the extra you needed to make it fit, If not then slot it, it'll still do its job when you tighten it down

i unbolted the cusco fstb from my green coupe and tried to put it on my red hatch, shit was off by about an inch. even the cheap ebay adjustable length junk won't fit. my chassis is fucked, maybe yours is, too.

See, there's your problem... Strut bars from green cars don't work in red cars, simple as that.

:bowrofl::bowrofl::bowrofl::bowrofl::bowrofl: LOL good to know. i like this thread. i want to see pics of the OP's car, bar, etc...upload em on photobucket or something! i had problems too when i was installing my bar, that's why i feel for the OP.

lol that is funny..

Just an FYI: Almost all front strutbars will interchange between S13 & S14.

straight off the other car onto this one
http://img244.imageshack.us/img244/9240/dscf0534mx2.jpg
yeah it's not pictured but the other side is lined up with the bolts


an adjustable length bar would work but i'd have to shim it up a good bit off the strut tower to clear the motor (stock motor mounts, 180,000 miles). :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: i love this car.

try to jack it up from the front (engine) cross member, it may allow the car to flex enough to fit it in there.

hahaha wow, my problem is exactly like that picture above, at least i know im not the only one going throught this, so how to fix it? and seriously, is it possible to "bend" a strut bar to fit? LOL :/

How about we loosen the nuts and bolts holding the bar onto the endplates?

werd +1 loosen that big looking bolt until it fits...pop it on and tighten. done and done

lol, i dunno about the op but that does not work on my car. there is not enough adjustment even on cheapo ebay adjustable crap.

same here, just not enought adjustments to make it fit.....what can i do!!!!...

LOL
like everyone above said , loosen the big bolts on the side of the strut bar holding the endplates on.. until they are loose and flop around put on the car.. then tighten them .. then done.

like i said, IT WONT WORK!, i tried that already....

In the pix you posted I can see the endplate not touching anything, implying that there is tension on the bar caused by the nut and bolt being too tight.

How about removing the nut and bolt completely and separating the bar and the endplates?

If you still can't figure it out then it's not worth doing.

Try taking a ratchet strap to it. My friend was using a TRD MKIV strut bar in his MKIII and it always did the trick. It was a pain, but it worked.

i don't think op posted a pic but in the pic I posted loosening or removing bolts does absolutely nothing and the endplate is resting on top of one of the bolts, not just floating in the air. you don't get very much adjustment with cusco and as i said before even the mega adjustable ebay crap ones don't fit my car (doesn't clear valve cover with 180,000 mile engine mounts, lol).

my chassis is fucked, i have to run the coilover on that side a good bit higher than the coilover on the other side to make it sit right. strut towers do not line up.

strut tower bars and busted ass chassis aren't rocket science.