Okay here goes, the front right tire on my 2+2 rubs the strut tube but the left has 1/2" plus of clearance. I've had this problem since replacing the lower ball joints. I found out when I tried to get an alignment. Is there anything other than the relationship of the axle to the tube that would affect this issue? I pulled the Strut from my parts car and am getting ready to reinstall it it onto the driver. The other question is regarding the damping oil used in the tube. With the gas vs. oil charged cartridges do I use the same oil or should I change it? Is it necessary to have the oil in the tube?

 

Um... the alignment shop didn't offer any advice???

 

None, Nada, Nothing. Now I have the car apart and nothing but a scary feeling in my gut. The tubes have different part numbers stamped on them any worries there? I'm going to check the microfiche to see what dates they change.

 

Musta been a pretty crappy alignment shop if they can't tell you what's going on with your alignment. Hopefully they didn't charge you to tell you none, nada, nothing.

How different? Like LEFT and RIGHT part numbers maybe?

 

I still have to clean up the drive way so I'll let you know. the first 5 numbers are the same but the last four are different. The tube from the '78 coupe had KYB GR2's in it and everything seems to be the same. Without taking precise measurements I can only guess.

 

the one from the 2+2 ends with P9101 and the one from the coupe ends with P6100 both start with 54302. Following the TOKICO stamp on the 2+2 is 3 7 6 and the coupe is 9 3 14. I'm heading over to Xenon's page to check the microfische. Any idea on the oil?

 

Yes, you do need oil. It carries away the heat much more efficiently by direct contact. Without it, you have a small air chamber around the strut cartridge, which effectively insulates. I used motorcycle fork oil, which is supposed to do this sort of heat conduct/disperse duty. Also, I had some around because I use it in mountain bike suspension, too. But a lot of people use ATF, too, and seem quite happy with it. Don't fill the tube all the way up. The Tokico instructions have some measurement spec/range for this. Sorry, I don't remember what it is, and mine's an S30 anyway, so it's probably different in that respect. I guess you wouldn't have to change it; but, it's cheap and sure wouldn't hurt to get some new oil and anti-corrosion materials in there.
cheers,
Dave

 

Thanks boulder, I'll head over to the auto parts store for some. There is a volume number in the service manual so I should be fine. Now to get the glan nut off.

 

What weight cycle fork oil do you use? I stopped by the local cycle shop and they had weights from 2w to extra thick gear lube weights. I assume the 2-10w oil would be fine. It's not actually doing any lubricating right?

 

Exactly. Weight doesn't matter, as you're only using the thermodynamic properties and the anti-corrosive additives, not the viscosity properties. For what it's worth, I used 7 weight, because that's what I had left over from the most recent fork rebuild.
cheers,
Dave