Pro-Mount install and initial responce

[CvTech]

As some know here, I was 1 of 2 forum members to be chosen to test out 1PissedOff90's Pro-Mount strut mount. This is the package I received, as you can see, I chose a standard Street level thickness.





Here is installation and review.

I am gonna start with the basics here, how to review OEM style mount and go from there. I am assuming you have never seen/done a strut mount R&R.

Step 1 - Jack and remove wheel:


Wheel off:


Once wheel is off, I start by removing the tierod, I place a jack and a piece of 2x4 to apply pressure to the bottom of the tie-rod end, this helps if the joint is spinning when removing the nut:


The bolt of the tie-rod end will be kinda pressed into the strut assembly. I use this tool to get it out easier:


I next remove 1 end of a sway link form the strut assembly:


I next remove the two small nuts that hold the brake lines to the assembly:


I next free the strut assembly from the wheel hub and axle:


I did not take pictures of this step because I cannot do this with one hand, but I free the strut from the strut tower by releasing the cupped washer from under the hood

Next, I take the assembly to my work bench and take off the old strut mount. Some special tools are required here, like spring compressors, the slotted nut tool and a good set of T-Head allen keys.


Per Mance's instructions I cleaned everything with a degreaser that the Pro-Mount would touch


She is sparkly!!!!!


I place the perch back onto the strut top and I clean the strut threads as well. Notice that the spring is still compressed:


Notice I changed my gloves to handle the Pro-Mounts before I place it onto the perch:



Pro-Mount placed onto the perch:


Now, the new design of the Pro-Mount allows for NO MORE USE OF THE DREADED SLOTTED NUT, but I just use it to keep the spring, perch and mount compressed together.



Mount on, spring uncompressed and ready to go back in.


I thought about this as I was gonna place the strut in, I should clean the body contact point to protect the mount :


Now, I used a friend's help and some rope to actually put the strut into the body and suspend it to so I could jack the wheel hub back into the strut assembly and place the bolts back in. I could not find another way to do this. In a stock design, I would use the cupped washed to suspend it from the body but the Pro-Mount and Bilstein strut does not allow for enough room for the few millimeters I need to place the cupped washer on AND a nut. So this is how I solved it.


Guiding the mount and heavy strut assembly back into place with friends help pulling the rope to keep it there while I do my thang



So hub and strut are together. I reversed the processes of tie-rod, sway bar link and brake line plate and then jacked the control arm to compress this all together. Now if you remember the only thing holding this assembly together is the lost little slotted nut that I placed on finger tight and I have some strong fingers....or so I've been told. The mount is in place and the control arm is jacked to compress the spring, perch and mount so I removed the slotted nut to allow the cupped washer and the new uni-torque nut that Mance provides in its place.






Car is back on its wheels, so I torque it down.


I followed Mance's instructions to a T, the install was fairly easy beyond a stubborn sway bar link that I was spinning on me. I fixed the link problem and have been driving on the new mounts now officially for over 24 hours. They seem to hold up well. They are really stiff and tight and I can feel a significant difference in steering and suspension handling. I have not been taking it easy on the roads. I have done about 120 miles in the last 24 hours and plan on giving these things hell fro 6 months. I would normally have to replace OEM style mounts ever 2-3 months if not sooner.


I hope I was comprehensive enough and plan on answering any questions I can.

CvTech

[Merkin]

[CvTech]

[SCarGo02]

...I really don't see why you needed to suspend the strut assembly with rope, with one other person I was able to put it into the strut tower and bolt it back into the wheel bearing housing, after that it just stayed there while I was reassembling everything.

[VAP]

far enough to fully engage the threaded strut shaft with any/all Mount-Saver thicknesses including Pro-Rally thickness which is double the thickness of "street" Mount-Saver.

Those look like those pesky under-engineered Vogtlands too. No wonder you're going thru OEM mounts at an accelerated rate. Those springs werent designed to be and are wholly incapable of holding the front of a B4/12V front-end up in any scenario other than a static (at rest) position. This will be a FAR better test of the Pro-Mounts than I realized. Had I known you had those you woulda had a "lock" on being a tester. Pro-Mounts wont cure those bad springs but sure will determine if Pro-Mounts can live with a hellaciously under-engineered and inadequate set of springs. All kidding aside you "should" drop those spring like a bad transmission at test conclusion. They're dangerous on a B4/12V!!

I thnk Chris's pic of the upside-down uni-torque nut is from Friday night and I think he realized the correct "dome-side-up" orientation on his own even before I answered his question about it via email.

His install pics do point out an area where I can make the installation somewhat easier. If I include a M14x1.5 "jam nut" (very thin) with each kit people could then hand-tighten the jam nut onto the top of the Pro-Mount while the spring is compressed instead of the slotted nut which is much taller. Doing so would allow the strut assembly to then be suspended from the strut tower bore because the cupped washer could be inserted from above and have sufficient thread engagement remaining for the uni-torque nut to then be hand-tightened on top of cupped washer therefore holding the strut assembly suspended from the strut tower. This would allow 2 distinctly different installation procedures. One for the people that use/prefer the "suspended method" of hanging the strut assembly from the strut tower before bolting to hubs as well as the people that prefer the "bolt-strut-to-hub-first" then attach top to strut tower. Neither method seems to exhibit any real time-savings or efficiency over the other but rather only a personal preference. Usually in those type cases where neither method can provide a clear or distinct advantage over the other I'll opt for the Bentley method.

[SCarGo02]

...before compressing the spring (without needing to hold the strut with a hex key).

Then just twist it off by hand once the springs are compressed.

[VAP]

is that you can acually R&R stock front springs on a B4 with no spring compressor whatsoever. I've done it a half dozen times just by loosening the slotted nut all the way up to the top of the threaded strut nut then placing my hand over the OEM mount with a few rags between and while backing the slotted nut the rest of the way (3-4 threads). Spring only moves upwards maybe a half inch or less at that point and is not a violent release of pressure at all. I can also press the stut mount back on the spring and press down by hand hard enough to get the slotted nut re-started on the struts threaded shaft by hand.

I've NEVER tried this with ANY sport or aftermarket springs or any spring other than stock and dont encourage anyone trying it even with stock coil springs. Only reason I was confident enough to try it was Brian Moody (our Pikes Peak Hillclimb car driver) did it ALL the time. I finally got the nerve to try it and it was a surprisingly gentle realease when it happened. After that I did it on several occasions. Now I'm always more afraid of a spring compressor letting go than I am of this method with "THIS" particular spring/strut combo.

But I am not encouraging anyone else to try it. Tho once the parts have been separated using a spring compressor and the spring is released you can see there's really VERY VERY little compression remaining when the slotted nut inside the OEM mount is at the very top of the strut threaded stem. Its a very gentle release at that point. But it takes a bit of courage to knowingly stand there and back the slotted nut the rest of the way off by hand. And again I dont suggest anyone even consider it! But next time you have the pieces apart take a look at the uncompressed pieces and see what I mean.

[quattro.pilot]

[VAP]

pressure to get the slotted nut started. Holding the strut steady and vertical between your feet is the biggest trick. With 2 people it'd be a total cake-walk.

[MikTip]

Always use a jack stand!

Never depend soley on a hydraulic jack when working on a vehicle.