Suspension Strut Repair?

[Raymk]

Today the order for the incorrect Koni parts was cancelled successfully. I had a look at my lopsided car in the local garage to see if a welded repair might be possible. The strut spring carrier did not look pretty - no decent metal left to weld to so it would need more of a rebuild with a new spring carrier. The nearside did not look too healthy either. Yet another Hyundai dealer has been asked to try to obtain a replacement strut, this time 'up North' near where the car was sold new. Considering that all Hyundai dealers access the same computer system for spare parts, it is interesting how many different answers one gets. I have had 'unobtainable,' 'possibly available from Korea' and now 'should be available, we'll place an order and see what happens.' Although the answers varied, all of the dealers put a lot of effort into the quest for an offside strut. Quite encouraging really for a rapidly disappearing elderly model which most people love to hate.

[Raymk]

The Hyundai man in Carlisle gave it his best but I was not too surprised that he also ground to a halt in seeking a new front strut for my Stellar, as did his recommended non-Hyundai aftermarket suspension parts supplier. It seems unlikely, but after studying photos of used struts from breakers yards, a few appear to have a very similar configuration to the Stellar's. My next task is to measure the Stellar strut's primary dimensions e.g. overall length, stroke, spring offset, spring diameter and hub attachment bracket hole placement and then march round local breakers to measure some of the apparently similar ones I've identified. The 02-05 Vectra, 01-05 Avensis and PT Cruiser struts look promising and may accept the Stellar's top joint or, alternatively, I can permenantly modify the Stellar's top strut mount (bodywork, mainly to accommodate the likely different mounting hole configuration of the bearing) to replicate the strut top mount of the donor vehicle. The Stellar hub carrier is integral with the strut lower suspension members and steering arm but not part of the strut so, provided the donor strut (pair, of course) is geometrically/dimensionally similar, the suspension and steering geometry will be unaffected after minor fettling e.g. re-tracking. Camber is also governed by the Stellar's hub carrier, requiring a non-cambered lower strut mount which the above candidates appear to have. Well, it's all I have to go on at the moment

[Raymk]

An update. My Stellar is still in the garage but some progress has been made. The garage proprietor took a gamble and ordered a new strut for a Hyundai Elantra as it was reasonably priced, available and looked very similar to the non-available Stellar's in his catalogue. Having the two struts on the bench for a direct comparison of critical dimensions was invaluable, since catalogues rarely have dimensional information. The differences were minor, amenable to simple modification, and the new strut had the same top mount configuration. Apart from the strut accepting the standard top mount, the hub carrier securing holes and bracket spacing were compatible with the Stellar's hub and the Stellar's spring can be retained. We will however fettle the bracket holes after measuring the camber following a trial fit and will replicate the coil spring location details of the Stellar's set-up on the Elantra's similar component. A trial fit showed the ride height to be fine, even with the standard Stellar strut on the other side, and droop was also acceptable (downward deflection from normal ride height, mainly noticed when jacking the car up but also important for acceptable suspension behaviour). The slight mods will be also be applied to a matching new strut on the other side. The Stellar was a bit underdamped at the front so the new struts should give a more controlled ride. I am hoping the car will be ready for collection next week sometime .

[JPB]

That's a good result there, Ray. Your experience demonstrates nicely that anything can be fixed if you have the patience and the determination not to give up.

Well done.

[Wicksy]

I love a happy ending
That dealer sounds a bit of a star

[Raymk]

The Stellar has now been strutting around happily on its new front suspension legs for a couple of weeks and the damping feels more controlled. No other detectable differences to report. In the end, the garage farmed my corroded old strut out to his favoured suspension supplier with a request that he walk the isles of the warehouse until a very similar strut was spotted. The Elantra strut was close enough to be a fall-back option but it turned out that 1990 Hyundai Pony struts were nearly identical to the Stellar's, requiring no changes to the spring carriers and only minor repositioning of one hub carrier hole on each leg. Mr Garageman was happy to get shot of the unfashionable clutter in his workshop and I am very happy to have my automotive variety back up to strength. My other cars are a Mitsubishi I, owned for 64,000 miles and a 1961 Reliant Regal MKVI which I reserve for 17bhp tripod thrills for about 500 miles per year.

[alfaSleep]

......... No substitute for a good old swap/rummage & compare! Nearly impossible for bits on a rolling resto/used daily of course!

Someone doing 'legwork' for you - priceless M8

Excellent Result

alfaSleep