Write-Up: Installing a Front Strut Tower Brace (STB)

+1

stan wrote:

$53? wow....why didn't you go to the nearest junkyard and pick one for no more than $10?

Because the caddy dealer was on the way to the racetrack yesterday morning and the nearest junkyard to me that would have an STS is so far away that it would take me weeks to clear my schedule and get there. For an additional $43 it is worth it to me.

Good financial advice, but I looked through several wrecking yards with no success. I just got tired of waiting and thought it might be nice to have a brand new one. If I recall, the part was $40 from vintage parts, plus shipping. I didn't think that was too bad once I considered my time driving to various wrecking yards an hour away and spending the time searching through them, and up to that point fruitlessly.

Some of the other boards/threads also made it sound like finding one of these in the wrecking yards was getting harder and harder to find....  

The perceived cheapest solution is not always the best option for everyone. I also struck out at my local yards when I searched for an extra brace.

They're also getting hard to find online. You would almost be better off making one for yourself if you had the available tools and materials. That way it would be a much more solid fit instead of dremeling out one of the holes.

al_roethlisberger wrote:

al_roethlisberger wrote:

BTW, it looks like these are still available for about $40 from "Vintage Parts" .  According to a thread on a Cadillac forum, "Vintage Parts" bought out some portion of this GM stock.

They appear to have about 20 in stock, for about $40 each (not including shipping).

http://www.vpartsinc.com/

Search for:

GM/ACDELCO AUTO PARTS - 25653157

$52 shipped 3 day, on it's way, very excited  

Will post how it goes with the install.

Al

I think the only place I found them reliably online was the link above. They had about 20 left in stock a couple months ago....

Al

Just to confirm that the older STB design does not fit our cars, I had a chance to pull one off a Caddy and test fit it on a Rivi at the junkyard. Both the hole spacing and the physical length were way off. Also, for the bars that we use 95/96 will have to modify them by dremeling out the front most hole, while 97+ will bolt right on. The reasoning is that the strut top mount bolt pattern is different between those years.

Years ago I put a Caddy STS bar in and loved it at first. A few years ago I started having some clunking around in the front end. I replaced nearly every part on the front end of this car and just yesterday I still had no idea WTF was making this noise. This morning I went out looked at the seem around my green cars strut towers and they were beautiful. My white car has a space big enough to fit a screwdriver in! I am sure this is the problem. I have since taken the bar off and not really driving it. Has anyone ever had to repair these? Can they be repaired, re-welded? HELP !

Technically you could squeeze it shut and re-weld it and it would probably hold, but would you trust it?

Was thinking of drilling some holes and putting some steel braces, maybe 3-4 6 inch strips running vertical on both sides. Have to look and see exactly where the break is and how much material is there to work with. I wouldn't trust a re-weld. The only thing that could have caused this is the strut tower bar I installed. I bought from the GM dealer and it matched up perfectly. I had to put some washers in to clear the brakes but never thought it would result in that. Lets hear any other ideas!

After further inspection, the correct way to do this would be removing the fenders and having full access to the entire tower. I don't know where the breaks are so bracing the entire tower would be best. I think some 1/4 inch or 3/8 inch strips running around as much of it as possible would be the strongest thing. Any ideas, suggestions would be awesome! I feel honored after looking that I seem to be the only one so far with this issue!

I just recently found my strut tower welds had come loose caused by tower brace bar. I had a Caddy STS bar with four or five washers underneath to clear the brake rez. If you have this bar, you may want to check the seems of the towers.

The STB didn't cause your problem. Old age and corrosion caused the problem. I'm willing to bet that it's rusty as hell inside that pocket.

Not at all. Clean as can be

Abaddon wrote:

The STB didn't cause your problem. Old age and corrosion caused the problem. I'm willing to bet that it's rusty as hell inside that pocket.

I'm with Abaddon on this one, there might be something under the paint you're not seeing. A few of us have tracked (or repeatedly enjoyed some back roads) in these cars with no negative results aside from accelerated tire and brake wear.

I'd like to see some pics. Too hard to visualize with just a few sentences.

Pass Side

Driver Side

Noticed the blowout with some rust on it. There doesn't seem to be any other corrosion but will remove the wheel in a bit and drop the strut to get a better view.


With the inner skirt off

Noticing some rolling of the metal. Hmmm.

Rinsed the birdshit off before pulling into garage. That's why the water. Still haven't seen any corrosion.

Did you (or the previous owner) happen to hit/run something big over?

Nothing that I know of. I've nailed a few good potholes living in Western New York but nothing major.

Having a weld put around the top lip and inside lower one. The metal overlaps about 2 inches.

Very strange. I wouldn't at all say the STB caused your problem, but I suppose it didn't help. I'm thinking manufacturing defect, or previous owner hit/did something.

I drove my '98 very, very hard in the corners with an STB and Addco sway bar and never had this issue. I wonder what happened in yours to cause it to let go!?

Eventually the addco bar ripped the subframe bushing mount right off the subframe. Just to give you an idea of how hard I was pushing it around corners...  Never a problem on the strut towers.

After the subframe tore, we removed the sway bar and continued driving it for another 100K or so, with just the STB up top. It still handled corners fairly well (got rid of the 255s and slowed down a little), but was putting all of the cornering stress through the STB and still not a problem with the towers. That's pretty much a one-off problem.

Any history with an accident repair?

Karma wrote:

Very strange. I wouldn't at all say the STB caused your problem, but I suppose it didn't help. I'm thinking manufacturing defect, or previous owner hit/did something.

X2.

I have no idea if prior accident before buying.

Samuel, if you don't want to have the added stress of the STB on your towers anymore, you have a buyer...

Abaddon wrote:

The STB didn't cause your problem. Old age and corrosion caused the problem.

^^^ This.

I really doubt the STB had anything to do with your issue; the brace resists chassis flex. I would argue installing one actually prevents the type of damage you're seeing, as it strengthens the chassis overall.

If the forces exerted by the STB were sufficient to weaken welds, I'd think the fasteners holding the brace flanges to each tower would slide in their holes, since the mounting holes are slightly larger than the bolts to allow fitment. Take a look at your flanges - Did the washers shift or slide? Or, is the imprint a nice, circular copy of the washer diameter? How about the stacks of washers? Any evidence of shifting there?

Here's one opinion on the matter. Not saying his claim is proven, but I do tend to agree:

The previously posted issue appears to have been caused by rust. See thread:

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t6233p90-faq-rust-areas-concerns#185356

Does anyone have one of these bars 4-SALE thanks Steve

I have a strut tower branch for sale, made by GM it is a direct fit in nearly brand new shape. Let me know if we can work something out.

Scott

71stagegs wrote:

Does anyone have one of these bars 4-SALE thanks Steve