OEM strutbar retrofit - advices please

[Skull]

I have to install the original strut bar with brackets, hopefully next weekend, and would like to hear some advices on how to do it right.

should the car be on the ground?

wheels straight, will the top mounts melt? should i be spraying water on them to prevent melting?

any BTDT?

tnx!

[Acidburn]

should be as easy as fitting the brackets to the strut brace, seating everything on the car in the correct place then tack welding the brackets on (or seam welding if you want to) then painting over the welds once done.

[andy10v]

I would do as you described with car on level ground and wheels straight, everything bolted together and sitting as you wish it to stay. You could cut the brace and weld in an adjuster if you wish, bolt on and you can adjust tension if it makes any difference.

The bit you are welding onto is double skin so I don't see it cooking the strut top mount however I would stuff the void with wet rags and keep a fire extinguisher handy just in case, its not going to be a massive weld but I would lay a damp towel/cloth over the surrounding metal a few inches away and cover anything that might get spatter on it.

[Error404]

you will almost certainly melt or set fire to the topmount if you do it with the car on the ground

When i did mine I put it on axle stands symetrically under the front chassis rails and removed the strut from the turret.
Then squared up the brace brackets with a laser level and tacked them, then bolted on the strut bar to hold them parallel and then stich welded around the brackets.



Good upgrade BTW, you will notice the difference

HTH

[Acidburn]

thanks for the pic alex, this is happening on my urq soon.

[Skull]

thanx error404, that helped much.

what did you do next, cleaned the welds, have you put anything between the turret and bracket to prevent rust?

what did you use to cover the engine bay while welding?

[Error404]

I painted the turret and bracket with weld-thru primer first, and also afterwards with some zinc primer. I've not "finished" it yet as i will be getting my engine bay resprayed when I do my engine convertion.
Factory used seam sealer around the joint and then sprayed over with paint

I had wet towels all over the engine bay and wing when I welded

[Skull]

weld-trough primer... where will i find it...?

[Skull]

error404: did you remove the stock black paint from the brackets before applying the primer?

what if i use the seam sealer between the bracket and the turret before welding?

[Error404]

i cut my brackets out of an S2 shell, so they were not the black factory paint, but you defo need to clean back to bare metal around the edges or you will not get any penetration from the welder
I placed the bracekt on the struts and drew around them with a marker pen, and then brushed the paint off the turrets with a wire brush on a drill. you need shiney metal to get a good weld, but you only need to do it withing a few mm of where you will be welding,,, if you leave the rest of the paint on it will be ok. If you use seam sealer before you weld, it will melt out of the joint and make a mess, and spit molten steel down your shirt... BTDT with the stich welding the chassis

As above then painted after welding and cleaning..... i still need to tidy up as mine are still paitned in primer

[Skull]

well im really afraid that rust will eat the metal from between the turret and bracket. there is the base factory pain on the brackets, but that is not much...

i will risk getting spit in the face with molten steel, rather than having rust nightmares at night...

[Skull]

its done. i have to clean everything and then apply the seam sealer.

[Kieron20V]

its done. i have to clean everything and then apply the seam sealer.

Cool, can you post some pics?

Should probably to the same to my coupe while its being worked on.

K.

[Skull]

welded on, cleaned, polished the burned color out, cleaned again, and on with the seam sealer

[mcandmar]

Curious, i havent seen that version of the brace bar before, most S2's have a box section bar similar to yours but without the cutouts at each end. Also have a round bar version here but i dont know what car it came off. Yours is nicer though..