Es300 Bottom Of Strut Tower Very Close To Top Of Tire.help!

[pete rock]

hi i have a question/problem for the experts.i was taking my tire off of my 93 es300 to change and i noticed the bottom of my strut tower is really close to the top of my tire.ive had metal adjustable spacers inside the coil since i bought it from the owner he had them on there i have no idea why.they were close to the bottom of the coil so i spun them higher up to like the 3rd or 4th ring of the spring.hoping maybe it will put the pressureon the top and then the bottom will compress more so it wont be so close to the tire.has anyone had this happen with the strut tower being so close to the tire??does anyone have any advice??im afraid of this problem thanx

[gbhrps]

pete rock,

I've had a car in the past that had a similar set of spring spreaders. Basically they are used to offset a coiled spring that has settled or fatigued, lowered the ride height, and led to bottoming out the strut. They are a cheap man's way to try to correct the problem, which they don't do, and they are probably dangerous, because they will not allow for as much rebound as a good suspension would allow, before tossing that corner of the car off after a hard hit in a pothole or similar. Read: a loss of control.

You need a new set of springs (or struts if the springs are not removeable), since they can only be replaced in pairs.

As for the spacing of the bottom of the spring cage to the tire, usually there is only a half inch or so on any car, as the gap cannot change and the tire strike the cage. But, if that gap is say a quarter inch or less, you may have the wrong struts on the car and and that may be dangerous.

You need to have a good mechanic take a look and give you a verdict. Good Luck!