Can I save my top hats?

My left front top hat has had a tendency to grind it's teeth when its wet... now for the last 500 miles it has been constant.

Are there any grassroots (ie a shot of lithium grease) fixes?

The car in question is a 1998 ACR Neon...

I need about 1k miles more before I do tire rods and rack replacement...Can I "limp" it until then?

Thanks!

There is a ball bearing in there. Probably died a long time ago .

The struts in my Saturn are original including the top hats. 312,000 miles...The car rattles and creaks pretty bad and I think the top hats have been making noise for a while. Sort of hard to tell with all the racket.

I'm not sure how the top hats are put together on your Neon, but a little noise should be fine.

wtf is a top hat?

i swear, you people use a different language on this forum sometimes..

I've always wondered if it was possible to pull the bearing out of the assembly and find a(hopefully cheap) replacement from Grainger/McMaster Carr/etc.?

novaderrik wrote: wtf is a top hat? i swear, you people use a different language on this forum sometimes..

You and me both brother. At first I thought it was a clothing question and then a dental question.

For those of you who aren't in the know.

I have greased them before, but it wasn't already grinding. It doesn't cost much so shoot some lithium grease in there. Let us know if it works.

This is what I was thinking with the thread title and wondering how you collect them? I've never had a need for even one!

not sure why you would wait to rebuild the rest of the suspension before tackling them. Strut mounts are pretty easy to replace. unbolt the nut on top that holds the strut to the mount, undo the three that hold the mount to the car.. jack up the car, let the suspension droop, and take it all apart.

installation is the opposite of removal

Not sure I'd want to do it that way.

I'm so confused.

iceracer wrote: Not sure I'd want to do it that way.

Yeah me either....

Thank for the input... I will first try some lithium grease but as somebody pointed out... if its growling its probably shot so I will try to find some replacements...

And I suppose they are called upper strut mounts in other communities

You know if you buy new hats, the struts will go in a month or so, right?

It's a rule.

Trust me I know... That's why I was hoping to milk it out for another 1k so I can do tie rods, struts and hats and alignment... oh well... that is why we do what we do...

Semi-related....I'm trying to take the top hats (learned a term here) off of some neon rear struts. How am I supposed to get a socket on the nut and grip the hex to stop the whole thing from spinning at the same time?

bgkast wrote: Semi-related....I'm trying to take the top hats (learned a term here) off of some neon rear struts. How am I supposed to get a socket on the nut and grip the hex to stop the whole thing from spinning at the same time?

the answer you are looking for is "impact wrench".

In reply to novaderrik:

Or if you are going to replace the struts anyway, Ive used a vice grip to hold the strut rod while I torqued the nut off.

I have gone the other way.. vice scripts on a socket that fits the but and an allen key on the top of the strut to hold it in place

Just drown the thing in spray lithium with the car off the ground while somebody steers.

bgkast wrote: Semi-related....I'm trying to take the top hats (learned a term here) off of some neon rear struts. How am I supposed to get a socket on the nut and grip the hex to stop the whole thing from spinning at the same time?

There is a special tool built for the job, I'm sure that Lisle makes a version, but I've never used it.

I've tried removing the nut with an impact while the car was sitting on the wheel in question and letting it pop loose under the car. That works sometimes, but can be a pain in the rear to get all the bits out.

I've had some success with wrapping the strut rod in a rag and clamping on a vice grip to hold it still. Pick a spot that's pretty high up just in case, but I've never been able to discern a mark on the metal afterwards. That's about a 75% success rate for me.

What's worked best, however, was buying a spark plug socket and a 1/4" drive socket set with extensions. I'd put the 1/4" drive socket (8mm or 10mm, I can't recall) on the center bit of the strut rod and stick the extension on it. Then I'd slide the spark plug socket over the whole thing (I don't recall the size off the top of my head) and get it on the strut nut. I'd connect the 1/4" drive socket wrench to the extension and use that to hold the strut rod while I put a wrench on the spark plug socket to turn the nut. Works almost every time.

^^^^^ This!!!

Back in my RallyCross days while I was experimenting with springs I had a special tool box that had my spring compressors and associated socket tools mentioned above...I could change springs the back end of my car in 45 minutes because I had the right "home made" tools.

good luck!

I figured there was some special tool. Making your own using a spark plug wrench with flats and a 1/4" drive stuck in it...GENIUS! That's why I love this place

In reply to bgkast:

I wish I could say it was my idea, but I'd be a fraud if I didn't point out that I gleaned that tip from neons.org

bgkast wrote: Semi-related....I'm trying to take the top hats (learned a term here) off of some neon rear struts. How am I supposed to get a socket on the nut and grip the hex to stop the whole thing from spinning at the same time?

Remove the whole strut along with the top hats. Grab the strut [bar?] the chrome part that moves up & down, with a vise grip, socket wrench away.

Warning: Take the load off the top hat with a spring compressor or you'll be buying new front teeth.