GR-2 Strut fitment to knuckle on AE102 Corolla... which part do I grind?

Apologies in advance for the photo taken at 4 am after breaking free 22 years of rust... 

So the KYB GR-2 that I got open box from Amazon on a super nice discount is 1mm+ narrower at the ears than the OEM Toyota strut that I finally got off the car. It's entirely possible that the issue comes from the vehicle being a Japan-built wagon and although everything everywhere says the sedans and wagons have all the same parts under the skirt, others have found similar discrepancies. So, what are my options?

I guess I could pull the knuckles and grind them smaller or I even grab some  other knuckles from Pick N Pull and grind them in case I mess them up but both will cost me $ either from the yard and/or from the machine shop.

Is there an effective way to enlarge the ear opening without damaging or weakening the welds or strut? This is for a DD and Rallycross car.

Take off the Knuckles and bring to a machine shop and have them mill or surface grind to a tight fit.  Take the meat off the front side of the spindle only should give you in theory more caster too. 

1mm?  I can't help but wonder if, after some sleep they won't fit with a bit of persuading.

Should be easy to make it fit!

I have wire brushed the knuckles as smooth as I can with the tools available at home as well as the inside of the ears. Even with a decent hammer whack it's not going on. Still need to gain .5-.8mm of clearance. I'm guessing 44Dwarf's advice is my best bet.

Interesting to think about the caster gain with trimming down the front. Perhaps this isn't truly a setback after all?

kiwimtnclmbr said:

I have wire brushed the knuckles as smooth as I can with the tools available at home as well as the inside of the ears. Even with a decent hammer whack it's not going on. Still need to gain .5-.8mm of clearance. I'm guessing 44Dwarf's advice is my best bet.

Interesting to think about the caster gain with trimming down the front. Perhaps this isn't truly a setback after all?

What if you whack the ears with a hammer in a direction that would open them? Obviously, you're there and I'm not but sitting here in my comfy chair in the air conditioning, I'm having a hard time justifying pulling the knuckles for that little bit of interference.  If you do end up grinding or machining the knuckles I doubt that you'll get a measurable change in caster regardless of which side you take the material off. 

I'm going with the chances of Toyota making a JDM only version of their knuckles at approaching zero.  Give me the VIN and I can probably look it up if it is before Y2K.  I think you just got an aftermarket strut that is a wee bit littler than it needs to be.  BFH to the strut part or grind a chamfer to the upright part and pound the 2 pieces together with some lube between them. 

I think you just discovered why that strut was returned, and then sold as an open-box item. 

Just take a flappy wheel to the spindle mount area if you're only off by a half a millimeter. Then apply the hammer.

I'd rather grind out the strut than the knuckle, since that's both the easier part to replace and the part that's wrong. If you grind down the knuckle, you'd have to replace them to fit coilovers with less flexible machined duralumin lower mounts.

I have a 93 wagon, and other than L O N G B O I status, it's been mechanically identical to my sedans over the years. 

The ears on the strut probably got mooshed in shipping.  Spread 'em.

Alright, making ready to deploy all advice except 'send it back' as I'm rather stubborn and have even less $ than time. Stand by for progress update.

kiwimtnclmbr said:

Alright, making ready to deploy all advice except 'send it back' as I'm rather stubborn and have even less $ than time. Stand by for progress update.

Good luck and remember; sometimes a big hammer really is the right tool for the job!  Although, I do like Knurled's trick with the bolts and nuts.

Is it possible they put a half millimeter of powder coating on the inside of that?  Grind that stuff off to start with.