Well, tonight I decided to check all the hardware on the top end of the strut in an effort to see if it was simply a re-torquing issue.
I re-torqued the strut mount bolts, the strut center nut, and made sure everything was aligned properly. I'll will find out if my efforts have improved things at all on my commute into work tomorrow.
Well, here's the preliminary verdict after 2 days of driving to work and back:
I seem to have basically eliminated the clunk in my car with this relatively easy DIY; the rest of you owe it to yourselves to at least try it. I can't guarantee that this is an end-all/be-all solution, but it worked for me for the time being.
Disclaimer: I absolve all responsibility; you are responsible for your personal safety and the condition of your car. Work at your own risk and use your best judgement.
FYI: I don't believe the center nut is the issue, so I would ignore it for now. It's also a lot tougher to tighten if you don't have the proper tools.
You will need the following:
- Jack & jackstands (both front wheels need to be off the ground to unload the suspension and sway bar)
- A torque wrench (super-critical, it's easy to shear bolts or strip threads with enough leverage and no way to measure)
- 10mm socket for the lower cowl, 15mm socket for the wiper nuts, 13mm for the strut mount bolts, and the necessary drivers/extensions
- T30 Torx driver (upper cowl screws)
- Flathead screwdriver (for removing upper cowl clips, aligning strut mount)
- Hammer (for aligning strut mount)
Jack up the car, place jackstands on the body seam behind front wheels.
Wiper arm removal: Remove the rubber caps covering the nuts holding the wiper arms on, 15mm socket for nuts, don't forget to remove the tension washers; put caps, nuts, and washers in a safe place. Hold wiper with one hand while loosening nut with the other. To remove wiper arm from spline, leave wiper flat on windshield and wiggle the base of the wiper arm until loose. Pull straight out.
Upper cowl removal: 2 T30 screws on the far ends of the plastic cowl cover. 4-5 push-clips along the edge closest to engine. Pry the center of the clip up with flathead screwdriver, then push up from underneath the cowl to remove. A snap seam holds the cowl cover to base of windshield. I usually lift the edge closest to the engine, slide my hand under, and evenly apply pressure to get the snap-seam to release the cowl cover from the base of the windshield. Start at the center and work your way out. Take note to placement of rubber covers at the end of the cowl cover, they are critical to ensuring water stays out of sensitive areas.
Lower cowl removal: 2 10mm bolts at the far ends. Middle is held in place with tack adhesive. Lift and pull towards the front of the car.
After removing the lower cowl, the strut towers will finally be exposed. You will see the wiper motors, OEM strut bracing, and the three strut mount bolt heads. The 3 13mm strut mount bolt heads are what we will be focusing on.
Loosen the strut mount bolts (but DO NOT REMOVE) with the 13mm socket until you are able to wiggle the strut. Tighten the outermost bolt back down just enough that the bolt barely makes contact with the strut tower brace, but still keeps the strut assembly from moving freely. Tighten the other strut mount bolts to the point of barely making contact as well. Repeat for the other side.
Now you need to align the strut mounts; hold the tip flathead screwdriver to the edge of the outermost bolt so that the screwdriver points towards the center of the cowl, and tap lightly with with a hammer until bolt refuses to slide inwards any further (The note struck by the hammer will change from a hollow note to a more solid note when the mount stops sliding).
Snug the strut bolts down, but do not tighten. This is where the torque wrench comes in handy. The factory torque spec is 35 Newton-meters, which works out to roughly 25 Ft-lbs. We will be surpassing the OEM torque spec here, instead cranking them down to 35 ft-lbs, or 48 N-m. So, dial your torque wrench to 35 ft-lbs, and tighten until it clicks (or, if using a needle-style torque wrench, until you see the needle point to 35 ft-lbs).
Now, lower the car down off of the jackstands, and reverse the disassembly steps.
Wiper arm reinstallation: To put the wipers back on, turn your key to the ON position, and use the mist function on the wiper stalk to engage the wiper motors (pull down). This will lock the motors into the proper indexing position for reinstalling the wiper arms. Install the passenger side wiper first, aligning it with the marks at the base of the windshield (you may need a flashlight to see, but there are two horizontal transparent hash marks in the black area at the base of the windshield; the wiper blade needs to go between these). There are alignment marks for the driver's side wiper as well, reinstall the driver's side wiper in the same manner, making sure it's placed above the passenger wiper. Slide the tension washers over the wiper motor axles, and tighten the nut finger-tight, and hold the wiper arm in place with one hand and use the other to snug them down with the 15mm socket. Use your best judgement when tightening the wiper arm nuts, you don't want to damage the mechanism. Check final alignment by using the mist function on the wiper stalk again, if off, remove wiper arm and re-align.
Any questions, just ask; I'm sure I probably missed a minor detail somewhere. I also apologize for the lack of photos.
