Schnell rear strut tower brace fitment?

[Allen K. Littlefield]

I have already installed the front Schnell strut tower brace, a piece of cake to fit, and now 'working' to fit the rear. I have heard the rear was a bit tougher to install and I am finding this to be true. I have to grind and campher the rear curve crescent area in order for it to fit down snugly around the opening in the shock tower and down over the bolts that extend upward. A bit of work with a dremel tool and small grinding stones have made the piece able to drop down flat. I figure tomorrow I will spray paint the ground areas so they wont' be prone to rust and then install them first. I will then attach the connecting rod and snug it up. Any buddy have similar problems with their installation? Not a whole lot of work but I didn't think I would have to do any grinding for fitment but there it is.

AKL

[conradtan]

My rear brace is sitting in my garage, I'm contemplating how I'm going to install it, and by your post, I'm in for a long day's work. So why are you using a dremel? It won't fit?

[Allen K. Littlefield]

I only use the Dremel while the curved plate is outside the car. I trim about a 1/16" to 1/8" where the curved plate binds against the shock tower. I do not trim anything on the car itself. I will try to get a pic of what I am doing. Otherwise the installation should not be troublesome. I don't even have to release the cables on the top to fold the window up out of the way. Again I will try to get a pic for you. Once the plates are bolted in place I plan on fixing the bar into both of them. I will post progress pros and cons.

AKL

[JackG]

I had to do no trimming or grinding when I installed mine. Are you installing it so the bar will be at the rear of the car up against the trunk panel? You're not trying to flip the brackets around so the bar will be out in the open, are you? (if that's even possible... It's been a while since I installed mine or looked at it)

My bracket fit down flat and snug, straight out of the box. I did have to pre-assemble the bar to the brackets, and keep everything loose until the brackets were bolted down tight, then tighten the two nuts and the bar. You can't just drop the bar down on the brackets, since they and the threaded stud that sticks up are canted inward. And the top mechanism was in the way. Once it's in there it's nicely tucked under and in!

Hmmm.. I could take a picture of mine installed at lunch.

[blue2000s]

I didn't do any grinding either. The brackets fit flat onto the strut tower out of the box for me.

[Allen K. Littlefield]

Here are two pics of where I had to grind about 1/16" off in order to get the plate to fit flat on the top of the tower. Not a lot and I imagine each car is slightly a bit different. I will assemble the bar to the brackets and try to get that in place and report back my findings. Remember, it is me who is installing this and if anything can possibly go wrong, IT WILL ! ! ! :ah:

More this afternoon after the paint dries and the bar is installed. Thanks for all the advice.

AKL