Well this happened about a month ago but I didn't know if I should post it. I am going to keep this as factual as possible and offer my own opinions to supplement. Take what you will from my experience.
On Aug 13 I went out for some photos and made this thread http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123751456 and on the way home I hit an uneven surface. There was a clunking noise coming from the RF strut. I pulled over and saw oil dripping from the bottom of the strut. The strut had blown. I had installed the coilovers about 11 months previous.
I contacted PG and asked Ken about the warranty process and he helped with the contacts I needed for a replacement. Emails back and forth with BC lasted a few days and never came to a conclusion because of what happened on Aug 21. I kept driving on the blown strut thinking that the strut was structurally strong enough to function until i got the replacement. I've driven on blown struts(with other cars) before with no real issues.
So on Aug 21st I was on the expressway and I hit a small bump in the middle of a curve and I immediately felt that the steering was "loose" and not as responsive. The steering wheel was no longer aligned to be straight when the front wheels were straight. I took the first exit I could and I down shifted to about 30mph because i was approaching stopped traffic at an intersection. As soon as I put any pressure on the brake pedal I felt the car drop and dive to the RF side and it came to a halt quickly.
As soon as it happened I knew what it was. The strut had separated and the wheel was in my wheel well supporting the weight of the car on the tire. The strut split in half a little above where it sits in the sleeve(or base). It looks like the top part of the strut threads(about 4 threads) into the lower part and BC welds it at that connection. Upon removal of the damaged strut I also noticed that the "hook" that keeps the the strut from rotating and holds on to the pinch bolt was missing.
I was able to reinstalled the stock suspension without replacement of anything. I didn't want to deal with BC and stopped communicating with them about the replacement.
I understand that I was using a blown strut but really didn't feel the strut should've blown in the first place. Furthermore, I didn't expect the strut to fail structurally.
The puddle in the first pic is not from the car.
Thanks to O'Hare Towing for being delicate with my car and charging me only $170
EDIT: The front struts were set to the stiffest setting
EDIT 2:
Here are pics of the hardware itself. You can see the threads and how they were "cleaned off" when the strut flexed/collapsed.
This is a photo of the GOOD strut and how it's threaded and welded at the top of the sleeve
On Aug 13 I went out for some photos and made this thread http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123751456 and on the way home I hit an uneven surface. There was a clunking noise coming from the RF strut. I pulled over and saw oil dripping from the bottom of the strut. The strut had blown. I had installed the coilovers about 11 months previous.
I contacted PG and asked Ken about the warranty process and he helped with the contacts I needed for a replacement. Emails back and forth with BC lasted a few days and never came to a conclusion because of what happened on Aug 21. I kept driving on the blown strut thinking that the strut was structurally strong enough to function until i got the replacement. I've driven on blown struts(with other cars) before with no real issues.
So on Aug 21st I was on the expressway and I hit a small bump in the middle of a curve and I immediately felt that the steering was "loose" and not as responsive. The steering wheel was no longer aligned to be straight when the front wheels were straight. I took the first exit I could and I down shifted to about 30mph because i was approaching stopped traffic at an intersection. As soon as I put any pressure on the brake pedal I felt the car drop and dive to the RF side and it came to a halt quickly.
As soon as it happened I knew what it was. The strut had separated and the wheel was in my wheel well supporting the weight of the car on the tire. The strut split in half a little above where it sits in the sleeve(or base). It looks like the top part of the strut threads(about 4 threads) into the lower part and BC welds it at that connection. Upon removal of the damaged strut I also noticed that the "hook" that keeps the the strut from rotating and holds on to the pinch bolt was missing.
I was able to reinstalled the stock suspension without replacement of anything. I didn't want to deal with BC and stopped communicating with them about the replacement.
I understand that I was using a blown strut but really didn't feel the strut should've blown in the first place. Furthermore, I didn't expect the strut to fail structurally.
The puddle in the first pic is not from the car.
Thanks to O'Hare Towing for being delicate with my car and charging me only $170
EDIT: The front struts were set to the stiffest setting
EDIT 2:
Here are pics of the hardware itself. You can see the threads and how they were "cleaned off" when the strut flexed/collapsed.
This is a photo of the GOOD strut and how it's threaded and welded at the top of the sleeve
Last edited:
