Right front struts threads stripped...??

[silverkouki]

I just came back from the alignment shop and wasn't able to get my car aligned. The reason why is because the guys at the shop told me my right front strut was 'off' and wasn't 'properly' installed. While the car was in the air, they pushed up the passenger side wheel and the strut can move freely up and down (not alot but it still moves), whereas the front left strut doesn't budge, meaning it was installed correctly.

By the way, I'm running KYB AGX Struts on H&R springs for about a year and a half now. And I installed them myself, so I know everything was properly bolted down tightly.

Their theory was since the top nut wasn't properly screwed in "all the way" it made the Strut's threads rub against the metal parts of the car, thus making the threads completely stripped. The guy said it looked stripped because the thread side looked 'flat' but I just remembered KYB AGX's threads naturally have a flat side...I haven't had the chance to check it myself yet though...but could he be wrong?:


My question is, is this even possible...even if a nut or washer or any other misc part wasnt screwed 'all the way in', would a strut's threads be able to completely strip itself through daily driving? (what other theories are there, I have searched and I couldnt find anything)

[projectRDM]

The strut piston shaft goes through the upper mount, which is basically a bearing. It would be extremely unlikely under load for the shaft to move up/down separately, even less likely the bearing would wear the shaft down until the threads were damaged.

Instead of questioning it, go check it. The front struts have a lock plate that prevents the shaft from turning, so if indeed it's all put together correctly you should be able to remove the nut and check the end of the shaft. Then, reinstall the nut to the proper torque and recheck for play, it's possible they were seeing play from a bad upper mount or even a blown strut, but I don't see how it could be just 'loose'.