Hi all,

First post here as my 05 Panda Multijet has been a really reliable car.

However I happened to notice the other day while carrying out servicing that my front suspension strut mounts appear to be in different positions from each other, when viewed from the engine bay.
There is a slot in the body work at the strut mount positions, that the main threaded spindle comes through. This slot seems to allow the strut to be moved front to rear slightly.

One of my strut tops seems to be in the rearmost position, while the other is toward the front. I haven't noticed any handling issues.

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks in advance, James

They are designed to move. Try parking the car on a different surface and see if the strut tops move to different positions.

That doesn't sound right, struts are usually mounted to be as rigid as possible, especially at the top mount.

My mounts are tight and don't move around, but are just positioned differently from each other.

If you jack the car up the struts will drop onto the top washer/cup. That is the only thing holding them on when jacked up. The weight of the car holds them in position when driving. That's why some incompetent mot testers fail/advise on strut top movement as panda struts are designed to have lateral play when the suspension is hanging free when they should know of this design. I've replaced top mounts on a panda and can confirm this.
If you think yours has moved it could be a failed strut top bearing which is under the top washer/cup in the rubber top mount.

Sounds like your car has had new top bushes/bearings fitted in the past and one bush has been fitted 180* out doh!!! they both should be the same orientation

It's all perfectly normal, I had a shock the first time I saw it because I tend to park with my wheels straight so it doesn't show but this one time I checked the oil with the wheels on full lock and noticed. It'd be interesting how many other cars use the same system. As Dozer said , this is why muppet MOT testers give you an advisory stating " play in top strut mounting ".

notsmartcars said:

Sounds like your car has had new top bushes/bearings fitted in the past and one bush has been fitted 180* out doh!!! they both should be the same orientation

Click to expand...

Many thanks, having had a good look underneath this morning, this is indeed what has happened. The bush mounts have an 'arrow stub', one points to the rear, one to the front.
I'm guessing they should both point to the rear?

Is it a case of releasing the strut from the top, letting it come away from the car and just turning the bush, or does the whole strut need to be stripped down to do this?

You should be able to remove the top but and cup. Jack up the car on the side you're working on so the top mount is free then turn it.

Don't worry, as others have said, there is some movement allowed in the design. Try parking with the wheels turned left, make a note of the positions, a photo perhaps, and then with the wheels turned right. The mounts are likely to have moved. My car has a greater gap under the right hand mount than the left one, I mentioned it to the tester before the last MOT, and he said don't fix it unless it bothers you.

panda05 said:

The bush mounts have an 'arrow stub', one points to the rear, one to the front.
I'm guessing they should both point to the rear?

Click to expand...

That would appear to be correct.
Haynes describes it quite well, see pic.

Thanks for the replies, brilliant help thank you.
The Haynes picture is just what I was after.
That 'tongue' that you see at the 12 o'clock position on the spring top retainer, does it mention that it has to be orientated a certain way as well?

I don't have any movement in strut top mounts to body at all, they stay in the same position no matter where I drive or how it's parked.
The divers side strut is fully forward in the slot, with the passenger side one to the rear of the slot.

I haven't tried it with the weight off the struts yet though.

dozer said:

You should be able to remove the top but and cup. Jack up the car on the side you're working on so the top mount is free then turn it.

Click to expand...

That was meant to say NUT and cup, not BUT and cup!!

panda05 said:

Thanks for the replies, brilliant help thank you.
The Haynes picture is just what I was after.
That 'tongue' that you see at the 12 o'clock position on the spring top retainer, does it mention that it has to be orientated a certain way as well?

I don't have any movement in strut top mounts to body at all, they stay in the same position no matter where I drive or how it's parked.
The divers side strut is fully forward in the slot, with the passenger side one to the rear of the slot.

I haven't tried it with the weight off the struts yet though.

Click to expand...

The tongue should be aligned with the mounting to the hub carrier, so pointing outwards to the wheel.

Thank you Bill, at least that bit is right!

Your drivers side one is the wrong one

The lug on the rubber covered part with the bearing in it should face rearwards on both sides of the car, this part fits either side.