| Performed on my '93 TT. What was in the package:
1 Carbing "STRUT TOWER BAR, Type I (F) (A) Part No: CA 621 125 0"
1 washer (included in package, goes under brace at passenger side front mounting location)
2 sheets of instructions (that make no mention of the Air Conditioning line bracket that must be removed!) Another post mentions that some packages come with nuts; my package included no nuts; I reused the stock nuts without any problem so far, though I note that fewer threads are engaged by the nuts compared to the stock (no brace) setup.
Before putting the brace on the car:
Remove the "NISSAN" cable/engine cover (3 hex screws, 1 10mm screw)
Note the orientations of both (TT) adjustable suspension actuators on the tops of the front struts so they can be reinstalled in the original orientations. Both adjustable suspension actuators on the tops of the front struts have to be removed (8mm screws, 4 places) and set aside to prevent interference with their wiring harnesses (and probably the bodies of the actuators, too) when putting the brace on.
On the passenger side, I removed the two (10mm) screws holding the cruise control actuator and moved the assembly toward the rear to make room.
An air conditioning hard line sits in a black plastic clip that snaps into a sheet metal bracket just toward the engine from the passenger side strut top. Unfortunately, the brace can't be installed without removing the bracket. I unclipped the line from the clip by hand and unsnapped the clip from the bracket by hand. The bracket is held in place by a single spot weld. I gripped the bracket with (vice-grip) pliers and rocked the bracket front-rear back and forth by hand until the bracket fatigued and the bracket came free from the body; this took only about 1 minute of rocking; small force only required. This left a roughly circular hole in the bracket and a roughly circular, spot-weld sized, piece of sheet metal still welded to the body. I used an electric grinder with a narrow tip and carefully ground the raised sheet metal piece down to the body surface. I used a rag and some grease-etc-remover potion to clean the grit and all from the exposed metal. I let the exposed metal dry and then touch-up painted the exposed metal. I let the paint dry while admiring my work.
I removed the black plastic 'twisty' wraps with ball ends that support the fuel lines near the fuel filter on the driver side; the brace goes in between the fuel lines.
Mounting the brace on the car:
I put the supplied washer over the passenger side front stud.
The brace has to be threaded between the fuel lines on the driver side. I carefully put the brace over the engine by hand and fit the driver side of the brace in between the fuel lines. I lined up the driver side brace holes over the tops of the driver side strut threaded studs before moving to the passenger side. The brace is not adjustable, but it has slotted holes which allow some adjustment. I had to apply some moderate force by hand to get all 4 studs started through their holes at the same time (the brace liked to go down all the way onto the studs on one side leaving the other side studs and holes not lining up; it might be easier with two people), but the brace went into place and sat flatly on the body. I looked for any interference or near-interference anywhere between the brace and anything else; none noted on my car. Started all 4 nuts and torqued to "23-31 ft-lb".
Cleanup:
Remounted the cruise control actuator bracket (10mm screws, 2 places).
Remounted the adjustable suspension actuators on the tops of the front struts in the original (noted above, to prevent damage to the keys) orientations by hand, installed the screws (8mm screws, 4 places), and torqued to "2.2-2.9 ft-lb".
I did not reinstall the "NISSAN" cover; other posts (and the instructions) indicate it won't fit without cutting it. I did not reinstall the black 'twisty' wraps that go on the fuel lines;the fuel lines are well supported by the notches in the driver side strut brace and (stock fuel lines) have stock shields to allow for any chafing.
I zip-tied the air conditioning hard line (which is now unsupported by the bracket that was removed) to the strut brace using a large hole in the strut brace, to give the line some support.
Followup:
Re-torque the 4 strut-top nuts to "23-31 ft-lb" after doing some driving to make sure everything is staying in place.
Disclaimerup:
These notes are intended as a supplement, not replacement, to Carbing's instructions.
Summary:
The brace looks good and appears to be well made. The inadequate installation instructions ("Mount [1] strut tower bar to the vehicle.") create a poor impression in comparison.
Zee-haw!!
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17:52:17 04/15/14
