Guide: DIY MA61 Strut Tower Brace

[RObErT_RaTh]

DIY MA61 Strut Tower Brace
by RObErT_RaTh aka Stumpy

Disclaimer: I take no responsibility for any damage or harm you may cause to youself or your car while following this guide. I've put it here just to help some people have more of an idea what to do and what is involved. If you don't feel confident enough then just buy a custom bar. However I am quite cheap and poor at the moment so I don't have a choice.

Time frame: ~few hours for marking, drilling, fitting etc if you're slow like me
Money saved: Custom STB's will set you back between $200-$300 or something MA61 specific. Bar only cost me $115

Tools/Parts Required:

-S13/S14 3-piece adjustable strut brace (with 3 mounting holes) - $115
-Decent quality 13mm drill bit for thick metal - $17
-Decent grinding stones (drill attachments) $5ea
-Powered Drill
-Hacksaw
-Vice (to make things easier)
-Compass and marking tool


Step 1: When I got the Strut Tower Brace (STB) the first thing I did was test fit one of the strut tops. The hole pattern is the correct spacing but the holes are in the wrong position for the tops to point across the engine bay. The holes need to be re-drilled.



As you can see in the pic the top points towards the firewall and this doesn't really help us. I used a compass (triangle with angles printed on it) to measure how many degrees I had to move the holes. It turned out to be ~32 degrees (I think from memory). So I measured 32 degrees counter-clockerwise of each hole. I then marked these points and double/triple checked my measurements.

Step 2: Time to drill the holes in one of the tops. Take your time and be careful to keep on target. You really need some accuracy and precision otherwise the holes wont line up and you're gonna have a lot of trouble later. Here's a pic of of the drilled top and then fitted.



If you have an original 5ME like me you have issues with your right top being extremely close to your power steering reservoir. In my case it just clears it but once the bar is installed it is quite hard for me to undo the lid to top it up.



Step 3: Now that you have successfully drilled out the first top and it fits OK, all you have to do with the other one is use the current one as a guide and drill away. I bolted the two tops together and used the holes in the first top to line up the drill bit for the second top.



Be careful not to be in a rush and take your time to drill slowly. Use medium revs and don't push too hard (worked for me). If you don't take your time and you try and rush like I did at one point the drill may lock into the metal once you start getting through and it will kick out with plenty of speed and force. This took me quite awhile to wrestle with and finally get it out. I was lucky it didn't smack into me.



Here's a pic once I safely finished drilling the other holes



Once finished give it a test fit and hope you don't have to go back and start drilling again

[RObErT_RaTh]

Step 4: Fit your strut tops to your car but don't do them up tightly (just finger tight). Make sure you get enough clearance around things and then test fit the bar itself to see if it's going to fit. Mine ended up being a bit too long but because of the design I was able to cut a bit off each end and also shorten the bolts that screw into it so that I was able to fit the bar properly.

Here I just hacksaw off a small portion of the end of the bar


And here I've shortened the bolt so that I can screw it in all the way


Once you've done this to both ends of the bar and both bolts you can see if you can mount it to the strut tops and check that it all fits.



Step 5: Just go over and check everything to make sure nothing is fouling and everything has enough clearance. Remember the engine will need some room to move while it's running so don't just give things 1mm of clearance. Also try shutting your bonnet and make sure you don't have anything pushing on it and stopping it from closing easily. If everything looks ok then take off the bar and properly tighten the nuts holding down the strut tops. If it looks like the hole in the middle of the tops needs to be bigger then widen it out with some grinding stones otherwise just bolt it down. Correct torque should be 27lb but I just did mine up bloody tight because I don't have a torque wrench.

Step 6: Once the tops are mounted properly you can adjust the bolts inside the bar itself until it is almost to short to fit between the strut tops. It should be quite difficult to feed the bolts through the eye of the tops and the bar but we want to be tight. Once you've done this tighten all nuts and bolts and check the bar isn't going to move.




Congratulations, you're done! Go and take it for a test drive and be happy knowing you saved a few bucks by doing it yourself

[RObErT_RaTh]

WHOA! Thanks for the rep fellas, really appreciate it

[ViPeR_NiPPleX]

I have to share more around But still.... top article!

[RObErT_RaTh]

I have to share more around But still.... top article!

Thanks mate, and yes please do share

[JustCallMeOrlando]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to RObErT_RaTh again.

[RONA]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to RObErT_RaTh again.

Its all good I repped him for everyone +15 lol

[82MKII]

Great work Robert.
I have two questions:
1. Where did you get the original S13/14 bar?
2. Is there a noticeable difference in the way it handles now?

Regards

Peter

[RObErT_RaTh]

Great work Robert.
I have two questions:
1. Where did you get the original S13/14 bar?
2. Is there a noticeable difference in the way it handles now?

Regards

Peter

I got the bar from JustJap's eBay store but they do have a website.
http://www.justjap.com

And I do believe I can notice a better turn in and handling but the rest of my cars suspension is quite crap so I'm not willing to risk it too much. With uber soft saggy springs and shot shocks at the front and monroe shocks at the rear with king lows it gets a little hairy.

PS, cheers for the rep mate

[CrUZida]

Can I borrow that brace when we get to SA, see if it fits over the 1UZ?

I don't like my chances of it fitting though...

[Negative Boost]

Dam bro, top write-up! Thats just awsome.
Again must spread the love more...

[RObErT_RaTh]

Can I borrow that brace when we get to SA, see if it fits over the 1UZ?

I don't like my chances of it fitting though...

Got a pic of your engine bay? But sure you can test fit it if you want mate

Dam bro, top write-up! Thats just awsome.
Again must spread the love more...

Thanks mate, appreciate it

[CrUZida]

Side on pic showing height and strut tower

[RObErT_RaTh]

Hmmm it would definately be close, I'll see if I can grab some measurements or something tommorow but every bar could be slightly different in design

[ma61turbo]

I've got an LJM strut brace that you can try if Rob's one doesn't work. Might help in giving you an idea of what will fit(assuming it does fit of course!)