I'm pretty new to working on cars. I decided to take on the task of swapping out my blown shocks. I did the passenger side without a problem but when I got to the driver side I ran into an issue once I dropped the car. The shock is completely going through the tower. Ill post a pic once I host it.

 

stripped washer not the most uncommon issue.

 

Thanks man. I thought I was going crazy.

 

Stripped washer? How does one strip a washer?

No....you forgot a washer underneath the top hat. The one that fixes the shock shaft to the bottom bushing of the top hat.

It prevents the shock shaft from coming through the bushings. There's a thick gold washer. Then the dust boot. A thinner black washer goes on top of that.

 

So Im assuming it's number 13 in this pic.

 

13 and 9 are the two washers in question.

 

Unless you forgot to install the lower top hat bushing (the #7 located under the top hat)? That's another possibility

 

the lower top hat bushing is in. I didn't put in the bumpstop though. The passenger side doesn't have a bumpstop but it has part number 9 on it.

 

You need a bump stop. Why'd you remove it?

 

#9 isn't the issue here. That washer does nothing to keep the shaft in place.

#13 is the silver or gold tapered washer that you need to have in place to keep the shaft from popping out.

 

He doesn't technically need a bump stop in place to fix this issue. It doesn't keep the shaft from busting out of the top hat. The passenger side was assembled fine without a bump stop and didn't have the same issue.

 

The thick gold washer is what keeps things in place. The black washer is needed so that the rubber boot is properly retained. It also adds load to the top hat bushings to keep them from deflecting.

The bumpstop doesn't have anything to do with the shaft popping through the mount...I never said it did. But the bumpstop is needed, is it not?

Although that gold washer may have the bumpstop stuck to it. OP decided that bumpstops are stupid...and the gold washer suffered the consequences.

Did OP just look at all the stock parts and say "F-it...F-all of it. All of this is bullshit..and I dont need no bullshit"?

They're not bonus parts. They're all necessary.

I'm guessing he fixed it by adding a washer. We'll never see him again.

 

Bump stops are preferred for comfort and to prevent bottoming out, but have nothing to do with the problem the OP is experiencing. You can eliminate #9, #11, #14 and the strut shaft wont pop out of the top hat as pictured. #13 is the washer that prevents the shaft from pushing out from the bottom of the top hat.

 

I came back. So I cut the bumpstops in half and got some of those nifty rubber dust covers and found the golden washer. I still gotta install this stuff though. I'll be going back and doing the passenger side too. I did just look at the OEM parts like I dont need this isht. I should probably never touch a wrench again. The car is on jacks. I'll get to it when I can. I'll post pics when I'm done.

 

I know. I said all of that. What is the matter with you?

 

Walk away man just Walk away.

Thanks for the help.

 

That washer got me once! mine got stripped and the rod pushed through :0

 

glad its all fixed, op! Thanks for coming back to report your findings!

 

Sprint Extreme Springs on some dropzone shocks. 17's with 205/40/17 tires. Surprisingly no bounce and rides pretty smooth way better than the blown stocks. Stay tuned ladies and gents on how long they last. I have much more to do to this car.