Strut braces are intended to reduce the flex of the front shock mounts under load and maintain a consistent amount of front camber. Although available from several vendors, it seemed like another easy DIY project.
The brace will connect to the camber plates at the rear inner bolts. Measure this distance and subtract the length of the rod ends and adjustment length. 37.5in – (2 x 1.5in) = 34.5in (ordered 35in rod). Order the tapered aluminum rod (35in) and rod ends (7/16) from Speedway Motors. Remove one inner camber plate bolt from each side (this will not impact your alignment). Install the new strut brace and torque the bolts (new, longer bolts will be required).
After I having driven with this installed for a while, I have come up with a few recommended modifications:
- Add a bracket at each end to square up the rod end connections.
- Use pins rather than bolts to allow easy removal of the brace for access to the air ducting and AC evaporator