I've got a bump on my left hand side front wheel whenever I go over rough terrain or bumps, so I went to the local Wreckers and got a new Strut. Now the strut is from a TR and my car is a TF, he assured me that it will be the same strut.

After pulling my old strut out I realized that it is different as the TR one doesn't have the welded on latch that holds the ABS brake line.

Is there anyway around this? As they are shut for ages due to the New Year and I need to replace it ASAP.

Or can I just Switch the Shock Absorbers over?

it may be the strut top bush that is causing your noise, not the shock itself.
The guy at the wreckers probably heard you say TS instead of TF, hence his "yea' she'll fit mate"
That or he just wanted cash and the customer to go away...

Anyways, you would be better off just waiting for the wreckers to reopen, then get the right part, or buy one from another wreckers then try get a refund.
There is a risk though that the strut top bush will be stuffed on the wreckers shock anyway, its a common problem to the magnas at this age.
They can be bought new, repco, pedders, bursons ect should be able to look it up, just dont bother with somewhere like supercheap, they'll have no idea...

Thank you for your reply.
What are you referring to with the Strut Top Bush? Sorry for the question I'm kinda new to this stuff, I'm good with the electronical side of cars just not this part haha!


it may be the strut top bush that is causing your noise, not the shock itself.
The guy at the wreckers probably heard you say TS instead of TF, hence his "yea' she'll fit mate"
That or he just wanted cash and the customer to go away...

Anyways, you would be better off just waiting for the wreckers to reopen, then get the right part, or buy one from another wreckers then try get a refund.
There is a risk though that the strut top bush will be stuffed on the wreckers shock anyway, its a common problem to the magnas at this age.
They can be bought new, repco, pedders, bursons ect should be able to look it up, just dont bother with somewhere like supercheap, they'll have no idea...

At the top of the strut is the strut top bushing, funnily enough :D
but in seriousness, it connects to the strut assembly with the one nut at the top of the shock absorber in the middle, it contains the radial bearing that allows the strut to turn with the steering wheel and the rubber insulator that keeps the road noise out of the body. Over time, this compacts and wears. in the magna's they develop freeplay inside. as the car goes over bumps and the strut moves up and down, its enough to move the freeplay both ways, causing a knocking noise.

http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm329/grelise1/SDC12134.jpg

It has been covered a billion and one times before on here, and im sure i have seen part numbers/suppliers mentioned.
I had a real quick search but came up empty.
But i did find this thread which may be an interesting read for you?
http://i316.photobucket.com/albums/mm329/grelise1/SDC12134.jpg

Little bit of an update! The wreckers the opened and I got the right strut, put it in but the noise is still there! It's just not as bad as the other one was!

Would I be better off buying a complete strut or changing the strut top bush?

a new strut doesnt come with the top bush, but for an investment of around $4-500 you can get 2 new struts and new top bushes.
Is it worth it for your car? thats up to you.
did you have a read through that thread i linked? it has a lot of other potential noise causing things in it.
It may also be well worth paying the $28 or whatever it is now for a pedders saftey check, it'll give you an idea of the mechanical condition of your suspension, just bear in mind they like to fault everything even remotely damaged because they like to think you'll spend a heap of cash with them fixing it all.