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Sion · 07-28-2003, 02:01 PM

thadon, a macpherson strut is the primary front suspension part on most (but not all) fwd cars, minivans, even some awd light trucks.

because fwd vehicles have both the engine and tranny as well as drive shafts all up front, there is a serious space issue. the macpherson strut solves this problem by taking up much less space than a pair of upper and lower control arms on either side would. the strut assembly consists of a housing that bolts to the steering knuckle on the bottom. atop the housing sits a small coil spring (about half as big as a rwd's spring would be). inside the house is a shocklike dampener unit. the dampener extends up through the coil and is bolted to the strut tower (a chassis part) by means of a strut bearing plate. the whole unit takes up about 1/3 the space of a conventional ctrl arm and coil spring assembly.

here is a picture of a (semi) typical front strut setup:

what isnt show in this pic are the cv drive shafts.

now, as I said, this applies to MOST fwd cars. however, there are some (like my 85 Buick Riviera) which use other suspension setups. My Riv has conventional upper/lower ctrl arms and coil spring in between them. There are also other types of struts that are used, like for example on Town Cars that have air-ride systems, that do not use a coil spring like the macphersons do. In the case of the Town cars, there is an air bladder that provides the "lift" that a suspension unit is designed to do (ie lift the chassis off the ground). also, the town cars have both front and rear struts.

now, just out of my own curiosity, why do you ask about the differences between struts and shocks? you going to be working on something that has struts?

07-28-2003, 02:01 PM	#6 (permalink)
Sion Dumb all over...a little ugly on the side Location: In the room where the giant fire puffer works, and the torture never stops.	thadon, a macpherson strut is the primary front suspension part on most (but not all) fwd cars, minivans, even some awd light trucks. because fwd vehicles have both the engine and tranny as well as drive shafts all up front, there is a serious space issue. the macpherson strut solves this problem by taking up much less space than a pair of upper and lower control arms on either side would. the strut assembly consists of a housing that bolts to the steering knuckle on the bottom. atop the housing sits a small coil spring (about half as big as a rwd's spring would be). inside the house is a shocklike dampener unit. the dampener extends up through the coil and is bolted to the strut tower (a chassis part) by means of a strut bearing plate. the whole unit takes up about 1/3 the space of a conventional ctrl arm and coil spring assembly. here is a picture of a (semi) typical front strut setup: what isnt show in this pic are the cv drive shafts. now, as I said, this applies to MOST fwd cars. however, there are some (like my 85 Buick Riviera) which use other suspension setups. My Riv has conventional upper/lower ctrl arms and coil spring in between them. There are also other types of struts that are used, like for example on Town Cars that have air-ride systems, that do not use a coil spring like the macphersons do. In the case of the Town cars, there is an air bladder that provides the "lift" that a suspension unit is designed to do (ie lift the chassis off the ground). also, the town cars have both front and rear struts. now, just out of my own curiosity, why do you ask about the differences between struts and shocks? you going to be working on something that has struts? __________________ He's the best, of course, of all the worst. Some wrong been done, he done it first. -fz I jus' want ta thank you...falettinme...be mice elf...agin...