Chrysler strut tower corresion

Everyone please file with NHTSA if you are having a problem with strut towers

Got a link to the paperwork or site on how to do that???

The problem is that Chrysler corrected the problem in 2000, seven years ago. The chance of a recall is slim to nill. Replacing the strut towers is not very complicated or costly.

How much is too much since my driver side is split open from rust. Mechanics have said a body shop has to do it and prices I got range from $750per side(independent) to $1500 per side (Dealer)

I have learned from other posts that the tower kit costs $30 each at the dealer. The installation is not too hard. It requires drilling out the spot welds of the old tower, drilling holes for the supplied bolts. You don't have to remove the strut. Others have it done for $300 both sides. I would say the your dealer and your mechanic are taking you "for a ride".

The prices that Michfixit are not unrealistic. They are about the same prices i wa quoted myself. A lot of it depnds on how much damage there is from the corrosion. If there is too much corrosion it is my understanding that the repair kits are useless since they need some support under them as well. My passenger's side tower has a side that is almost completely gone. A repair wouldn't work for me. I have to remove the whole strut tower and put in a new one. Something I am not willing to put that much money into a junk Chrysler product. So to say that the repair is "not very compilcated or costly" is a big understatement. You don't see any Windstars with this problem, guess thats why I usually buy Ford.

The clincher is that most shops are gonna say, "Yep, she's gone...gotta put in a new tower...rip out the engine area clean and weld in a new one..."

My pass side shows barely any rust, but making a call on a very rusty tower (my driver side) might be risky, but trying not to be overly conservative on safety is hard, too.

True enough.... If your body is so rusted that you have nothing to attach the tower kit to... well yeah, that's really bad. That will cost a fortune, and probably you should junk the car. If you just have a rusty tower cap, like they usually do, then the kit is relatively cheap, and the installation is not hard. You have to make that call.

Hehe...learning like I am...it seems as though there are 3-4 bolts holding on a top unit, but whatever that piece is, it is split open so I can see thru it. But maybe that won't matter with the fix. I'm not talking surface rust here, but a split. Just below the top part the tower is fine.

I guess I'd have to see a kit to see how it attaches and what it will do for me.

See this thread for more info:

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=377570&highlight=strut+tower

If your top of the tower is split, sounds like the kit would work for you. Go look at a kit and tell us if it will work for you.

Seems to me you are saying that the actual strut tower in you van is ok... You are saying the STRUT MOUNT is split. Look here, is this your part?

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?MfrCode=KYB&MfrPartNumber=SM5112&PartType=1193&PTSet=A

If memory serves me well, that part is all rusted and split open. I believe the unit below that (tower?) is fine. I'd have to look again. So if that piece is the only bad one then repairs are cheap like stated before?

This piece you actually have to remove the strut to replace it. So it probably cost $200 to replace it.