Camaro/Firebird Strut Tower Dimensioning
Short summary:
same tolerances must be met by repair specialists. holes provide the upper mounting location for the shock absorber/spring assembly on the Camaro/Firebird SLA (Short Arm/Long Arm) front suspension systems ....
Long summary:
CAMARO/FIREBIRD STRUT TOWER DIMENSIONING In order to meet safety, performance and design standards, General Motors vehicles adhere to strict tolerances during the manufacturing process. These same tolerances must be met by repair specialists whenever they perform structural repair or body work on GM vehicles. The topic of this document is the upper strut tower mounting hole locations on the Chevrolet Camaro/Pontiac Firebird. These holes provide the upper mounting location for the shock absorber/spring assembly on the Camaro/Firebird SLA (Short Arm/Long Arm) front suspension systems. The intention of this information is to explain the manufacturing process used to locate the upper strut tower mounting holes, and to minimize confusion concerning proper measurement procedures required during collision repair. UPPER STRUT TOWER HOLE LOCATING During manufacturing the upper shock absorber/spring assembly mounting holes are located using a process called form and pierce. During this process the forming and piercing equipment positions itself in relation to the datum and center line. By allowing the equipment to accommodate the slight variations within vehicle build tolerance, the strut tower holes are always located at the same height from the datum. The forming and piercing equipment reads each vehicles position and performs its function accordingly, regardless of whether the strut towers are slightly high or slightly low in relation to the vehicle. As mentioned, the forming and piercing equipment has the ability to always place the strut mounting holes at the same height from datum. However, because each strut tower mounting surface is pitched inward and slightly rearward, the holes will not necessarily have the same width measurements. The length measurements are virtually unaffected by this process. Example 1: The Perfect Position In this example, the vehicle is in perfect position for forming and piercing because the strut towers are perfectly level and square relative to the datum and center lines of the vehicle. As the piercing equipment drops into place, it will locate the strut tower holes the same distance from the center line. 1 Example 2: High Left, Level Right In this example, the strut tower is slightly high to the vehicle on the left (drivers) side, but not enough to be out of build tolerance. As the piercing equipment comes into position, it will encounter the left strut tower closer to the centerline on the inboard slope. As a result, the holes on the left side tower will be more inboard than those on the right. Likewise, the point-topoint measurement for these holes will be different from the vehicle in example 1, however, the holes remain equal in height from datum. Example 3: High Left, Low Right In this example, the strut towers are slightly high on the left (drivers) side, and slightly low on the right (passengers) side of the vehicle, but not enough to be out of build tolerance. As ...
Source: www.gmgoodwrench.com
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