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BT Tech Strut Tower Brace install pictures and Text

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Accessories & Modifications' started by Gadgetdad, Mar 1, 2008.

  1. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    Come on Boo, get a move on.
     
  2. cairo94507

    cairo94507 Active Member

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    I installed my strut tower brace and it seems to have tightened up the front of the car. Turn-in seems better and the car feels more solid on the twisties. I commute through an 8 mile canyon road 4 days per week at an average of 50 MPH. I give this a "good improvement" rating.
     
  3. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Ok, folks, I got mine installed today.
    It took me an hour and a half due to a few difficulties I encountered...mostly with reassembly.

    I haven't driven with the strut brace yet so will reserve any comments about handling until later.

    Fit and finish is exceptional.
    Disassembly was quick and fairly easy after reviewing Gadgetdad's pictures and textual comments he links to in the first post of this thread. I intended to photograph my install, but frankly couldn't find much of anything that needed photographing b/c Gadgetdad covered all important aspects.

    The only things I'd add to disassembly is that I didn't recall comments about releasing the clips at the forward edge of the plastic cowl from the metal pan beneath...that must be done before the plastic can be pulled forward and removed.

    Also, releasing the clips holding the wire loom is best accomplished by pinching the expanding part of the clip inside the metal pan and levering the part on the outside of the pan with screw driver.

    Assembly of the strut:
    Very straight forward with one exception. The bending of sheet metal. On my driver's side the strut support didn't seat neatly (passenger side did). I couldn't get a decent angle to flatten out the sheet metal with just a screw driver. Ultimately I took a metal bar and a hammer and beat down the edge that was interfering.

    Reassembly of the car:
    This is where I got a bit frustrated.
    I never got the forward-most driver's side screw for the metal pan to rethread...ultimately I stripped the end of the thing. I don't know what the issue was. If I were to do it again I'd put that one in first before putting any other screws in, even loosely. Ultimately I decided it wasn't that important and gave up. The rest went in fine.

    Wiper motor assembly. Again, the middle/center screw was a PITA to thread. Put that one in first. I stripped one screw and had to use a different one to get that secured. It has to be secured so be careful. Proceed to the outer screws only after the middle is well threaded (but maybe not tightened all the way down to leave a little play to get the rest of the screws in.

    Plastic cowl....another PITA. There are clips that go under the bottom edge of the wind shield...make sure you get those on first. Then try to get your 2 outside clips in place. Then make sure the clips on the underside of the forward edge clip back into the metal pan...I found that to be pretty difficult. It's really important that this plastic cowl goes on properly or you could have water leaks. For those of you with an '04 Prius you'll recall that there was a recall b/c of water leaking into the engine compartment causing leaks...they fixed that with a piece of weather stripping. But if you don't have that plastic cowl on just right you could get new leaks and new problems.

    Wipers. Make sure the wipers rest where they're supposed to before tightening. Once you have them set I found it easier to seat the wiper on the bolts by lifting the arm up.

    That's about all I can think of...the rest of the clips and parts and bolts went in easily.
     
  4. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    Uh-oh. That's another 6 more weeks of winter for me and mine.
     
  5. BT Tech

    BT Tech New Member

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    Thanks Evan for your detailed report. I am glad to see that you were able to install our strut tower brace without too much drama!! :)

    Please let us know your impressions after you put some miles on it!!


     
  6. Gadgetdad

    Gadgetdad New Member

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    Glad you got the brace in and all back together OK! My install was on an 07. I wonder if there are any differences between the year models, as I didn't encounter any of the challenges you did. Your points are well taken for the pins on the plastic tray and the wiring harness.

    Let us know what you think on the handling now!:rolleyes:

    Lee
     
  7. HardCase

    HardCase SilverPineMica, the green one

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    Very few crashes are planned. :eek::rolleyes:
     
  8. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    Don't know much about this stuff, but it seems to me that given the location and apparent strength of the strut tower brace: (1) it will not interfere with proper, impact-absorbing crumpling, and (2) it will only help in stopping intrusions into the interior cage.
     
  9. Pinto Girl

    Pinto Girl New Member

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    I'm thinking more and more about this one. My car does seem to have a mild case of the jitters over uneven pavement; the weighty 16" Bridgestone RE01's aren't helping any, either, I suppose.

    As far as the brace's effect on the car's deformable structure, I think the best we can do is speculate.
     
  10. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    I thought you put TOMs braces on yours?
     
  11. BT Tech

    BT Tech New Member

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    Hey there Pinto Girl... When I installed our strut tower brace on my car, the first thing I noticed other than decreased understeer in turns was that the front of the car felt a lot more solid when going over railroad tracks or uneven/poor road surfaces.



     
  12. Boo

    Boo Boola Boola Member

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    Attached MS Word File of OP's Installation Pictures & Instructions

    Lee,

    Thanks again for your flickr set BT Tech Strut Tower Brace Install Pictures and Text. Great stuff.

    Because I won't have internet access on the NYC street where I'll be doing my install, I've put your flickr set of 41 photos and text (plus efusco's post and your response thereto) into the attached Word file. That way I (and others similarly situated) could access it while doing the install.
     

    Attached Files:

  13. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    My comments about crumple zones was a response to someone saying the brace would strengthen the car in a crash. That isn't its purpose and it's doubtful it will have much affect at all on crash safety. No telling without testing.
     
  14. Gadgetdad

    Gadgetdad New Member

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    Hey Pinto Girl! I love my Strut Tower Brace, but I do notice it is more sensitive to improper air pressure in the tires. I am running 42/40 on my Touring Turanzas, and if one of my fronts goes down a bit I notice the difference!

    Lee
     
  15. BT Tech

    BT Tech New Member

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    We just finished packing up and shipping out our last batch of BT Tech Strut Tower Braces!! For those of you that have had these on order for some time, please check your email for your UPS tracking info.
     
  16. John CCP

    John CCP New Member

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    Welcome back, Pinto Girl. I've missed your cogent posts. I got mine installed today and can't believe how much better it tracks. The understeer is gone and it's almost like driving a BMW. It's going to difficult to drive my Prius economically!
     
  17. stealthyprius

    stealthyprius New Member

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    Hello All,

    Quick question, from the pictures it looks like the brace bar blocks one of the black fuse boxes attached on the firewall right below the plastic weather strip. How difficult is it to remove the strut bar if one needs to gain access to this blocked fuse box?

    Thanks!
     
  18. CDAVIDANDERSON

    CDAVIDANDERSON Junior Member

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    As many have said, very helpful pictures, which helped me yesterday when I installed mine, partly because the official instructions don't touch on the sequence of that last few re-install items.

    And, the bar is a Very Good Thing. I have high standards for handling" and my other car is an M3 BMW with a TC Kline Racing suspension, camber plates, etc.. However, with the BT stiffening plate and this bar, like BT Tech I think I am now satisfied with the Prius' handling, particularly in minor ways as he noted -- like the solid feeling when I turn from the street into my upward sloping driveway.

    Several installation comments:

    1. As instructed, I tightened the nuts on the shock tower mounting plates, but the bar wouldn't fit into its slots until I loosened the nuts on one mounting plate. The bar then fit in, and everything seemed ok.

    2. The bar (maybe mine is off a bit, see above) seems so close to the top of two of the fluid reservoirs (see pictures) than I assume the bar has to be removed to add fluids.

    3. Fitting the relay box back behind the bar by squeezing it over the top of the fluid reservoirs was very difficult, with nasty plastic-cracking noises. Again, maybe my bar (& shock towers?) are not quite perfect. Doing it again, I would experiment with putting the relay box behind the bar before the bar is installed.

    4. I guess that it will be possible to take the bar out as needed without disassembling the whole kaboodle. Seems like you could get a box end wrench on the back side, and the front nut is readily available. However, if I had to have one mounting plate loose to get the bar to fit into the slots, then I suppose that would also be the case when temporarily removing it, so all the shields etc, would have to be removed.

    5. Cautions:
    a. One of the bolts had come loose from the mounting plate during shipment, and thus two of the stainless steel washers had come loose and were missing -- I found them hidden between the flaps at the unopened end of the box.
    b. DONT DROP ANYTHING over the engine -- things are so tight there that it won't drop through to the ground, you probably can't see it, and if you can see it you will have a hard time getting it. I dropped both a stainless steel washer and the little black cover that goes over the nut that secures the driver's side wiper arm on its post, and felt that it was a miracle that I could retrieve the cover. The washer is missing entirely.
     
  19. BT Tech

    BT Tech New Member

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    Thanks for your post and your impressions of our product.

    When I designed the BT Tech Strut Tower Brace, I made sure that there was sufficient clearances in the design. This means that routine maintenance can be performed WITHOUT having to remove our brace.

    One of the main design goals of this product for me was to maintain an OEM type fit and finish and to make sure that it would NOT get in the way of normal maintenance.



     
  20. dinsmoor

    dinsmoor Junior Member

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    I had the same issue with the spacing of the bar over the engine coolant filler on my '07 Touring as the previous post

    2. The bar (maybe mine is off a bit, see above) seems so close to the top of two of the fluid reservoirs (see pictures) than I assume the bar has to be removed to add fluids.

    The clearance is only about 10 mm (see attached picture) with cap down. You can not remove the cap under the bar.

    Is this correct?

    Do other users have this problem?

    The only way to refill the coolant would be to remove the bar or drop the coolant reservoir from it's mounts.

    I expect to hear about this when I take the Prius in for it's next service at the dealer.

    Great product but I think there is a problem with either the build of the latest batch or maybe it was not checked across all years of Prius'es.

    Any ideas on best way to be able to refill my coolant?

    I also had to give up on remounting the relay box (you can see relay box hanging below the mounts in the picture). Not enough room behind the bar without bending the metal tray so much the wiper motor assembly would not mount in the tray.
     

    Attached Files: