[sperry]

Originally Posted by markcjr

Ok, I feel dumb and annoyed at the same time. The problem was that the 3/4" nut that comes through in the middle of the top hat was only finger tight. I hadn't thought to check it as everything I'd read pointed to the bottom bolt. Anyway, just for kicks I tried to wiggle it and low and behold, it was really loose. So, I feel like an idiot for not realizing that in the first place, but am rather angry at the fact that i paid a shop to fix this and they didn't tighten up one of probably 5 visible bolts. Granted, they did do the half-assed fix on the bottom, but still... Either way, i just tightened it down with a 3/4" socket and the thunk is gone and the car drives perfectly. The shop will get a piece of my mind for causing a week and a half of annoyace though. Kind of makes me wonder what bolts might not have been tightened down when they did my head gaskets, radiator and power steering pump too.

That top bolt should be tightened to some usually somewhat high torque spec. This usually requires an air gun, or some means of holding the strut to keep it from spinning while torquing. Make sure it's tight enough, or it'll just come loose again.