« Reply #4 on: December 14, 2017, 03:13:46 PM »
In my experience, usually what kills struts like that is topping out aka over-extension of the strut. I experienced this on my 2001 Vitara with the Calmini 2.5" lift. The springs were too stiff for the weight of that rig so the struts were right at the end of their travel, at rest. All it took to kill my first pair of struts was a 120km round trip on a heavily pot-holed gravel road. I lowered the front end and the next pair of struts lasted longer, but it was still topping out on the trail every now and then. The struts aren't really made to sustain that kind of topping out. This is especially true if the front swaybar is removed, because the swaybar will fight the downward action of the wheel in the air because of the pressure created by the one on the ground. The best way to remedy this without putting the swaybar back on, is to make up a pair of limiting straps similar to what the desert racers use- basically a glorified seatbelt between your a-arm and your frame that gets tight just before your strut would top out. This way the front suspension will hang on the strap instead of the strut, and your struts will thank you.
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97 Sidekick 4door 5 speed, 1.5 spacer lift, 2" body lift, CJ rims, locked rear, 31's, 4:1 low <SOLD>
01 Vitara 2.0L 5 speed, 2.5" Calmini lift, 2" body lift, Sidekick rims, locked rear, 31's, 4:1 low, 5.13 diffs <SOLD>
03 XL7 2.7 5 speed, 4.5" AE lift with OME springs, 2" AE body lift, 5.13 diffs, 3:1 low, 235/80R17 BFG AT's on Ultra 17x8 with 1" spacers, skid plates, Balmer Fab front bumper