[Silver BLT]

I installed the KLA strut brace after I powder coated the support arms and everything fit perfectly. I shut the hood with care and it never rattled or bumped or made any sounds. Perfect fit.

I had my alignment done by a very reputable shop and all went well.....until the tech dropped the hood to close it... :,,,,( (tears from me crying)

DING! The hood flexed down and hit the tops of the brace, instant nipples on my hood. Now what do I do? KLA states "close hood with caution" I do not believe it is their fault in any way...great product by the way. NOT a Dig in any way.

In retrospect I wish I would have told the shop to close the hood with a push and not drop it. (but then I did not tell them to wash their hands before driving the car either..) Is it my fault for not informing them of this "Mod"? Its not like its hidden or anything. Or is it 50 / 50 ? The damage was unintentional and the rest of the work was flawless. I would go back there again.

Advice is requested.



Silver BLT

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[LivingDust]

OUCH!!!! Wow, that is rough!



How well do you know this mechanic, or the owner of the shop? Have you talked to him/her about it at all?



I have been going to the same guy for years, and if he or one of his guys had done that, he would have taken the blame and be working out a solution for me.



But there are other shops in town (Austin, TX) that the owner would come out cussing and swinging if I even suggested that we work out something together. (Obviously I don't do business with them...)



I would think that if this guy is reputable, then for the sake of his own reputation, he would do something to make it right. Maybe split the cost?



I am just glad this has never happened to me, and I wish it hadn't happened to you!



Scott

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[flash]

i feel your pain



did you install it correctly? if the bar is on the wrong side of the bracket, this will happen (yes, i did it to mine)



please send a shot of the bar installed with a close up of the bracket connection



p.s. - do NOT push the hood closed - dropping it is best (about 12-16 inches)- pushing can easily result in a dent



the good news, is that, if the paint is not cracked, a paintless dent guy can remove that ding

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[SANDOVAL]

[quote name='flash' date='Jun 27 2005, 06:06 PM']i feel your pain



did you install it correctly?  if the bar is on the wrong side of the bracket, this will happen (yes, i did it to mine)



please send a shot of the bar installed with a close up of the bracket connection



p.s. - do NOT push the hood closed - dropping it is best (about 12-16 inches)- pushing can easily result in a dent



the good news, is that, if the paint is not cracked, a paintless dent guy can remove that ding

[right][post="6433"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]



Assuming this is it from another thread...

http://www.968forums.com/index.php?act=Att...ype=post&id=710

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[968 Cab]

The KLA brace I installed on our 85.5 944NA has a much lower profile bracket. The brackets align the bar to the front of the car (180 degrees from the one shown in the photo), and there is no clearance issues to the hood thank goodness! I remember checking that pretty carefully with thin strips of wood and tape. There is at least 1'4" clearance easily - maybe even more.



I don't think that the mechanic dropping the hood down would cause that much of a rebound either, so the brackets must be standing very high with that bias to the "rear" position.



The Dent Doc should be able to take out the dents, but until you know for sure that there is clearance, I'd take the bar off the car!



I'll try to take a photo of the KLA bracket in our car and post it later.

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[rustech]

Based on the link Sandoval provided, it looks like you are missing the rubber hood rests that sit where the fender bolts to the bay fore of the strut tower. This would cause the dents if dropped.

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[ds968]

I filed the tops of the bar's ball joints / rings, the washers, the bolts, etc.. just to be extra safe, even though I did the putty test and had enough clearance before

I shaved the tops.. just wanted as much space as possible.



Very sorry to see the hood.

Also hoping the dentless repair will restore it to perfection.

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[flash]

it's not the missing rubber blocks that are the problem (though those should be there for other reasons)



the bar is on the wrong side of the bracket - it goes on the side NEAREST the windshield



the instructions were very clear about this - this is EXACTLY how we all got dents

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[BruceWard]

A PRR (Paintless dent repair) guy should be able to remove the dings. I did something similar with the power steering reservoir and after about an hour and $100 it was fixed.

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[flash]

yup - did that one too - let me guess - weren't paying attention and put the clamp on the wrong ring?

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[Silver BLT]

Thanks for feeling and sharing my pain, The link Sandoval has on his post is how it is currently installed (as per KLA instructions) I'm on my way now to see what we can do about this.... I'll keep the board informed.

How much is a Weltmeyer brace???? <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/dry.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



Silver BLT

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[flash]

the way that it is in the picture is NOT correct, nor per the instructions



the bar goes on the BACK side of the bracket



   

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[Anchorman]

If, in the photo of the bar with the blue bracket, you can tell which side of the bracket the bar is mounted on, your eyes are much better than mine. And, if the tolerances are that close (bar in front - bad; bar in back - good), I'd be amazed. I'm guessing the the hood bumps were caused by the brackets, not by the bar, and it looks like the brackets are installed towards the rear. What I don't see is anything as pointy as it looks like the bump is. Curious.

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[SANDOVAL]

Here you go old man <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/wink.gif" class="smilie" alt="" /> J/k... The hood curves down to the nose so every mm is critical.



http://www.968forums.com/index.php?act=Att...ype=post&id=711





http://www.968forums.com/index.php?act=Att...ype=post&id=709

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[flash]

thanks eric



the bumps are caused by the heim joints (or at least they were on ron's, dj's, and my cars) - as soon as we moved the bar to the rear, the problem vanished



the "blue" installation is INCORRECT!!!



the brackets face the right way, but the bar is on the wrong side - it MUST be toward the windshield, and not toward the front of the car



it is important to note that the rubber bumpers are also a very good insurance against a misaligned hood sitting too low and allowing flex and contact - while they are not the real source of this particular problem, they should be added to insure that it does not reoccur after the strut tower brace installation is corrected

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[Lemming]

[quote name='BruceWard' date='Jun 28 2005, 10:19 AM']A PRR (Paintless dent repair) guy should be able to remove the dings.  I did something similar with the power steering reservoir and after about an hour and $100 it was fixed.

[right][post="6464"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post][/right][/quote]



I now longer feel alone! I did this when replacing the HCV recently.

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[Mike in NJ]

I too installed it with the bar in front of the brackets at first, (and also misaligned the steering fluid reservoir), and have the nipply hood to prove it. <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/sad.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />



I'm totally psyched to hear that they can be successfully removed with PDR however!! <img src="/forum/images/smilies/968/biggrin.gif" class="smilie" alt="" />

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[flash]

yeah - the natural tendency is to put the bar in front of the brackets, because you think it is too close to the reservoir cap - unfortunately for all of us who learned the hard way, it does indeed go very near the reservoir cap



the PDR success is entirely dependent on the individual, his skills, and his patience, the severity of the ding, AND the fact that the paint is NOT cracked

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[968 Cab]

I must have a 1st gen KLA bar in the 944NA - the brackets are MUCH lower profile and can only fit one way - with the vertical flange facing forward and the "bar" heim joints to the front. Otherwise the brake fluid and A/C low pressure are in the way.



I just noticed that the foam on the underside of the hood is now permanently marked by the bar, so it is pretty close in there underhood.



No dents however - and the rubber stops along the fender edge are in place.

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[flash]

the 944 and 968 brackets are completely different - also the 944 bar is a different length

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