I suspect the manager was speechless when he saw how those shocks were installed. That is a very uncomfortable position for the manager to be in, that was a terrible error for the mechanic.
silver strut has 2 steps.
black strut has 1 step but i think it is a generic pic. not of a dodge strut
the oem style has 2 steps so you will see a gap under the top ridge/step
but the shock tube will protrude about 1" below the knuckle which you can see
2nd pic of silver strut shows that
Guys – your point about a second lip did come up when talking to the shop, i.e. some struts have an upper lip and a lower lip, and that can create what looks like a gap after its installed, but is really just the space between upper and lower lip. But, when I went to the parts store and looked at the strut they used still in the box, I found that this particular replacement strut only had one lip/ring. So, that explanation seemed plausible at first, but turned out not be true. Its clear now that the original install was botched, which the shop has admitted.
So it’s level now? 2” tire/fender gap?
Update: Shop started over with a new pair of loaded struts, installed them correctly this time, i.e. there is no gap, and the ring/lip sits flush on top of the wishbone/horseshoe. See pics. Problem is, the front end still sits just as high as it did before – about 3-inches too high in my opinion. Something else must be wrong. I’ve taken a bunch of pictures, below. Does anyone see anything that might explain the front end sitting so high? Remember — they replaced both ball joints/control arms at the same time as the struts.
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Remember — they replaced both ball joints/control arms at the same time as the struts.
Might be a very stupid question, but - could the struts be for a Stratus with a v6 cyl. engine (or v8, if in existence)? That would be a somewhat heavier engine.
Just shooting in the dark, murky waters.
Hey asterix – at the beginning, we all thought maybe the wrong part had been installed, but that was quickly ruled out, since 1) there is only one strut for all stratus sedans, and 2) i took the old/removed strut and compared it side-by-side with the new strut. All measurements matched up exactly.
Although the physical measurements does not say anything about the spring’s tension, if there are only one strut fits all , then … well, I told You it was a stupid question. 
Hmmm. Well its not stupid. It made me realize that I was relying on the word of the part supplier (a major chain) and never checked other sources. But I just did that, and found that, yes, its just one strut for stratus sedans, regardless of engine.
Could You provide a pic of the car from the side so it’s possible for us to see the diff. front to rear as it is now? Not just lowered from a lift, but after it has been moved so the suspension has settled.
hmm. Looking at the newest pics, the angle of the lower control arms and ball joints seems fine in my eyes so why it has such a high stance beats me right now. That’s why I would find a pic from the side interesting. Could it be that the rear springs are very “tired”?
That’s what I’m thinking, brand new springs on the front, 17 year old springs on the rear.
Well, we might get an idea when/if we get a pic of the car from the side a la Cavells.
It could even be that OP is not the first owner and the previous fitted a lowering kit on it and OP did not know about it.
Hey guys – I’ll add a full side pic tomorrow. I am the original owner. Rear was replaced maybe 8-10 years ago. I’m pretty sure there’s still something wrong. Below is the wheel well shot taken after the botched strut install – looks exactly same now with the correct strut install. Measures the same, too. Even if the rear is sitting a little low, that front fender gap is still too big. Something’s not right.
Ask if they tightened the control arms while the vehicle was on the lift, or the vehicle was at ride height?
Tester
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Yeah, considering how carelessly the struts were installed the first time, something like that seems very possible. But I don’t have a mental picture of where those bolts would be. Are they visible in any of the pics I posted?
The cartalk system keeps flagging/hiding my posts above that contain pics. Gonna try to repost pics from above here. Hope they stay up:
i have car on jackstand. than raise lower control arm with a jack to simulate ride height. than tighten bolts. just did it last week. very hard to reach upper control arm bolts with tire installed. if correct parts are installed correctly than ride height should be good. duh. thanks captn obvious. theory about rear sagging and making it look odd is highly doubtful. uh, rear is down 1" and front is up 4"? no
