OK, I know this has been covered, but before I begin to tear everything apart, I want to make sure that I am getting this right, and found the right info after searching...

I purchased some of those Sensen struts, and got all the rest needed, except new springs, from RockAuto. Last week, we got the front struts installed.

Within one week, driving and hitting small bumps / rough pavement, the front end clunks, and feels loose. You can FEEL the alignment shift when this happens. First thing I did was ensure / retorque the strut-spindle bolts, lug nuts, and top strutmount to chassis nuts.

No change. The driver's side strut shaft is NOT sitting centered in the mount, and the passenger side, the shaft is loose, and moves side to side. With the way these mounts bolt-in, they SHOULD hold the shaft centered and straight, with the keyed edge, so you could torque down the shaft nut without the shaft turning - but if we try and tighten the nut, the entire shaft turns... In addition, with the car sitting on the ground, and you kick the tire along the front edge, you can WATCH the center shaft move around, and clanks - on BOTH sides...

So, my question is, would it seem that I have BOTH strut mounts bad? I need to know before I tear the struts out again, and rent the tools again, etc...

The strut mounts I bought were mevotech, from rockauto...

 

The shaft should not move. Either you've got them assembled wrong or the mount is bad.

 

damn son, where u get them mounts from? Nothing should be moving laterally, ESPECIALLY the mount.

I got my mounts from Autozone. No issues over here.

The sensens should be good too. Did they blow already?

 

so, the struts are fine - I'm figuring I just got a bad set of mounts... We verified that they are assembled correctly... so it HAS to the bad mounts - maybe they had a bad shipment of rubber - like said, they were mevotech, purchased from rock auto...

 

what worries me is you said the alignment shifts. this is usually a result of a wheel bearing, lower ball joint or tie rod.

do this; jack up one side and set it on a jack stand. then wiggle the wheel up and down there should be no play. if there is you need a ball joint, or wheel bearing.
then wiggle the wheel side to side there should be no play if there is you need a tie rod.

if the strut mounts are new they could be bad it is possible but cover all your bases before you go tearin into it again

 

OK, well, we tore the struts back apart - the keyed plate in the bottom of the mount completely separated from the rubber, after only 2-3 days of driving, on both sides.

I replaced with the cheapest I could find locally, which were Monroe's - and fixed the issue. all of the other parts were fine, including the new bearings I installed - so all is good now...

Those sensen seem to be really good so far, especially for the price, but they are somewhat stiff...