cracked strut top rubbers

[jayrad]

After lowering the galant on her wheels i noticed the strut tops have cracked badly think the supercharged v6 might be a bit heavy for the old rubbers...

can they fail to the point that they break through?

[caboonatlarge]

Yes they can, but will only pop through to the point where the spring seat stops it.The real issue is the fact that the shock/strut can "fall out" of the top hat.
Have recently had the same issue with my LA lancer and ended up taking the rubber out, fitting a steel sleeve and welding it all together for the time being.

[dwlee]

Increased the spring stiffness and/or is the front suspension bottoming out? Either case will shorten the life of strut top rubber. As it appears that you haven't driven with that engine I'd say that they were shagged before you put the v6 in and the extra weight is just opening up the cracks in the 35+ year old rubber. I'd replacement them with new rubber strut tops if you care about ride comfort or go for a more solid option if you don't.

[caboonatlarge]

Ive replaced mine with new, they lasted about a year and a half of daily driving with pretty hard shocks and springs.The tops where after market mind you, and i guess mitsi stuff would be better.they arnt that cheap tho, so looking into a solid mount type mite not be a dumb idea.

The only thing i have to wonder about is when solid mounting (like i have for example), means that there is very little flex and i cant help but think that maybe, eventually it may snap the top of the shock off.Could this happen or am i imagining things and the amount of movement is minimal anyway?