Help! Bad new Bilstein Strut??

[code7rpd]

I am wondering whether I have a bad Bilstein strut even though it is brand new. I just finished replacing my front torsion bars (21 mm), putting in turbo tie rods, and bilstein sport struts. I also lowered the front to 24.5" When I was putting in the drivers side strut I compressed it with the dust cap and lined it up with hole in the upper shock mount. The strut would not decompress all the way allowing the threaded top portion to expand through the shock mount. I ended up pulling up on the brake disk to move the suspension upwards in order to have the strut push through to the top where I was able to put the washer and nut back on. Incidently, I took the big flat washer that sits on the dust cap off since I lowered the car. I put everything back and took it for a test drive and noticed a clunking noise coming from the drivers side strut every time I go over a small bump. I checked everything for tightness and found no problems. Could the brand new sport strut be defective?

[john walker's workshop]

the rollpin that locks the shock into the strut may under the shaft instead of thru the notch in the shaft. also, if you reused the old pin, they tend to get worn in the center and won't hold the shaft tight. this would only apply if the strut itself was a green bilstein unit.