[KTL]

When a strut housing is bent, what part of it typically bends?

Is it the tube which holds the damper that is bent, or is it the knuckle arm-tie rod connection? Could be either/both I guess?

I saw the factory recommended method on the microfiche repair manual. Porsche's method uses a fixture that you place the housing into. It checks how the knuckle arm fits/slides within the fixture. If you can't get it to fully slide along the knuckle arm, it's bent.

Anyway, how would the average buckethead like myself know if the strut is good? My two knuckle arms may be slightly different. The tie rod connections don't appear to be in the same plane (ever so slightly). Maybe i'm imagining things, but it's hard to put the two together and be certain. What if they're both bent? Who knows? It's not like looking at a 2X4 to see if it's warped!

Thanks,