[EDortiz]

Everything hooks up correctly EXCEPT I have one problem that could cause another problem (hole in plastic coolant reservoir) if I operate the way the bar is hooked up. The brace bar and mounting brackets came as a kit. On the driver side: the inboard location where one side of the brace bar hooks up to that side shock tower mounting bracket has a problem where after everything hooked up and tightened the bolt head rests directly against the upper side of the plastic coolant reservoir. There is no space detectable between bolt head and the reservoir. I have tried different fixes but none seem to rectify situation. Anybody else done this mod and encountered same problem? I will call vendor on Monday and see if he has a recommended fix or can recommend a different brand of brace bar. I would be interested also if anybody can recommend different brand brace bar you may have installed

 

[Julia DeGrace]

Is this the "problem" you're worried about?

I took this photo a few minutes ago. It's my Megan bar in my Abarth. I replaced the factory strut bar with this Megan bar a few months ago. Agreed, there is NO clearance, however there is no expected movement between the strut bar and the coolant tank. I've enthusiastically driven the car about 3 months now; have run an aggressive club rally through the twisties of the Texas Hill Country, and competed in an autocross. No movement. No rubbing into the tank.

If I wanted to fix it, I would find a thinner nut AND/OR have the existing nut and bolt ground down a small amount at a local garage that has a bench grinder set up. I just don't see the need for that now.

 

[EDortiz]

Is this the "problem" you're worried about?

View attachment 80383
I took this photo a few minutes ago. It's my Megan bar in my Abarth. I replaced the factory strut bar with this Megan bar a few months ago. Agreed, there is NO clearance, however there is no expected movement between the strut bar and the coolant tank. I've enthusiastically driven the car about 3 months now; have run an aggressive club rally through the twisties of the Texas Hill Country, and competed in an autocross. No movement. No rubbing into the tank.

If I wanted to fix it, I would find a thinner nut AND/OR have the existing nut and bolt ground down a small amount at a local garage that has a bench grinder set up. I just don't see the need for that now.

Yes, exactly. I switched the bolt around so that the rounded head is against the reservoir and the nut is on the other end of the bracket since no real sharp edge of nut against the reservoir then. I was more worried about the tank moving due to vibration more that the brace and mount. I thought of a thinner nut but the end of the threaded portion will still be against the tank just more threads showing. I agree that a thinner nut and grinding down of bolt might do it. I will leave as is and find a plastic cap I can slide over the head of the bolt. I don't plan to do any aggressive driving like you have done so I should be ok then. I will monitor and see if any tank wear occurs before I can find the right size cap. Thanks for the quick response.

 

[EDortiz]

Yes, exactly. I switched the bolt around so that the rounded head is against the reservoir and the nut is on the other end of the bracket since no real sharp edge of nut against the reservoir then. I was more worried about the tank moving due to vibration more that the brace and mount. I thought of a thinner nut but the end of the threaded portion will still be against the tank just more threads showing. I agree that a thinner nut and grinding down of bolt might do it. I will leave as is and find a plastic cap I can slide over the head of the bolt. I don't plan to do any aggressive driving like you have done so I should be ok then. I will monitor and see if any tank wear occurs before I can find the right size cap. Thanks for the quick response.

I am going to switch it around other way where the nut is against tank so that I can adjust tightness using allen wrench on the rounded end if need be without having to remove nuts from the shock tower end of bracket.

 

[EDortiz]

I am going to switch it around other way where the nut is against tank so that I can adjust tightness using allen wrench on the rounded end if need be without having to remove nuts from the shock tower end of bracket.

I just put a thinner nut on and a stem protector rubber boot over the stem and all is good now. The nut and stem do not touch the coolant reservoir.

 

[EDortiz]

I just put a thinner nut on and a stem protector rubber boot over the stem and all is good now. The nut and stem do not touch the coolant reservoir.

I contacted Megan Racing about the nut engaging the plastic reservoir tank. They told me they didn't design a brace bar specifically for the Fiat. It is designed for a Mazda Miata. Even though the chassis is the same for both vehicles the engine compartment configuration is slightly different and there is no problem with the coolant reservoir location in the Miata. I of course have the same problem with the metal contact on the reservoir. I added a second washer to the bolt end away from the reservoir (the end with the 10 mm head) and put a thinner nut. Originally I just put a thinner nut and a plastic stem protector boot over the stem protruding from the nut, which was also very, very close to the reservoir. I had second thoughts about that so I took of the thread protector and added a second washer to other end and had much more clearance between the end of the stem and the reservoir. I also place a cut piece of stiff gasket material between the nut/stem combo. Still the clearance is just barely there. This will be a temporary setup. I still plan to replace the bolt but I am having trouble finding a bolt with a ISO hardness rating of 12.9 that has a head with a thickness less than 10 mm (I plan to put bolt head end next to reservoir to get desired clearance). Megan Racing told me that a bolt with an ISO rating of 10.9 would probably suffice even if I do a road racing (which I do not plan to do but my son may though when he inherits car). I am going to search through McMaster-Carr fastener catalog to see if I can find a bolt that will do. A M10-1.5 X 80 mm bolt with a head thickness of 5 or 6 mm with the desired hardness rating of 12.9 would be perfect but I may install one with ISO rating of 10.9. I just don't want to risk punching or rubbing a whole in the coolant reservoir.

 

[Nanomind]

Is this the "problem" you're worried about?

View attachment 80383
I took this photo a few minutes ago. It's my Megan bar in my Abarth. I replaced the factory strut bar with this Megan bar a few months ago. Agreed, there is NO clearance, however there is no expected movement between the strut bar and the coolant tank. I've enthusiastically driven the car about 3 months now; have run an aggressive club rally through the twisties of the Texas Hill Country, and competed in an autocross. No movement. No rubbing into the tank.

If I wanted to fix it, I would find a thinner nut AND/OR have the existing nut and bolt ground down a small amount at a local garage that has a bench grinder set up. I just don't see the need for that now.

I installed mine from Megan Racing. As discussed essentially no spacing between the nut and the coolant tank. Thank you Julia DeGrace for the confirmation that you have not experience issues with lots of enthusiastic driving 😊