Ok, I am trying put my strut/spring combo back into the car. The FSM/Haynes says that it is supposed to be oriontated like the attached picture.

My strut top does not have a white dot. It has a nipple as seen in the second post.

I really am not sure how this is supposed to be lined up.

Any pointers?

 

What my strut top looks like

 

Well, I just found this quote....

The dot indicator is usually pointed toward the inside front of the engine compartment. Turn the mounting block until the dot indicator is pointed to the inside rear of the engine compartment. This will increase caster by 30' to 45', changing it from tire factory setting of 4degrees 40' to about 5degrees 30'.


I will asume that the rubber nipple is my white dot. Maybe they changed it in latter years? Since the haynes coverage of the s5 is poor they may have never known about the change.

James

 

You need to disregard what it says in the fsm, the white dot affects the caster wich has to do with your alignment. Take it and get it aligned and they will more then likely have to rotate the strut mount plate to get the caster right if they do it correctly. If your caster is out, it wont cause tire wear, but it will cause the car to pull to the side with the most negative caster.