KYB AGX rear strut blew apart

[Bdub]

I was driving down the road, normal driving conditions, dry sunny day, and hit a small dip in the road. BANG, all of a sudden the loudest noise came from the rear of the car. Scared the crap out of me, so I pulled over, looked around, and saw nothing. I thought that was odd, so as I go along down the road, the car has a nasty clunking on every little bump. I figured maybe messed up the top hat, or something, nothing visibly looked damaged. I was in for quite the surprise when I got the car up on a jack. The left rear strut housing literally separated from the top piece which I can only assume holds the whole strut assembly together. Oil is leaking everywhere because it busted the seal.
So, I bought these used, not sure how many miles were even on them to begin with, so I just sucked it up, bought a new LR strut. That wasn't the issue. When I finally got the damn strut out, I had discovered that when the strut probably blew, and a combination of me driving around on it afterward, had cracked my Ground Control Coilover sleeve right down the middle! I'm so flipping pissed. I'm hoping I can just get that piece so I can finally get the car back together. Between the holidays and everyone being on vacation, it's been taking me forever to source the damn parts, now I have to wait a week at least to hear back from Ground Control.
I inspected the whole strut, and I'm not sure if the corrosion just got to the right places of the strut, and that is what caused it to blow, or what. I've never abused the struts, and they are set to 6, so not stiff at all.

[beatersubi]

Interesting. KYB has a lifetime replacement warranty on their struts.
You might be able to find a single replacement threaded sleeve from a circle track parts supplier, like Day, who usually stock a variety of lengths and a few diameters.

[Bdub]

Thanks for the suggestion. I have found a site that sells Ground Control parts separately for a Miata, but nothing for Subarus. Waiting to hear back from GC hopefully by tomorrow when they come back from holidays.

[Legacy777]

Did you take any pictures of the blown strut & seal setup?

[Bdub]

So the good news is Ground Control got back to me, and the sleeves are only $22. I did get to snap a picture. As you can see, the top piece of the strut totally came out. The mess all over is the oil coming out the top.

[beatersubi]

Looks pretty heavily corroded around the top. Does the sleeve trap water/moisture around the top of the strut housing?

[Bdub]

Yeah, Im assuming the corrosion had something to do with it. The top piece that came off doesnt trap anything between the sleeve and the strut, however i think I made a fatal mistake grinding down the strut body to fit the sleeve around. I never reapplied any paint or primer, and that bare metal was just eaten away for the past couple years. Thats my best guess why it did what it did.

[Bdub]

Man, Ground Control was really helpful. I talked to them on the phone Thursday, and the new sleeve showed up this morning. He also sent me everything to mount it, directions, plus some stickers. A+ for customer service woth them. The sleeve was only $22, and I got the car all back together after 3 weeks sitting in the garage.