here's some quick pics i took with my camera phone... first pic is the passenger side, second is the driver side...

notice the difference in height? the ride height is the same on both sides, and both have equal amounts of parts in the strut assembly. its just weird. the thread sticks out so much more on the passenger side.

if you look closely, the first picture you can see a small gap between the nut and the plate - that gap is enlargened when you sit in the car or put any weight in the trunk....

any idea how to get that nut off (please avoid the temptation to joke off that!)