well, what im planning on doing to the strut is dremel thatnut off and make it flush, drill out the remaining crap in the strut, primer and paint the bitch to stop rusting and use some new metric oem hardware.

as far as the grinding is concerned, it doesnt do it ALL the time. its a timed thing. the only thing i can really think of to compare it to is imagine your feet make a grinding metal noise when you walk, and as you walk (drive) faster, it gets faster. it doesnt stop when i press the brake. the brakes dont squeal. its just that awful grinding metal noise. im gonna try bending back the dust shield when i get back in town on monday. see how that works out.