Front Strut Destruction Options

[RocketScott]

Yesterday I noticed some shaking and noise coming from the front end. Steering and braking were normal but I figured there was a joint or bushing needing replacement. After I got back to my shop I noticed this on the hood:



Then I opened the hood and found this:



Seems like an odd failure. I replaced the struts, springs, mounts, everything (even all the rubber dampers) on all four corners 5 years and 28,000 miles ago. KYB GR2 struts and eibach springs. I'm wondering if the springs dropped the car too much. I think they were the 1.5" drop and I thought the KYB struts were ok for that amount. I'm guessing the strut has been bottoming out and pounding the mount till failure. I'll get it apart in the next few days and see what's going on inside.