Rear struts won't budge!

[spoulson]

I got me a new set of struts to replace my 15 year old originals. I decided to start on the rears, figuring they would be the most difficult. I was right.

I have the top and bottom unbolted, but the bottom mount won't come off the shaft. I banged and banged with a mallet. Soaked with PB Blaster. Even tried propping a wood block up on it and banged directly onto the bottom. I then tried to use a gear puller, but that just starts to yank the strut body off of the rubber bushing.

Any ideas?

 

[atc250r]

Use the gear puller to pull the strut body off the bushing, cut some of the rubber off with a hacksaw, and then grind the metal inner sleeve off with an electric angle grinder. That's basically how I had to get one of mine off.

John

 

[number3]

Fire.

 

[gtluke]

cut that bitch off

 

Fire, fire fire!!!!!! I just used a torch & then whacked it off with a chisle.


Oh, do yourself a favor & antisize those while you have them apart so you're not fighting it again next time.

 

[atc250r]

The problem with suggesting he torch it off is that the average guy doesn't have a torch set in his shed and they are too expensive to go out and buy. You can get a cheap electric angle grinder for under $40 and it'll get the job done just the same.

John

 

[s_firestone]

I just got through doing this. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/banghead.gif I PB blasted it several times. BFH didn't work. Every prybar I had did not work(rubber bushing). Heat did not work. Pullers did not work(rubber bushing). It took cutting two notches on the inner sleeve(which protrudes off the shaft) that I could wedge a skinny prybar against and twisting to break the bond from the rust. After I got the tiniest movement, I used my air hammer on the notch. This only happened on one side. I had to deburr the edge where the thread began from a slip. I coated both sides in marine grease upon reassembly.

 

[14u2nV]

Quote:
The problem with suggesting he torch it off is that the average guy doesn't have a torch set in his shed and they are too expensive to go out and buy.

John



Hairspray and a lighter! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[spoulson]

Actually, I do have a propane torch, which I'll try next. I had to retire the night after having cut a few slots in the sleeve, but no banging with a prybar would budge it still. I had a feeling the obnoxious sound of a pneumatic cutoff wheel wasn't good for the neighbors trying to put their kids to sleep.

 

[galant344]

i have a torch too but for this i decided to use a air hammer to get the bottom of the shock off of the car. i did spray w/ some pb blaster too. but air hammer took them right off. i put the air hammer on the inner sleave that is on the shaft.

 

[spoulson]

Come to think of it, I have an air hammer, too.

 

[OldHairyBastard]

You can buy a small torch kit at Home Depot for $50.00 bucks and heat it up and use a big channel locks or vise grips to pull it off. I just had to do the same thing last weekend.

 

[tpr103]

just went throught this last week. the only way to get it off is to heat it up!

 

[steve]

I wonder how the hell mine came off without a problem. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif Had been replaced before, I guess.

 

[4Grim]

Sounds like you had the same problem as me. I went through hell trying to remove the original rear shocks on mine. I eventually had enough and mangled the insulation to seperate the shock from the shaft slot. I removed the remaining rubber insulation and took my air grinder and cut a slit enought to where I could get a flathead screwdriver and hammer to seperate it from the knuckle shaft. Here are some pics of the aftermath...you'll get the idea and get creative.

 

I used one of the pickle fork ball joint pullers I had.

 

[spoulson]

Well, it's official. Air hammer FTW!

I cut a slot on the sleeve (air hammer makes good slots, too), then used the pneumatic air hammer with a flat head tip to push it off. It took a few seconds, made a ton of noise, then broke free and slipped right off! Without this tool, I would've had a similar experience to 4Grim's.

I'm now driving around on the GR-2's and life is good! I took it for a joyride and it was solid. No more swaying like a boat and bottoming out over bumps.

 

[s_firestone]

I would have to say a decent compressor and a set of air tools has been one of the best investments I have ever made.

Not to mention the added bonus of scaring the cats when I pop the safety valve at the end of a job. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devil.gif

 

[spoulson]

I agree. Best money spent on tools, bar none. I'd be lost without an impact wrench, cut off wheel, and now my air hammer. Next up die grinder and carbide burr!

The safety valve on the top of the tank? You're supposed to open the drain at the bottom to get the condensation out.

 

[s_firestone]

I have a pinch valve like they use on trucks attached to the bottom of my compressor, you pull it via a cable and any moisture is expelled with a couple of short bursts. I actually just slow drain my compressor with a controlled leak because I have to drag it inside any night I'm working on the car. Plus the neighbors are happier. Of course the neighbors would be even happier if I would just leave the compressor in my car port but I already replaced it once when I first moved in here. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

Now if I can talk my wife into a dishwasher for car parts.... Actually the car needs its own 1 bedroom efficiency apartment. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif