How do you get the top nut off?? - Suspension and Brake Forum

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How do you get the top nut off??
Monday, April 18, 2005 6:40 PM
Hey guys,

Im in the process of changing struts and springs. Once I get the whole unit off the car, how do you get that top nut off of the strut? Im crankin on it and the strut shaft is just spinning and the nut will not come loose. Ive tried a couple things to hold that shaft in place and it just move. So anyone have any suggestions here?






Re: How do you get the top nut off??
Monday, April 18, 2005 6:44 PM
are you using a spring copressor to take the tension off of that nut???? If not i ? your mechanical wits, or you just didnt know....



Re: How do you get the top nut off??
Monday, April 18, 2005 6:45 PM
spring compressors are on and there is no tension on the strut from the springs right now





Re: How do you get the top nut off??
Monday, April 18, 2005 6:49 PM
MoNkeE wrote:Hey guys,

Im in the process of changing struts and springs.
Once I get the whole unit off the car,
how do you get that top nut off of the strut?
Im crankin on it and the strut shaft is just spinning and the nut will not come loose. Ive tried a couple things to hold that shaft in place and it just move. So anyone have any suggestions here?


Its none of your beezwax how I get my nut off you dirty fool



Sorry the title and evey thing else just looked realy dirty to me.
I use an impact. Or I loosen the nut while its all still on the ground and still together. Ive always been able to loosen the nut first thing before doing anything else.

If that dosnt work just use some lotion and visite the anything goes section of this website.


I am all that is man


Re: How do you get the top nut off??
Monday, April 18, 2005 6:49 PM
you will most likely need an impact gun, they are pretty tight, plus if you try and hold the shaft on the new struts you can nick them up and that can damage the seals. If you dont have an impact gun or air compressor you can buy an electric one at like Sears or maybe Home depot that will work, if not then take them to a shop that deso front end work and have them do the work for you, probably pretty cheap and all you have o do is put them back on the car.


Mike

1992 GMC Sonoma GT #492. Oh, Its just a stock V6!

1999 Cavalier Coupe, daily driver, 2200/M5. Mods and pics are in my registry.

Fully built turbo 2200 in progress, should be installed very soon. Will post details as they happen.
Support the site that supports your habit, Go Premium.
Im premium since January, but why doesnt it say that?????
Re: How do you get the top nut off??
Monday, April 18, 2005 6:52 PM
thanks for the quick replies guys. I am using the impact gun on this thing but is just sits there and spins the damn strut shaft in there. Oh and when I go to put the new ones on there how tight does it have to be, just for future reference?



Re: How do you get the top nut off??
Monday, April 18, 2005 6:55 PM
Try vise grips on the shaft to hold it and use the impact at the same time.








Re: How do you get the top nut off??
Monday, April 18, 2005 6:56 PM
if its not a hollow shaft like my d-specs then stock torque setting. Or as tight as the impact will go while holding the mount in place.


Mike

1992 GMC Sonoma GT #492. Oh, Its just a stock V6!

1999 Cavalier Coupe, daily driver, 2200/M5. Mods and pics are in my registry.

Fully built turbo 2200 in progress, should be installed very soon. Will post details as they happen.
Support the site that supports your habit, Go Premium.
Im premium since January, but why doesnt it say that?????
Re: How do you get the top nut off??
Monday, April 18, 2005 6:58 PM
did that too man the shaft still spins, I even made the vice grips sooo tight that I couldnt get them to lock so I put the handles of the vice grips in a vice and cranked down on the vice to make the vice grips lock and the shaft still spun in the vice grips. So I took a little piece of rubber and put it in the teeth thinking it would grip better but the shaft still spins.

thanks though





Re: How do you get the top nut off??
Monday, April 18, 2005 7:02 PM
weld a tack for the vise grips to grip onto, it should turn off.



maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow....... but some day
Re: How do you get the top nut off??
Monday, April 18, 2005 7:04 PM
or weld the shaft to the strut body. And if that dont work your screwed.


Mike

1992 GMC Sonoma GT #492. Oh, Its just a stock V6!

1999 Cavalier Coupe, daily driver, 2200/M5. Mods and pics are in my registry.

Fully built turbo 2200 in progress, should be installed very soon. Will post details as they happen.
Support the site that supports your habit, Go Premium.
Im premium since January, but why doesnt it say that?????

Re: How do you get the top nut off??
Monday, April 18, 2005 7:06 PM
Just don't burn into the shock body ^^^...






Re: How do you get the top nut off??
Monday, April 18, 2005 7:14 PM
Have you tried installing it back on the car and taking it off while there's tension on it? Generally, you loosen up that nut as the first step, before even jacking the car up.

Is there some sort of socket on the top of the shaft? The Koni's have an allen socket in the top. You can get sockets that have a hex pattern around the outside of them. Put one over the nut, put the allen key down the middle of the socket into the shaft. I'm sure you can figure out the rest.

I was using an impact socket so it didn't have the hex pattern. I grabbed the socket with vicegrips and that did the trick.






Re: How do you get the top nut off??
Monday, April 18, 2005 7:20 PM
Screw it. Go buy some new upper mounts to go with your new struts and springs.


I am all that is man


Re: How do you get the top nut off??
Tuesday, April 19, 2005 2:36 AM
holy shi*, i should check back here more often. you need a special shock absorber socket for the X & J cars. it basically has an oval opening where you put the stem of the shock.

what you do is, put the correct size wrench (not rachet / socket) on the nut then put the special socket on the stem, you basically have to turn the shaft to get the nut off.

i hope you didn't burn, scratch, chip, bend, or weld anything to you shocks.




CAR GODS MADE THE 1.6 SOHC TO MAKE US 2.2 OHV GUYS FEEL BETTER.
Re: How do you get the top nut off??
Tuesday, April 19, 2005 5:14 AM
Well, I had put wd40 on it when I left to go to my friends house to post on here and by the time I got back I put the impact on it to try it again and it came right off. Go figure eh? lol I really appreciate all the help guys. And pics will be up in photo and media forum sometime later tonight when I get home from work. Once again thanks





Re: How do you get the top nut off??
Tuesday, April 19, 2005 5:15 AM
Good stuff. Again... next time loosen it up before lifting the car.





Re: How do you get the top nut off??
Tuesday, April 19, 2005 7:46 AM
Yeah, I had to hit the top nut with some WD-40 to get it loose on a set I just did a couple weekends ago then hit it with the impact and it worked just fine.




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