This is my first go at replacing front springs. So far the affair has been pleasant - until I tried to remove the upper main strut bolt. Everytime I turn the nut, the whole strut piston rotates... The end of the shaft does have two flat sides above the threads that can be gripped, but because the shaft and nut are down within the upper mount, it's impossible to grab the end of the shaft, while attempting to losen the nut

Is there a nifty keen tool that I can buy or rent to remove this nut?

Just as info: I did try to losen (but not remove) the nut while the strut was mounted and the shaft still turned. Also, I don't want to grip the shaft with a pair of vice grips, they're fairly new and I intend to use them.

I also did a search and couldn't find any info.

Thanks for any help!

 

There is a special macphearson strut tool that holds the bottom of the damper and then compresses the spring by pushing down on the upper mounting block, this puts enough pressure on the whole thing to hold the piston while you impact that nut off. No idea how much that machine costs though as I used my boss's to do it.

 

the top plates and the strut shaft are notched to move as one piece put it back in the car and bolt it in with the four little bolts around the sides. mine had a 21mm bolt on the top i used the lug wrench to take it off. dont take it all the way off just break it loose. wait till you have the spring compressers on before taking it the rest of the way off. one more note. make sure you tighten the nuts on those four little bolts holding the top plate. I thought I would just hold it up there and loosen it. broke one of the little ones clean off.

Sean

edit --Well now that i read the rest of your post. i guess the top ifo is useless sorry

 

I worked that angle in a different manner. Mind you, the strut and hub are out... I did have the entire mount wanting to move at first, so I grap the edge of the strut mount with a pair of vice grips and had good hold it - but I still had the whole damn shaft turning. I've been cruising the web a bit - and found some guy who made a crazy *** tool to do it, though it seems to me that it has to be a somewhat common enough problem for a tool. 82TransAm - I don't have any good buddies with a MacPherson stut machine... BTW are you an current or past F-body dude?

 

In my search for tools, I found this homemade tool site. Pretty funny - consider it free entertainment for free help!

http://www.thebugshop.org/bsntt.htm

 

yea I figured you wouldn't have access to such a machine, maybe you can rent one? If not you might just wanna bring it somewhere and have it switched, without the right machine it can be pretty dangerous (just my opinion) And to answer your second question I'm a current F body owner, and you guessed it, its an 82. I'm much more into the rx7 than the TA though, its one of those projects that seems to sit more than anything else. oh well, it'll roll again someday.

 

Cool, thanks for the help. BTW - I have the springs currently compressed. I think I'm going to get my Dad's impact wrench. Several things I've read lead me to believe that'll break it lose - or I'll be relegated to creating a cool tool myself... Thanks, again.

 

I just sold a '98 LS1 Trans Am. Car went like hell, but was too heavy for my taste. I felt like it was a chunky piece of plastic, with a rock solid engine. I returned to the RX, my 4th...

 

I'd try the impact wrench.

Also Eastwood has a tool that seems to solve this problem (don't know if it's the right size, though)
http://www.eastwoodco.com search for item 49019

 

You don't need a cool tool. Follow these instructions and you can have that nut off without any problems at all:

On the pre-81's the struts were actually designed so that the top mount would keep the rod from turning, and you can just take the correct deep-well socket and remove the nut. Some above said that it is the lug wrench, and this is correct. This design means that the piston turns in the strut cylinder when you turn the tires one way or another, increasing wear on the piston - that's why there are diff part #'s for pre-81 strut cartridges.

On the 81 and later struts, there is a ball bearing at the top of the strut mount that takes the turning force of the strut when the tires are turned. This is a better design, but the shock rod still spins freely when you hit it with a wrench. To get this nut off, it is easiest to do the following (assuming you have the wheel off, etc.);

1) compress the springs with a solid clamp meant for this purpose -don't screw around here, you can really get hurt if string breaks, etc. Take the pressure off of the top strut mount.
2) undo the 4 nuts that hold the front strut mount to the body of the car (inside the enginebay) - remove all but 2 of these to hold the strut in place for 3...
2a) remove swaybar links (2x14mm wrenches/sockets)
2b) remove tension arm bolts (2x14mm wrenches/sockets)
2c) remove brake line from strut by removing metal clip, remove brake caliper (1x14mm socket)
3) Using a 17mm box-end remove the 2 bolts holding the strut assm to the spindle - there is a shorter one in front, and a longer one at the rear, these will release the strut housing/spring/mount from the suspension and allow you to remove the assm as a whole.

Once you have the strut assm out of the car, lay it on the ground, and notice that the top of the mount is free from contact from the compressed springs. Grab an impact wrench, the correct socket and a set of channel lock pliers suffiently large.

At the top of the shock rod, between the top of the compressed spring and the spring seat, insert the channel locks and grip down on the shock rod - at this height, any slight damage you do to the rod will never hit the strut cartridge seals and cause damage, since the strut rod cannot be compressed far enough to pass the seal, and your bumpstops would absorb the hit, anyway. Make sure you are clamping down at the TOP Of the shock rod, not down near the cartridge and bump stop.

Clamp down on channel locks and air impact wrench the nut off of the strut rod. You're done. This is the easiest way, trust me. If you did like I did, you'll ruin a bunch of small sockets hammering them over the top of the rod which will only strip the rod, and ruin a bunch of sockets.

Give this a try and let us know how it works - I just changed out Tokico blues on the front of my SE last weekend, so this is fresh in my memory - hope it helps you,

 

yea a impact will get it off no prob.

 

Thread reanimation: nut comes off easy if you put a woodworking clamp on the bump stop to brake the shaft.