Undoing the shock nut is easy. For next time, before you jack the car up or anything like that, undo the nut while it's in the car. I've heard of people saying the shaft still spins, but I've done it many times with success.

 

Just take out struts like normal once you've undone the nut. Springs, top hat etc should all just come falling out. Try it next time, much easier than using vice grips. Putting longer than shock springs back in is a problem though, I've always used a spring compressor.

 

 

Taking steering arms off, I've always found it easiest to take the whole lower control arm off ( :) ). Once it's out, get two bricks, rest each side of the steering arm on a brick, bolt the nut back on about 5 screws, get a hammer and smash it a few times. The lower control arm should just fall down and you're left with the steering arm sitting on the bricks.

 

Hope that made sense to you all. :P

will give it a good hit

 

thanks for the help guys

hahaha i f@©king hate steering arms with a pashion. one word of advise don't use a 8kg sledge hammer!!! It bends shit.

Take medicine mans advise! It will/does eventually work.

hit another bump

one strut is in no probs, but probs when attaching the steering arm to the control arm for the second strut.

bolt is just turning with the nut about 1.5mm from contact with the top of the steering arm (so close!!)

 

any suggestions?

If i remember rightly, i had the same problem.

Get an old rag or masking tape, and rap the shit out of the bolt's thread, then get your trusty vicegrips and put them on tightly (over the masking tape so it dosn't damage your thread). get your open ender or ringspanner (preffered) and the peice of tube/cardboard, get someone to hold the vicegrips whilst you tighten the nut :hmm: :no2:

no can do

got about 1mm of threaded bolt visible out the top of the nut

Interesting ways of doing it

 

I've done adams way a few times - and all i've ever used is a breaker bar.... Just don't fully undo the nut.

 

to make undoing the nut on the shock easier later on down the track, make sure the notch in the shock (just below the thread) is lined up and fits into the notch of the top hat. That way you've got something to properly hold on to.

 

 

And ball joint breaker

 

hit another bump

one strut is in no probs, but probs when attaching the steering arm to the control arm for the second strut.

bolt is just turning with the nut about 1.5mm from contact with the top of the steering arm (so close!!)

 

any suggestions?

If its what i'm thinking of get a jack under the control arm near the ball joint to lift it up a little

this is what I'm talking about, just checked and the bolt is probably 0.5mm below the top of the nut so no thread visible at all :hmm:

Edited February 24, 200917 yr by OniBerserker

Hmm it is what i was thinking about, there is a way but i only did it to my spare parts car... Get multigrips and put over the rubber protection thingy to hold it still and tighten away or would it be possible to get a trolley jack or a piece of wood and put it under the LCA and hit the steering arm with a hammer so it goes on properly??

Just putting up idea's

:hmm:

can you lift the bolt up ? The ball joint might very well be stuffed if you can.

Other then that, did you re-pack the joint with grease ? Might have squeezed in too much.

If thats the case try with fitting the strut back in, just nip up the nuts at the tower, shouldn't really have to worry about the ones on the steering arm and get the jack under the control arm and lift it a little. Pull the strut back out and see how it went.

 

Their about the only things i can think of why its like that. Cause the joint should be a tight fit, due to its taper, but only after you've got the nut back on and started tightening it up

Hmm it is what i was thinking about, there is a way but i only did it to my spare parts car... Get multigrips and put over the rubber protection thingy to hold it still and tighten away or would it be possible to get a trolley jack or a piece of wood and put it under the LCA and hit the steering arm with a hammer so it goes on properly??

Just putting up idea's

Risking damage to the joint in doing that with the grips. And the bolt (or joint) shouldn't really "drop down" at all, cause its the nut that pulls (or pushes) the arm over the taper and making a solid fit.

Not really fussed on the idea of hammering the arm, near a "square" hit (hammering on both sides at once)

If thats the case try with fitting the strut back in, just nip up the nuts at the tower, shouldn't really have to worry about the ones on the steering arm and get the jack under the control arm and lift it a little. Pull the strut back out and see how it went.

 

I believe that's a good idea. This will push the steering arm down into the bolt which will hold it when you go to tighten it up.

 

I had the same problem on my car. Instead of using the technique quoted above, I just used a shifter, opened it up so that it was slightly wider than the bolt, put it on the steering arm (kind of around the bolt) and just give it a light hit with the hammer. I've got no idea if that made sense to you guys. I'll try to get a nice little drawing on MS paint in a minute. But try that other technique first, sounds a little better than my way. haha

 

 

Edit: Here we go.. hope it makes a little more sense now.

 

 

Does the same thing as putting strut back in and using jack to push lower control arm up.

Edited February 24, 200917 yr by adam-__-

thanks guys, will give these a go when i get home tomorrow

i didn't realise there was a taper to it :hmm:

We just swung the long end towards us and leant on it heavily, pushing the whole thing down, locked the bolt in place with the pressure and tightened it up with a spanner, easy, but it took us ages to figure it out...... Good luck.