Tried to install coilovers, couldn't get stock strut assembly off.

[bsilver23]

yeah i know it is no joke at all, its tough

[pinoyesv6]

Removing those two front struts is no joke at all. Especially when your car has high mileage and sees salted roads in the winter. Those 24mm bolts are torqued to about 240lbs/ft of pressure from the factory. When I installed my coilovers my car had about 150k. At the time, I was weight training about 2-3 days a week, and I was bench pressing 385lbs. I weigh 240lbs, and I STILL COULDNT get the damn bolts off. My younger brother is 6'3 320lbs. And HE STILL COULDNT get them off. I called my friend and had him bring his electric impact gun. We got the driver side strut off, and the first bolt on the passenger side. When we went to get the second bolt off, the impact gun started shooting blue sparks and then shit the bed. lol. That job was no joke.

its not about how much you weigh or how strong you are, its about how you approach it.

if the bolt is torque to 240 ft/lbs, with a 1ft bar, you need 240 lbs of pressure to break that bad boy free. if you had a 18 inch bar, you only need 160 lbs of pressure to break that bad boy free. if you had a 10ft bar, then you only need 24lbs of pressure to break it free. hell, 24lbs, even a child can do that.

[4g63lover]

All I had was a impact socket on my 3/8" ratchet and a 1.5ft. lead pipe and some PB blaster. I had more trouble getting the sway bar link nuts off than the 24mm bolts/nuts. lol

[bsilver23]

so today i tried again, and i used the breaker bar on one side of the big bolt and an air impact gun on the other side and they came off very easily. And then i had to take off the little bolts for the end links, and i couldnt get them off. I tried just using a socket wrench and i was able to break the seal, but then i kept trying to loosen them, and the socket was spinning the bolt but it wasnt getting any more loose. Then i tried to use the impact gun to get them off and the same thing was happening as with the socket. My friend and i were trying to decide what to do, and we are thinking of drilling the bolt off. Does anyone have any other ideas to get these little suckers off?

[pinoyesv6]

use an open end wrench on the nut

and an allen wrench in the hole to keep the bolt from spinning.

[bsilver23]

which hole are you referring to?

[RedLine DOHC]

leverage man. use a breaker bar if you have to and slip a "cheater bar" IE pipe or jack handle over it

[bsilver23]

^^I dont think you know what i am talking about. I am talking about the little 12mm bolt for the endlink that is attached to the strut assembly.

[bsilver23]

pinoyesv6, i understand what you mean now, that should work like a charm. I am really upset because I got everything off and then i just forgot to get those little bolts. So, i was really close. Well third times the charm i guess.

[M-Rod]

As a precaution, I would go to the store and get new end links just in case the allen wrench strips out the end of the bolt. I had to cut mine off and replace them.

[4g63lover]

I found this useful on my friends 4G when we lowered it. Take a vice grip and place it on the opposite side of the nut and go to work.

Or this is what I did with mine, I kicked it 'til it seperated and replaced it with new endlinks. It's almost impossible not to strip those.

you can find new endlinks at rockauto.com for significantly cheaper than the dealer.

[bsilver23]

any other ways to get them off the strut assembly if they are already stripped?

[pinoyesv6]

see if you can remove them from the other end and just buy new endlinks

[6G72Galant]

its not about how much you weigh or how strong you are, its about how you approach it.

if the bolt is torque to 240 ft/lbs, with a 1ft bar, you need 240 lbs of pressure to break that bad boy free. if you had a 18 inch bar, you only need 160 lbs of pressure to break that bad boy free. if you had a 10ft bar, then you only need 24lbs of pressure to break it free. hell, 24lbs, even a child can do that.

So WTF are you trying to say? Are you trying to say I'm a dumb bitch?!?




j/k

Unfortunately, I had no access to a breaker bar. I just had the two 24mm sockets, some PB Blaster, and a ratchet.

*Be careful when using WD40. Some times the WD40 can cause you to strip bolts and nuts. I stripped my nut for the sway bar end link after soaking it with WD40.

[bsilver23]

ok, tomorrow i am going to try the method you said about the allen wrench, and if the bolt is stripped i will try that then. any other tips that could be helpful? any thing i need to watch out for?

[4g63lover]

I found this useful on my friends 4G when we lowered it. Take a vice grip and place it on the opposite side of the nut and go to work.

Or this is what I did with mine, I kicked it 'til it seperated and replaced it with new endlinks. It's almost impossible not to strip those.

you can find new endlinks at rockauto.com for significantly cheaper than the dealer.

.

[M-Rod]

.

But RockAuto has to ship the parts, therefore they are not available immediately compared to a real parts store. I went with them once for my Crank Position Sensor and they sent me a completely different part, which in turn caused me to wait another 3 days to ship the correct part on top of the original 3 days to ship the first incorrect part. So in reality I waited almost a week for the part just to save $15. More hassle than it was worth in my experience. Just something to take into consideration.

Also to the OP in regards to removing the end link if it is stripped. If you have access to a torch it will be your best friend. If not, any rotary tool with a cutting disc such as a Dremel, or air cutoff tool will work as well.

[4g63lover]

But RockAuto has to ship the parts, therefore they are not available immediately compared to a real parts store. I went with them once for my Crank Position Sensor and they sent me a completely different part, which in turn caused me to wait another 3 days to ship the correct part on top of the original 3 days to ship the first incorrect part. So in reality I waited almost a week for the part just to save $15. More hassle than it was worth in my experience. Just something to take into consideration.

Also to the OP in regards to removing the end link if it is stripped. If you have access to a torch it will be your best friend. If not, any rotary tool with a cutting disc such as a Dremel, or air cutoff tool will work as well.

yeah thats understood, I should've elaborated. I was talking about how he could take the endlinks off

[bsilver23]

well the endlinks bolt is definately stripped. even though is makes a bad noise when i am driving, will it do any harm if the bolt is a little loose? what happens if you dont have those endlinks on at all?

[bsilver23]

well i guess i will have to break the links now that they are stripped. i ordered some new ones from rock auto.com