Backing off the top nut??

Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives

So lastnight, I started playing around with the top nut on driver's side front strut. I've developed a clunking noise over rough roads, and want to see if it's a loose nut, or a bad strut. Well I've got the SBC? camber kit, with the flimsy top plate on there right now. If I try to loosen the top nut, it just spins the strut shaft. So I pried the plate up, got a wrench on the nut below the plate, and tried turning the top nut off again. It's STUCK! PB Blasted the hell out of it, with no luck. Any suggestions on getting this nut off? Should I just get 2 huge pry bars for the end of the wrenches, and have 2 people pry on it?

Mark

Originally posted by Y2KSVT:
So lastnight, I started playing around with the top nut on driver's side front strut. I've developed a clunking noise over rough roads, and want to see if it's a loose nut, or a bad strut. Well I've got the SBC? camber kit, with the flimsy top plate on there right now. If I try to loosen the top nut, it just spins the strut shaft. So I pried the plate up, got a wrench on the nut below the plate, and tried turning the top nut off again. It's STUCK! PB Blasted the hell out of it, with no luck. Any suggestions on getting this nut off? Should I just get 2 huge pry bars for the end of the wrenches, and have 2 people pry on it?

Mark

On the stock struts there was an allen key on the top of the shaft for this purpose. The Konis don't have the allen, but they should have flat spots up there that you can get a small open-end wrench on.

I don't know what kind of struts you have.

Air gun.

Originally posted by todras:
Air gun.

I'm thinking this is my only hope, other than HUGE pry bars. I don't have an air gun at home, so I was trying to work with what I had.

RogerB - These are Koni struts by the way.

Mark

Well at least yours doesnt come off! My front struts seem to work themselves loose every couple of weeks, and Im fugging sick of it. The nut will back off (even with a lock washer) sometimes like 1/4 to 1/2 inch. It results in a horrible clunking sound over every little imperfection as the top of the strut shaft wiggles around. I hate the SPC camber kit with a passion. Im going to be taking it off whenever I get around to replacing the rest of the suspension. Ive recently loctite-ed the hell out of them, hopefully they hold now. Im thankful, at least, that I can tighten them on the car, which Ive done twice now on the side of the freaking highway. The first time it happened I thought my passenger front wheel was about to fall off.

And yes, all the nuts were torqued to spec when the springs/struts/camber plates were put together.

SPC = crap

EDIT: Mark, are you talking about the nut that holds down the top plate, the half round half hex one? I was referring to the one under that plate. If the top nut is spinning the shock shaft, I suspect you may have the same problem as me underneath, resulting in the shaft being loose and just spinning.

Try using a small socket (will probably need a deep 1/4" socket to clear the adjuster tab) on the top of the strut shaft to hold it still, and using an open end on the nut. Fuggin' SPC.

Yep, it was definitely that nut UNDER the plate. I got a wrench under that cheap ass SPC plate, and pryed it up so I could get the wrench on the nut. I put a big pipe on the wrench, and Jim took a breaker bar to the top nut, and it came right off. Tightened up the lower nut, put the new upgraded plate on from Thinkmoto(Finally, after over a year of laziness!!). It was just recently that it started making noise, so I said enough is enough, and took it apart.

Mark

Just a heads up to those of you that have Koni's.DO NOT use an impact on the top nut.It can damage the adjuster.