Well I've got two broken front springs, very close to the top so not noticed until the MOT, and cannot get the strut out of the hub assembly. I have removed the lower wishbone, loosened the friction clamp and it just will not budge. The strut will rotate in the hub very easily it just will not drop out, even with some quite vigorous persuasion!
Anyone got any tips or ideas? Anything gratefully received as I really need to get it done and though the MOT sharpish.
many thanks,
Jon
Help - Stuck Strut!
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jamjar1383
- 3.0 24v
- Posts: 542
- Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2008 7:24 pm
- Location: llanelli, south wales
Re: Help - Stuck Strut!
sounds like yu need to eather un do the 3 top bolts or just need to lever down the bottom arm
d9 hdi 90 rapier estate
"Understeer" is when you hit the fence with the front of the car.
"Oversteer" is when you hit the fence with the rear of the car.
"Horsepower" is how fast you hit the fence.
"Torque" is how far you take the fence with you.
"Understeer" is when you hit the fence with the front of the car.
"Oversteer" is when you hit the fence with the rear of the car.
"Horsepower" is how fast you hit the fence.
"Torque" is how far you take the fence with you.
Re: Help - Stuck Strut!
With the top three bolts undone the strut is too long to be removed from the turret. I have tried to get a spring compressor onto the spring to shorten it to allow me to pull it out of the turret but it is too long to achieve this. With the top of the strut back in the turret I have tried a lot of persuasion on the hub, using a piece of scaffold bar and a lump hammer. I did think that the bottom of the strut might be moving as well as the hub so i chocked the bottom of the strut, using the drop link mount and some wood, so that both ends of the strut were secured and again nothing moved. The pressure clamp is free, it rotates very easily by hand, and I have tried to open it with screwdrivers and a crowbar but I just cannot get the strut to come out of the hub. All I want to do is replace the spring!
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jamjar1383
- 3.0 24v
- Posts: 542
- Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2008 7:24 pm
- Location: llanelli, south wales
Re: Help - Stuck Strut!
stick a lever in under the drivshaft through to the body and lever the bottom arm down.
if the strut is stuck in the hub wack it with a lump hammer on the mount just behind the breake disc at the top.
if the strut is stuck in the hub wack it with a lump hammer on the mount just behind the breake disc at the top.
d9 hdi 90 rapier estate
"Understeer" is when you hit the fence with the front of the car.
"Oversteer" is when you hit the fence with the rear of the car.
"Horsepower" is how fast you hit the fence.
"Torque" is how far you take the fence with you.
"Understeer" is when you hit the fence with the front of the car.
"Oversteer" is when you hit the fence with the rear of the car.
"Horsepower" is how fast you hit the fence.
"Torque" is how far you take the fence with you.
Re: Help - Stuck Strut!
The lower arm is completely free and the hub is free to move, as far as the strut and driveshaft will allow.jamjar1383 wrote:stick a lever in under the drivshaft through to the body and lever the bottom arm down.
I have tried hitting it many, many times and it is not moving at all. Is there some sort of lug or pin that would allow rotational movement of the strut within the hub but prevent vertical movement?jamjar1383 wrote:if the strut is stuck in the hub wack it with a lump hammer on the mount just behind the breake disc at the top.
Re: Help - Stuck Strut!
So, you have undone the strut at the pinch bolt at the bottom of the strut?
Where the slot is at the back there is a small alignment lug that fits into the slot where the pinch bolt goes.
Leave the top strut bolts in and do as jamjar said, hit down behind the hub on the solid top part of the hub and the hub should go down just far enough to force the strut out of its slot.
I usually have the driveshaft nut undone to give you that little bit more movement.
Where the slot is at the back there is a small alignment lug that fits into the slot where the pinch bolt goes.
Leave the top strut bolts in and do as jamjar said, hit down behind the hub on the solid top part of the hub and the hub should go down just far enough to force the strut out of its slot.
I usually have the driveshaft nut undone to give you that little bit more movement.
Re: Help - Stuck Strut!
Yes pinch bolt removed completely.jasper5 wrote:So, you have undone the strut at the pinch bolt at the bottom of the strut?
I cannot see any alignment lug at all. The whole strut rotates freely within the hub about 360 degrees. I can look behind the hub into the slot in the friction clamp and have not see a lug when rotating teh strut. Could this have moved and be inside the hub now? How far down the strut is the lug, at the top, middle or bottom of the friction clamp slot?jasper5 wrote:Where the slot is at the back there is a small alignment lug that fits into the slot where the pinch bolt goes.
I have the top secured and have been using a lump hammer and some real heavy handed swinging, but it just does not move!jasper5 wrote:Leave the top strut bolts in and do as jamjar said, hit down behind the hub on the solid top part of the hub and the hub should go down just far enough to force the strut out of its slot.
Currently I am thinking that the only way to get the bloody thing off is to remove the hub assembly complete and then get it on a bench to try and separate!jasper5 wrote:I usually have the driveshaft nut undone to give you that little bit more movement.
Re: Help - Stuck Strut!
Jon, the alignment lug fits into the vertical slot at the back of the strut, it's about 8mm wide and about 12mm long, I'm not sure how far down the slot it goes, but I would guess about halfway.
If you can get the big nut off and the ball joint I would definitely pull the whole lot off now to save you any more grief.
If you can get the big nut off and the ball joint I would definitely pull the whole lot off now to save you any more grief.
Re: Help - Stuck Strut!
I definately cannot see any lug like that, ther is no evidence of it shearing off either, so I am at a loss. Am trying to take off the track rod ball jont nut now! It is currently just spinning in the ball joint! Everything I do just adds to the overall job. 
I really do not want to have to get new ball joins as well as the new springs, etc...... Any tips for removing the ball joint nuts?
I really do not want to have to get new ball joins as well as the new springs, etc...... Any tips for removing the ball joint nuts?Re: Help - Stuck Strut!
I have decided that I hate this bloody car with a passion normally reserved for the 7th level of hell. The ball joint nut has siezed nearly off the thread so the ball joint is loose but not free and the bolt that holds the ABS sender onto the hub has rusted so badly that it is now smooth and won't come out of the hub. Why did I even bother starting on the suspension of a car that has covered over 200,000 miles?
Re: Help - Stuck Strut!
If the bottom ball joint nut is spinning the shaft, put an axle stand or jack under bottom arm near the nut but with enough room to get at it then lower the car safely onto the axle stand to put pressure on the taper to stop it spinning.
In the case of a track rod end spinning on the taper, you need to get a big bar and lever down on the top of the TRE to put pressure on it to stop it spinning whilst you undo it, if the nut is at the top, use an axle stand or jack as per previous comment.
As for the ABS sensor wire, follow the wire to where it connects and undo it there, leave the sensor in place.
In the case of a track rod end spinning on the taper, you need to get a big bar and lever down on the top of the TRE to put pressure on it to stop it spinning whilst you undo it, if the nut is at the top, use an axle stand or jack as per previous comment.
As for the ABS sensor wire, follow the wire to where it connects and undo it there, leave the sensor in place.
Re: Help - Stuck Strut!
Well an imperial socket has seen to the ABS sender and that has been removed. The ball joint is on top of the hub with the nut underneath and the nut is very nearly all the way off the thread but not quite! The nut is now siezed on the shaft and will not tighten or losen at all. I will try getting a jack under the shaft to see if I can lock it would sufficinetly to get the last few turns needed to free the nut.
It feels like I'm in a soap opera live!
It feels like I'm in a soap opera live!
Re: Help - Stuck Strut!
It's a good job that Malcolm has internet in his garage otherwise I would have committed a seriuos crime, either against the car or me I don't know which! The hub is now attached to the car only by the steering ball joint, and that only by about two threads. Even with the entire weight of the car sitting on the end of the thread the nut is still siezed and the whole thread turns. At least with the anti-roll bar drop link there was the allen key option, not that that worked really but it did allow me to get the drop link off eventually. Any other suggestions, other than burn the bloody car?
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jamjar1383
- 3.0 24v
- Posts: 542
- Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2008 7:24 pm
- Location: llanelli, south wales
Re: Help - Stuck Strut!
track rod removal is a pain but all u need is a big bar and an air gun, if u dont have a air gun then use vice grips and replace the track rod end as its onlt about 7-8 quid for a new one.
d9 hdi 90 rapier estate
"Understeer" is when you hit the fence with the front of the car.
"Oversteer" is when you hit the fence with the rear of the car.
"Horsepower" is how fast you hit the fence.
"Torque" is how far you take the fence with you.
"Understeer" is when you hit the fence with the front of the car.
"Oversteer" is when you hit the fence with the rear of the car.
"Horsepower" is how fast you hit the fence.
"Torque" is how far you take the fence with you.
Re: Help - Stuck Strut!
Yes but if I cannot get the nut off the ball joint then I cannot get the track rod end off! Unless I grind through the track rod and then grind off the bolt from the hub later.