Raleigh Shop for Misc Work?

SimonWright · **Posted:** Wed Jul 27, 2011 5:08 pm

I'm rebuilding/servicing the rally car after much recent abuse.

In servicing one of my struts I find I am unable to completely remove the top retaining nut. That's the nut that holds the top hat onto the spring. It threads onto the top of the damper shaft which itself also contains the top rebound adjuster.

First I cannot get the adjuster knob to come free and I'm afraid to use too much force. Hoping that the nut will pass over the adjuster I attempted to remove the nut. It is a nylon lock nut. Using the impact wrench I managed to unwind it maybe 1/3 inch but it stops solid a couple of threads from the top. At this point I would reach for the nearest BFH but these are expensive (to me) struts.

Is there a shop in Raleigh that I can take this strut to for them to free that top nut and possibly refurbish the threads? It's not really a strut service or repair I need - I think it's in pretty good shape otherwise - just looking for someone who can free and fix that nut.

I'lll post a pic if I can.

Thanks.

Simon

Charlie Guthrie · **Joined:** Thu Aug 28, 2003 8:14 pm **Posts:** 832

When the nut stops, is it because the strut shaft is turning? How are you restraining the shaft from turning? I have had good success using an old leather belt as a shaft protector and using large channel lock pliers to keep the shaft from turning while the impact wrench spins off the nut. In my experience, as the nylon locking means hits the wrench flats on the shaft end there is some additional resistance that prevents easy removal. The "proper" way to turn the nut is to use an open-end wrench on the flats on the top of the shaft and then turn the nut off, but it always seems like the wrench gets in the way.

Of course it goes without asking..but I will anyway since it is of extreme importance, you do have the spring compressor on don't you?
Charlie G

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Wed Jul 27, 2011 9:53 pm

If Charlie's suggestions don't solve the problem I suspect Apex Vintage (formerly Krause and England) or Dennis Shaw next door would be good choices. North Raleigh near CarMax.

http://www.apexvintage.com/ 919-781-1871

Dennis Shaw
919-272-4107

These guys have a ton of "damaged race car with critical parts" experience. Dennis has machine tools, etc. I don't know what Apex Vintage has.

SimonWright · **Posted:** Mon Aug 01, 2011 1:18 pm

Well, after liberal amounts of WD-40, a good stiff wire brushing, loosening the spring to max, and applying Charlie's gripper technique it came free. And I think the thread is in decent shape for reuse. I will be using a fresh top nut when it goes back together. It helped to step away from the problem for a while - good thing I wasn't in a rush - might have done something I'd regret.

Simon

Charlie Guthrie · **Joined:** Thu Aug 28, 2003 8:14 pm **Posts:** 832

Simon since you mentioned WD-40 I'll give you another hint for dirty, nasty rally cars....PB Blaster. This is better than Liquid Wrench and really saves our bacon regularly on the over 20 year cars that we play with.
Glad that you got that apart. I have used old leather belts, used inner tubes, cardboard and a variety of materials at hand to protect precision shafts when I need to grip them tight. I personally dislike the flats-on-the-shaft threads idea, it is always hard to hold and the interrupted threads chew right through nylon locking elements in the lock nuts. The high-end struts come with an all metal lock nut that is a little better.
Charlie G

SimonWright · **Posted:** Wed Aug 03, 2011 9:00 am

After reassembly I put a fresh nut on and only threaded it until a couple of threads were showing above the nylon lock. Then started to adjust the spring perch to set the ride height (while the strut was off the car). Got about half way (increasing tension on the top mount) and the nut popped up. So there's less thread depth than is optimum. I remounted and this time wound the nut all the way down onto what I think is much better thread. Also I'm not going to adjust the ride height until it's back on the car. Then the strut tower will be taking the force of the spring and not the nut. But at some point I think I need to make new thread.

Simon

Charlie Guthrie · **Joined:** Thu Aug 28, 2003 8:14 pm **Posts:** 832

Hi Simon, it is possible that if you only had a couple of threads above the nylon element then the nut was mostly gripping only the threaded portion where the wrench flats are located. The flatted portion of the shaft does not engage the full diameter of the threads and has far less holding strength. It is also possible for the nut to deform slightly out of round (due to the flats) and then disengage from the shaft threads. As a general rule, the threads on the shaft are stronger than the threads in the nut so you may have only damaged the nut when it popped off.
I doubt that you damaged the strut shaft, but this seems like a good time to get another nut and inspect the shaft threads when you replace it.
Since these are most likely gas charged struts, the shaft will stay extended if you remove the nut when the weight of the car is taking the spring force. At that point you should be able to replace the nut. If you are planning to re-cut the threads on the shaft be sure that you have adequate room to get a die on the shaft in the installed position. You probably won't be cutting fresh threads, but you may be removing "moved metal" that could be partially inside the thread groove. The easiest way to determine if you need to chase the threads with a die is to use a nut without the nylon lock and see if it will spin freely to the tight position. If the non-locking nut will run down the thread without binding, then you don't need to clean the threads.
There is more, but not enough space or time to list things that you may already know.
Charlie G

DickRasmussen · **Posted:** Thu Aug 04, 2011 7:03 pm

Keep in mind that if you use a normal thread cutting die for cleanup you may do some damage. Cleanup dies are available from Sears, etc. that supposedly do less damage.

This is Craftsman part 42275 thread restorer kit.

http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/p_10155_ ... op17=42275

Once in a motel parking lot in Salina, KS I "chased" one or more "carboned up" spark plug holes in my Lotus Twin cam with a right angle "pointy tool" and several brand new spark plugs until a new plug would turn freely by hand. The "cleanup tool" plugs were sent to the trash (or thrown into the adjacent vacant lot given the sense of panic I had at the time given that it was BEFORE the Nationals and we had driven there from California in the Lotus).

FYI for wheel studs that jam the lug nuts the problem might be aluminum in the stud threads from dragging the wheel along the studs. Lots of techniques for removing the extra metal if you don't have the right tool. However, after struggling one to many times I bought the Craftsman kit.

Dick

JamesShort · **Posted:** Sun Aug 14, 2011 10:10 pm

Thanks Charlie for the leather belt and vice grip trick

. Today when I was putting the new springs on the Civic, the nut on one of the front konis got to the top of where the 9mm hex is and did not 'loosen' up. So I chopped a belt and James Milko came over with big vice grips and was able to hold the damper shaft and zip the nut off with a impact gun.

RodneyWright · **Posted:** Mon Aug 15, 2011 8:27 am

JamesShort wrote:

Thanks Charlie for the leather belt and vice grip trick

. Today when I was putting the new springs on the Civic, the nut on one of the front konis got to the top of where the 9mm hex is and did not 'loosen' up. So I chopped a belt and James Milko came over with big vice grips and was able to hold the damper shaft and zip the nut off with a impact gun.

There is a vice grip w/ an adjustable chain that I've used for this exact setup in the past. Well worth the investment. I've also used it around a lower pulley to get the crank nut off. Again, using a belt or part of an old timing belt to protect the pulley. Never had any issues w/ this setup.

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