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Message |
    
Lawrence Tilly (L_Tilly)
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 - 10:51 pm: | 
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Ok, I'm starting to think I'm cursed not to get these damn springs on in time for a club event this weekend! Here's a quick rundown:
All shock mounting bolts (top and bottom, all four wheels) were heavily rusted. I started using PB Blaster on them last Friday, Saturday and Sunday, working on them every couple hours with a wrench. Not even the slightest budge.
I picked up a plumber's blow torch and tried a cycle of make-hot-let-cool-repeat on the top bolts for both back shocks to see if I could get them to break. I saw what appears to be blue nylock burning out and even started to smoke the rubber bushing behind the bolt. I could see a small (very small) gap form between the nut & bolt on the driver's side, but still it would not budge. I loaded it up w/ PB again for a while (after it cooled) and still nothing. This was the end of Sunday night.
Monday after work I bought a nut splitter, figuring "to heck w/ saving the nuts, I'll just replace them". Ha, ha. I cranked down the nut splitter and the "spike" put a little dent in the bolt but the blade end of the splitter was completely blunted. I returned it to Sears and they actually had two other people look at it, each of them saying "I've never seen that before..." Fine. No more messing around! 
So, on my way home from work today borrowed a larger electric rotor tool (4" blade) from a friend and I picked up a Dremell for any detail cutting. I worked on those damn nuts for over an hour and a half (until I lost the sun). On the passanger side I have made several cuts all the way to the bolt and wacked it like crazy but nothing happens. On the passanger side I have cut the nut to hell in several places (I can see thread in some of them) and even cut off about 1/4 of the disc which sits between the nut and bushing, hopeing something will give.
There is no way I'm going to be able to cut / grind the entire nut off of all these bolts, but at this point I've damaged the two top-rear nuts so badly I doubt a wrench would grip anymore. I'm also not 100% sure that I have not damaged the bolt (when I look at all the exposed cut-metal it's impossible to tell where the nut/bolt/disc ends and another component begins). I was about to wack the entire mounting bolt off and replace it until I realized that the three bolts holding the actual shock-mounting bracket to the truck's frame also appear completely rusted. On top of all that, I completely forgot about the two bolts holding the lower spring retainer in place in the rear as well (I don't know how bad those are).
Please, PLEASE, if anyone has suggestions on how to break these friggin nuts, replace the mounting brackets, etc., I would GREATLY appreciate it. I took on this project myself to get the satisfaction of wrenching the Disco and save a chunk of money in the process. We've now had to buy a few new tools (nothing too expensive) and some replacement parts (new mounting rings for the shock towers to replace the ones that broke during removal). I really do not want to spend more money on tools / replacemnt parts than needed, but I'm getting really desperate. At this point I'm only giving myself a 20% chance of having this done in time for our weekend event. I'd love to be surprised. 
Lawrence [email protected]
96 Disco "Beowulf"
NH, USA |
Rob Davison (Pokerob)
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 - 11:10 pm: |
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this is on the rear upper mount that the shock goes on? you do not want to cut that studd off, it's molded into the entire upper mount.
take the tire off and put a big long extension over your ratchet. i'm talking 2 ft, now give it all you got and hope it goes. i would not try beating the hell out of it or you may damage the upper shock mount.
if it's the lower mount go ahead and cut the whole studd off with a hack saw if you can.
up front, upper, might be easier to take the 4 bolts off that hold the tower, but on the other hand prepare to break one or two of these studs. better just take the top nut off, it's easy access.
it it's lower front shock, this one can be a serious bitch because you cant get a good grip on the shaft. i like to get a big set of vice grips on the rod and clamp that mother down, then give it hell on the nut.
rd |
perroneford
| | Posted on Tuesday, August 13, 2002 - 11:34 pm: |
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Someone remind me why LR is to effing cheap to use anti-seize or loctite to keep this kind of crap from happening.
I'd agree with Rob. Use the longest lever you can find. I keep a 3ft pipe just for this purpose. I wouldn't be a bit embarrassed by going to a longer cheater bar. Just make sure you've got some good tools.
If that doesn't work, try to beg borrow or steal a plasma cutter. It should cut through that nut in about no time flat. Please use precaution though.
-P |
petern12
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 01:22 am: |
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Lawrence, I encountered the same problem a few years back while doing a lift on a Grand Cherokee. It took me 3 hours to get the front ones off, then the rest of the day wrestling with the rear ones trying most everything you'd done with no luck. I finally gave up and made calls the following days to the local 4x4 parts shops with their own service shop, figuring that these guys do a dozen lift kits every week and must encounter seizure/rusted shock bolts all the time. One accepted my challenge and for $30(.5hr shop time), they loosened my rear shocks' bolts in a matter of minutes, rust and all, using a beefy, oversized impact wrench. I drove home thinking that was hands-down the best $30 I'd ever spent... |
derek (Vortrex)
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 05:14 am: |
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first off, I hope you bought a good plumbers torch, the $35 one and not the $10 one. the more expensive one will get things really hot. heat the outside face of the nut and the nylon will melt away quickly. keep the heat on for a while, get it really hot. use the breaker bar as suggested. something will give, hopefully not the stud nor your tools! if you want to cut the nut off use a hi-speed cutoff tool connected to an air compressor. you will cut the nut off in a couple minutes or less.
ahhhh...when I did mine a couple weeks ago, can you believe I did not have one stuck nut? they all came off with no oil, no heat, and no breaker bar! |
Frode H�bertz Haaland (Discofrode)
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 06:33 am: |
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My apologies as to your situation.
To me, it seems lot of people just cut shockers off if not reusing - though rear upper of course not. After an "incident", I keep a spare top bracket in my garage...
An air-ratchet might do the trick on top rear nut, as the hammering motion to me seems to break the bonding at a lower torque than needed by using a breaker bar.
For the future, use anti-seize to prevent this cold-welding.
Also: using 2 - two - nuts on a bolt/stud if possible is also useful, as it prevents all kinds of grit from making it's way into the threading. Found that particularly useful on the front shock towers.
Frode |
Lawrence Tilly (L_Tilly)
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 07:44 am: |
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Thanks for the suggestions. I'm very hesitant about using extensions to get more leverage on it. Other bolts on the truck have sheared right off with high leverage and I'm pretty worried about these doing it too. I know a two or three foot bar will definetly remove the nut, but I think the bolt is still going to be in there.
My cutting is going thru the nut but it's still not seperating. I'll try going at it again w/ the torch as well.
-Lawrence |
Chad Meyer (Ccdm3)
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 09:49 am: |
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I had the same problem. I found that $20 and the local CarX man works great. All you do is drive up (bouncing all over the place because the job is 1/2 done!) and say "cut my shocks off." Bam...a couple hours later you are back home finishing up the job.
Chad |
Rob Davison (Pokerob)
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 10:03 am: |
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it would blow my mind if you could harm that upper shock mount from taking a nut off with a breaker bar. i would stay away from this splitter asnd torch methode, the answer is the bar... that LR mount is a work of art, crazy strong,a surefire way to fuck it up is with the torch or splitter.
just use the breaker bar and some goggles.
impact gun of course, but i dont think you have those tools.
rd |
Glenn Guinto (Glenn)
| | Posted on Wednesday, August 14, 2002 - 10:20 am: |
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Lawrence, I've had this experience last month but fortunately only on one of the nuts in the rear lower shock mount. I ended up just drilling holes on the freaking nut till it became swiss cheeze.  The other nuts just unbolted right out. I guess they got skeered after they saw what happen to the first one...hehehe Goodluck!
-glenn |
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