I'm installing the Tokico lowering spring and strut cartridge insert kit. Am I the only one battling the removal of these F#cking gland nuts! Every thread I read about replacing the cartridges and springs seems to claim its a pretty straight forward job. I can't find a single thread that deals with the gland nuts. I have finished the front end and was sucessful with one side, "after a long and difficult battle", and destroyed the other and had to order a used shock tube assembly from Zbarn. Also, when I managed to get the one nut off the front shock, removing the insert from the shock tube was a whole other problem. I definately don't want to screw up the rears for obvious reasons. And of course I'm working on my first rear shock right now and the nut is giving me grief. These gland nuts don't take much to get damaged when trying to loosen them. I used a pipe wrench, heat, and penetrant on the fronts, which tends to fold them over easily if you put too much into turning them off. I got one finally, and destroyed the other so bad that I had nothing to grab. I now have a REALLY big wrench for the rears, but it even wants to fold them over without much effort. At this point I have decided not to rush this and just keep soaking with penetrant and trying every day to crack them loose. Am I missing something here, or is this par for the course? So, how do I deal with the gland nuts, and if I get them off, how do I get the inserts out?

Edited January 23, 201015 yr by rubrbulits

You are just dealing with a bad case. Nothing that unusual.

I had to weld a 4 foot bar to the gland nuts on one set of struts of mine to finally get the leverage required to crack them free. Then the shocks were stuck in the tubes. I poured penetrating fluid down them for days until they freed up.

I have read/heard that others had to drill a hole in the bottom of the strut and drive the shock out with a punch. Last resort, but worth considering. Use a big punch otherwise you might puncture the shock.

Heat, my usual favorite, is not the right solution to brake the shock free from the tube due to the danger of shock explosion.

Welcome to world of z suspension overhaul. Tried the spindle pins yet?

Jim

I placed some electrical tape around the shock housing just below the gland nut so it wouldn't get marred so badly. Then I placed the gland nut in a vise and turned the entire strut assembly until it broke loose. You can put a pipe over the steering knuckle (fronts) for additional leverage.

To remove the shock, put the gland nut back on just a couple of turns, and put the insulator back on. Suspend the entire assembly in the vise hanging from the insulator(the vise does not have to be tightened for this) and hammer on the gland nut from the top, tapping on alternate sides. Its better if you use a piece of wood in between so you don't damage the housing. You may want to mark the center tube with a sharpie to see if it has moved, and you will only get about 3/16" movement before you need to remove the gland nut again. At this time the shock should come out.

This worked for me-I hope this description makes sense.

Edited January 24, 201015 yr by tlorber

Another method for getting the strut insert out that might work would be to use an axle puller attached to a piece of flat stock with a hole drilled in the middle for the piston rod. Just insert the rod, put on the nut, and hammer away. This is what I planned to do but it turns out that the spindle pin puller I had nearby had the same size thread as Mulholland inserts I was removing so I used that instead. A couple light whacks and out they came.

Well, I managed to get one done last night. The nut finally broke loose, and to my surprise the insert slid right out effortlessly! Much easier than the fronts were. At least this time I remembered to soak all of the important areas with penetrant the day before I begin the job. So, if I get the other rear one done today I'm finished with the suspension finally. Of course while spending all of this time under the car I have also decided to start on all new brake lines. It never really ends, does it?

It never really ends, does it?

No, it never really does. Just try to tackle one project at a time and spend some time driving it in between so you don't lose interest or get overwhelmed. I'm still recovering from diving in too deep and not having a solid step by step plan laid out to begin with. I'm nearly there but now I'm stuck waiting for a custom part from a vendor that has gone AWOL and is not responding to repeated requests for contact. :disappoin

Fortunately I managed to get it running very nicely shorty after I bought it last winter and drove it quite a bit last summer. If I hadn't drove it to begin with and realized how much fun it is to drive I just might lose interest. I've spent this winter dealing with ALL of the mechanical issues and everything else that should be done previous to body work and paint. Oh, and since it's an automatic, and I have the engine and tranny out, I sent the tourqe converter to a specialist who is able to cut it in half, fiddle with the guts, and re-weld it together. They increased the stall about 400-500rpm above stock. My transmission guy says its a "safe" increase that wont be bad for a daily driver, but I will notice better acceleration. I wonder.... Am I the first to try this?