New Gland Nut Refuses To Screw On

[Hardway]

So I can see the light at the end of the tunner with my rear suspension rebuild. I am putting KYB's on and all 3 of my other struts went back together fine. However I cannot get the final glad nut on the right rear strut started on the tube. I put some anti seize on it to help give it some lube and hopefully make things easier should I need to take it off again. The threads on the inside of the tube appear to be okay and not cross threaded or anything. But when I think the nut is started and looks straight I start turning it with my wrench and it just pops back up out of the threads. Also, due to my many attempts from of the threads have become damaged on the glad nut so KYB is sending me a new one. If I just sit the gland nut on the strut tube it will rock back and forth if I push on it. This leads me to believe the tube may be slightly out of round and maybe causing my problems. I am finding a lot of things were torqued down on this car by the PO as I remember every glad nut on the car being a complete PITA to get off except 1. Any ideas on how to go about correcting this and getting the glad nut on? Should I try using my vise to squeeze the tube a little on the ends that appear too far out?

[Hardway]

After some digging I found one of the gland nuts I took off the car. The threads were in perfect shape and I cleaned it up really good before attempting to use it. I took a big c-clamp and pressed the the ends that were pushed out back together. It acutally helps as the gland nut would now sit nicely on top of the tube and no rock back and forth. It would now screw in about 2 threads and then require my wrench to turn it. It got progressively harder to the point there were still 4-5 threads showing and I could not turn it anymore. Upon closer inspection it appears a PO cross threaded the tube at one point. The threads are flattened and it just does not appear its going to be usable. Once the the new gland nut arrived from KYB I am going to take the tube and gland nut to a machine shop to get their advice on it. In the mean time I may need to start shopping for a new strut tube/hub assembly. A disappointing end to an other wise productive day.

[madkaw]

No way to clean out the threads with a dremel? I know it's a long shot, but maybe a little cut off wheel on a dremel to dig out the threads. Probably not enough room for a thread file

[Hardway]

Unfortunately not Madkaw. There is just not really any threads to clean up at this point. After looking at it for awhile I have come up with an idea to work around it. I am going to try it tomorrow evening after work and post my results.

[Hardway]

I took a pick with a 90 degree tip on it and cleaned out the threads really good. When I ran the pick around it did not get caught on anything. I did not compare the threads or pay a lot of attention to them when I pulled everything apart. Now, all I seem to do is stare at them. Below are some pics of what they look like. Hopefully the new gland nut from KYB will come in tomorrow.

[Zed Head]

If I just sit the gland nut on the strut tube it will rock back and forth if I push on it. This leads me to believe the tube may be slightly out of round and maybe causing my problems. Should I try using my vise to squeeze the tube a little on the ends that appear too far out?

I thought this was an idea worth following-up on. Squeeze the tube slightly in the vise and thread the nut in. If it goes in better then you'll know you're on the right track. You should be able to give it enough light squeezes and test fits to get it right then.

[Hardway]

I used a decent sized c-clamp and it did help but its not perfect, at least not yet. I am sure the tube is tweaked since you can tell by all the jaw marks it was a complete pain to get off. Once the new glad nut arrives I am going to work on it some more.

[cbuczesk]

Was the strut in the tube when you were tightening the nut? Any chance the nut was tight against the strut? Maybe there's something in the bottom of the tube that's raising the strut so the nut tightens sooner on that strut?

Have you tired to thread the nut without having the strut installed? It might be easier with that out of the way.

Another option is to have a shop chase the threads.

Chuck

[madkaw]

Chuck,

it seemed he was having an issue just starting the nut. Good point of trying it without the strut in.

The threads look useable, but if the tube is out of round it will be tough. Have you used a big washer or something to drop into the tube so you can see if it is out of round and where it's out of round?

You might need something better than a c-clamp to pinch it back in shape. You need something that clamps with a radius like curved-jawed- vise grips or something. My vise actually has a curved section under the jaws for gripping round objects.

[cbuczesk]

Maybe take some calipers and measure the tube to see if/where it's out of round? Can you press down on the nut while you thread it on?

Chuck

[Captain Obvious]

Have you tried one of the other gland nuts on this housing? I know they are supposed to be the same, but who knows... I've had situations where nuts and bolts that had been paired together for so long fit best with their original partner.

About the out of round strut tube... How did you hold the strut assy when you loosened the gland nut to take it off? If you clamped the tube in a vise up near the nut, you may have ovalized the tube in the vise?

And if it is oval, you could use your new hydraulic press to squeeze it round again. :bulb: Would be a lot more controllable than a C-clamp.

[John Coffey]

The top of the strut tube is ovaled. Squeezing with a clamp of any kind probably won't help much. You have to work the oval out. Tale a 14mm x 60mm x 1.5P bolt, clamp the bolt head in some big vice grips, put on some thick leather gloves, lay the threads iof the bolt n the threads at the top of the strut tube, and hit the side of the bolt with a hammer. You want to push the bent in part of the strut tube out. Work the bolt around the strut tube and don't try to fix the bend with one smack. If you heat the top of the tube with a torch it makes this easier.

And ALWAYS, ALWAYS, put a gland nut in the top of any strut tube. Keep your old ones for just that purpose.

Edited April 23, 2013 by John Coffey