heyitsrama Posted October 12, 2018 Share #1 Posted October 12, 2018 I finally figured that I should swap the struts in my car because they're 15+ years old. Found a deal for $40 off if you buy all 4 KYB, and I'm job hunting so it seems like the best way to go. I got the fronts struts removed from the car, was straight forward, I undid the steering knuckle/strut tube to avoid messing with the balljoint. NOW! I had to weld the gland nuts to remove them, which needed my pops to stand on the tires while I used multiple cheater bars on a pipe wrench to break the gland nut, and it took me almost 2 days of fooling around with the struts to remove one of them. I got this one out by putting the spring back on without the gland nut, then beating the $^!# outta the strut inside the tube by this hole that was on the bottom where the steering knuckle sits. My question is do all the struts tubes have holes in them? and are all of them a super tight fit? people say you can pour oil into the strut tube with the strut, but it seems like it would leak onto the knuckle (besides theres no gap for the oil to go into?) is my tube just jacked up? One of them that has a hole in it, ,I was able to remove the strut out, im gonna have to figure the other one out, I have no idea how to pull it out I tried (pull-hammer, come-along, PB blaster)... I was thinking of drilling a hole and removing it like the other one. I just wanted to ask the pr0s..... Heres the j00cy pics of my nuts and tube. ps here's the floorpan imma fix on the weekend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grannyknot Posted October 12, 2018 Share #2 Posted October 12, 2018 6 hours ago, heyitsrama said: My question is do all the struts tubes have holes in them? and are all of them a super tight fit? people say you can pour oil into the strut tube with the strut, but it seems like it would leak onto the knuckle (besides theres no gap for the oil to go into?) is my tube just jacked up? One of them that has a hole in it, ,I was able to remove the strut out, im gonna have to figure the other one out, I have no idea how to pull it out I tried (pull-hammer, come-along, PB blaster)... I was thinking of drilling a hole and removing it like the other one. I just wanted to ask the pr0s..... I'm not a pro but have dealt with a few stuck shocks, I have never seen a hole in the bottom of the strut tube like that before, maybe a PO did it to try and remove the original shock. The gland nuts can be rust welded into tube very badly sometimes, oil can be poured in, less than an oz, it surrounds the shock and helps in heat transfer to the outer tube. The manufactures of modern shocks say the oil isn't necessary anymore but the oil really does help out the next guy who has to remove that shock in the future. Heat and penetrant is the only way I have found to loosen that bond between the shock and tube but if you are removing a gas shock there is a danger of over heating the gas in the shock and BOOM. Some guys drill a small hole through the tube and shock to release the pressure then heat with flame, the hole in the tube can be welded up later or sealed with a compound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyitsrama Posted October 13, 2018 Author Share #3 Posted October 13, 2018 11 hours ago, grannyknot said: I'm not a pro but have dealt with a few stuck shocks, I have never seen a hole in the bottom of the strut tube like that before, maybe a PO did it to try and remove the original shock. The gland nuts can be rust welded into tube very badly sometimes, oil can be poured in, less than an oz, it surrounds the shock and helps in heat transfer to the outer tube. The manufactures of modern shocks say the oil isn't necessary anymore but the oil really does help out the next guy who has to remove that shock in the future. Heat and penetrant is the only way I have found to loosen that bond between the shock and tube but if you are removing a gas shock there is a danger of over heating the gas in the shock and BOOM. Some guys drill a small hole through the tube and shock to release the pressure then heat with flame, the hole in the tube can be welded up later or sealed with a compound. granny, I was considering to weld the bottom of the hole up on the strut tube, then use oil in the tube for that reason of a easier service. It seems to be that the install of the new strut has a lot of friction with the tub walls, im just wondering how much of a gap there is going to be... ill try to lube the strut with assembly lube before I try to install it again. I think what you said was correct that the PO had drilled the hole as an access point, the strut that I pulled out was a KYB! not sure if this was OEM equipment on a 260z.... regards rama Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grannyknot Posted October 13, 2018 Share #4 Posted October 13, 2018 20 minutes ago, heyitsrama said: It seems to be that the install of the new strut has a lot of friction with the tub walls That shouldn't be the case, maybe that rust on the inner walls is causing it or the outer tube of the original shock was rusted in and didn't come out. You can see from this pic of shock from a 77 280z the outer shell is very thin, just noticed that lip inside of your strut tube and thought that might be a possibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyitsrama Posted October 13, 2018 Author Share #5 Posted October 13, 2018 19 minutes ago, grannyknot said: That shouldn't be the case, maybe that rust on the inner walls is causing it or the outer tube of the original shock was rusted in and didn't come out. You can see from this pic of shock from a 77 280z the outer shell is very thin, just noticed that lip inside of your strut tube and thought that might be a possibility. wait so on the OEM design, the internal strut is in 2 parts?, The tube that you are holding is an internal tube that the piston sits inside, then that hole assembly is placed inside the strut tube? I believe that lip is infact stuck inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zed Head Posted October 13, 2018 Share #6 Posted October 13, 2018 21 hours ago, heyitsrama said: . Found a deal for $40 off if you buy all 4 KYB, You should post the deal link. That's pretty good. The aftermarket KYB's and others get around normal maintenance. They are basically a shock inside a shock tube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grannyknot Posted October 13, 2018 Share #7 Posted October 13, 2018 11 hours ago, heyitsrama said: I believe that lip is infact stuck inside. Not so sure now, here is a 240 strut tube I have lying around, the lip looks like it is machined in. The new shock does fit snugly in the strut tube so maybe if you remove the raised rust bubbles inside that will do the trick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyitsrama Posted October 13, 2018 Author Share #8 Posted October 13, 2018 Drilled a hole, used a long all thread to beat out the other strut. I think I’ll use some sealant on the bottom to seal it out vs welding it back. I assume I’m going to have to beat out this one when it comes time to service it.About cleaning the insides, I attempted to use Steel wool on a thin pipe/drill, does not seem to clean it out as much as I would like, anyone have another idea to clean the inside? Sent from my iPhone using Classic Zcar Club mobile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patcon Posted October 13, 2018 Share #9 Posted October 13, 2018 flapper bit on an extension Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyitsrama Posted October 14, 2018 Author Share #10 Posted October 14, 2018 I ended up getting a 2" poly carb bit that I cut down to 1.5" and used that to clean it out. Gonna finish assembly today and try to get the rears out tomorrow. thanks for the support ?❤️ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parman
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