Strut Arms

[Les G.]

I am replacing the strut arms on my 70, according to the Service Manual it seems easy, but when I attempted to do it last weekend it was not. I loosened the shock,and tried to remove the lower shock mount it would not move. Any tips to doing this? Once you get the shock mount out, does the adjusting cam side come out easy or is there a secret to that?

[Michael G.]

Re: Strut Arms

Les, those lower shock mounts are ribbed at the inner end and get a pretty good bite on the carrier. I can't imagine how to remove without the proper "knocker" (tool to thread on and wack the sucker loose) without destroying the piece. Once this end is removed, the adjuster should be tension-free and easy to remove. That is if it is not the original and rusted in the strut rod bushing sleeve. Good luck, Mike

[Thomas H.]

Re: Strut Arms

Les,

The shock mounts have a serrated (sp?) edge that digs into the lower bracket making it necessary to use a bit of force to get them out. I usually remove the castle nut, re-install it backwards so the flat side is facing out and only thread it back on to the point where the flat of the nut is almost even with the threaded part of the mount. Do not let the threaded part stick out above the nut. Then I take a larger size ball peen hammer and hit the back side of the nut a few times and the shock mount usually pops right out. If the strut rods have been on for a long time, a soaking with PB Blaster may help.

Keep in mind when installing the shock mount to tighten the nut so the serrated edge is fully engaged into the lower bracket. There should be a torque spec in the service manual.

And don't forget to put the cotter pin back in upsidedown............

I'm sure others may have a more elegant approach, but this has worked for me in the past.

Tom

[Joe L.]

Re: Strut Arms

I am replacing the strut arms on my 70, according to the Service Manual it seems easy, but when I attempted to do it last weekend it was not. I loosened the shock,and tried to remove the lower shock mount it would not move. Any tips to doing this? Once you get the shock mount out, does the adjusting cam side come out easy or is there a secret to that?

Les-----

I recommend the use of a commercially available "knocker" tool or properly constructed home shop-fabricated tool to drive the shock mount shaft out. The commercially available tool is quite inexpensive and worth acquiring.

Either the commercially available tool or a properly constructed home shop-fabricated tool will have several traits in common. One is that they will thread far enough, but not too far, onto the mount shaft to allow the shaft to break free when impactive force is applied.

The most important feature of the tool, though, is that, when fully threaded down and tightened, it seats on the end of the shaft. This results in the impactive force being applied to the end of the shaft without any impactive damage to the shaft AND without any force being applied through the threads. The latter is a critical quality the tool must have.