type 44 front shocks, 2069 tool

[Mike Arman]

Changed the front shocks on my 86 5Kna Saturday - used the official 2069
tool kindly lent to me by Chris Semple.

Easy job if you have the right tool!

1) use red marker pen to outline the three washers on the top mount - that
way they can go back to the same places, and no wheel alignment needed
(nomex on).

2) remove large nut at shock top, remove top mount, pull out bump stop.

3) drop 2069 down the hole, engage with shock retainer collar, apply grunt
to breaker bar, unscrew cap - easy!

4) pull old, dead shock out of strut.

5) clean strut housing (nothing in there), add 30 ccs (estimated) of oil,
slide new shock down into hole. Anybody know what the oil does?

6) slide 2069 tool back down over new shock . . .

and here's where it gets interesting.

With the top mount off, the strut sort of waves in the breeze. Used a
broomstick to "prop" the strut more or less into alignment, all of a
sudden, everything slips right into place.

7) tighten shock retainer collar to specified value (130 ft lbs, torque
wernch only goes to 100, so torque to 100 + one carefully calibrated grunt)

8) slide top cover back over shock, press down (jacking up the front of the
car makes this MUCH easier!!!!!) to start the three retainer nuts.

9) run them down to just short of snug, and tap the top plate into
alignment - red marker rings and washers should re-align.

10) add top nut, tighten everything up, all done.

11) repeat for other side.

Total time for both was about 1.5 hours, including 20 minutes of cleaning
up a damaged thread (1.5mm) on one shock - banged up in shipment, no more
in town, and I can't go get it anyway since the car is all took apart. No
big deal, I have a metric thread file - worth its weight in gold, too!

The tool goes back into UPS tomorrow, with my great thanks!

Best Regards,

Mike Arman