2069 tool

[Charlie Smith]

Earlier, Mike Arman wrote:
> 
> 
> 
> > Get a 40mm socket.  Take it to a bench grinder and grind through
> > the sidewall - all the way around.  Ending up with 2 parts, the
> > hollow "tube" that's got a 40mm hex inside one end, and the top
> > part with the 1/2" drive hole in it.
> > 
> > Get a piece of exhaust pipe, sized such that the I.D. just fits over
> > the outside of the 40mm socket parts - this tubing should be about
> > a foot long.
> > 
> > Put one piece of the ground-apart socket in each end of the exhaust
> > pipe, braze them in place.
> > 
> > You now have a perfectly usable strut removal tool.
> 
> 
> Not correct (darn!) - the 40mm end is male, not a socket. The tool 
> engages and fits inside (like a big hex wrench) the strut cap, not over 
> it (like a socket would).

OK, my mistake.  I thought they were talking about a strut nut that's
different from those on the 5kCSTQ that I used to have.  

The internal type nut is also easy.  I've got one of these in my tool box.

Again, get a piece of exhaust pipe type tubing that's just small enough
to fit inside the strut nut's 40mm opening.  Then braze a 1/8" high 
"ring" of brass around the outside of the end of the tubing.  Take it
to the workbench and grind or file six flats on the "ring" of metal that 
you just brazed on the tubing.  When this just fits inside the strut nut
cut the tubing off about 12" long.  You can use a pipe wrench on the upper 
end of the tubing or you can put an appropriately sized socket in the upper
end of the tubing and braze it in place.

For historical interest, an old 40HP VW intake manifold is the right
size tubing for this if you use a 12" section out of the middle.  :-)

If you don't have a welding torch and don't care about crude ...  start
with an exhaust pipe tubing that a tiny bit larger than the strut nut
opening.  Put something solid and square in a vise so the end sticks
out sideways about an inch.  The side of the square should be a bit smaller
than the 'flat' of one of the six sides in the strut nut.  With a bit of 
hammer work, you can use the square piece to make the end of the exhaust
tubing be hex shaped.  Put the end of the tubing over the square piece
and hammer a flat place in the end of the tubing.  Turn the tubing 
180 degrees and hammer another flat place.  Now, turn it 1/6th of 
a turn and make another flat place.  Keep at it until you have six 
equal sized flat places and the end of the tubing begins to look 
like it's hex shaped.  Work at it until the hex'ed off tubing just 
fits into the strut nut opening.  If it's still too big, do it again 
with a tiny bit smaller exhaust pipe tubing.

    - Charlie


  Charlie Smith  charlie {at} elektro.cmhnet.org 
  http://www.elektro.com/~charlie          Columbus Ohio   USA
  http://www.elektro.com/~audi         photos & technical info

  95 S6 Quattro  -  24 PSI, RS2 6 speed, and other features  
  97 Dodge Ram   -  40 PSI, 4x4 w/Cummins turbo diesel