Re: Replacing shocks and struts

[shields@tembel.org (Michael Shields)]

> Step O should be inserted here, a few days before starting the work, spray
> all the nuts and joints and such with penetrating oil, may be 2 times a day
> for a couple/3 days. I did this and everythinmg

Ok.

> >2. Unbolt brake caliper and move aside.  Remove brake disc.
> 
> Be sure to clean up the brake caliper bolts and use locktite on
> assembly. Also hang the caliper with a tie wrap.

I've been routinely cleaning the threads of any bolts I remove with a
brass brush.  It seems like the professional thing to do.

> >4. Press off tie rod end with tie rod presser tool.
> 
> Remove the tie rod nut and you need a new nut here.

I guess I ought to use new nuts everywhere.  But technically only the
self-locking ones are required, right?

I've noticed a discrepancy in the Bentley, about the wheel bearing/ball
joint clamp nut (the one that goes on the horizonal bolt).  On page
40.11 it's shown as 50 Nm and nonlocking, but on 40.7 it's 65 Nm and
self-locking and also installed the wrong way, with the head on the
caliper (i.e., rear) side.

> >6. Pry down control arm to pop out ball joint.  I gather from looking
> >at the big U-shaped wedges sold as ball joint tools that this takes a
> >good bit of force.
> 
> I haven't needed a pickle fork yet to get this out. With the clamp bolt
> removed, use a chisel and pry apart the joint. I then use a rubber mallet
> and tap the lower A arm down. It slides right out.

All right -- it doesn't take superhuman force, then.  I'll be careful.

> >7. Pull out driveshaft with driveshaft puller tool.  You now need to
> >replace the inner CV joint gasket.
> 
> The CV boot only needs to be replaced if it is ripped.

Not the CV boot -- the gasket that goes between driveshaft and
transmission.  It seems reasonable to replace it if you remove the
driveshaft, and Bentley says to do it.

But wait, I guess the driveshaft stays bolted to the transmission, while
the wheel bearing housing and strut assembly pivot away from the car.
In that case the driveshaft press would be used to push the wheel bearing
housing forward by exerting force along the length of the driveshaft
to the transmission.  Is that ok?

The alternative procedure would be to unbolt the driveshaft from the
transmission, push it up alongside the transmission, and then press it
out from the hub.  This would put no stress on the transmission and no
compression forces along the length of the driveshaft.  I don't know if
that's worth worrying about.

There are several places in this job where I don't have a feel for how
much force is involved, which is why I've going over it with the list.

> >8. Remove upper shock absorber nut.  This is the one which has a hex-head
> >recess in the center, which you need to hold steady with an allen wrench
> >while turning the larger hex nut.  Bentley shows a special tool (3078)
> >to do this.  Haynes says a "peg spanner" can be used instead; I don't
> >know what they call that in the US.
> 
> I got a socket and had the sides milled so a 1 in open end wrench
> will hold it. I then use the opening on the end to fit the allen wrench 
> through.
> I use a 2 ft breaker bar to hold  the allen wrench as I turn the socket.

Hmm.  Ok.

> >9. At this point the whole strut assembly comes off, if I understand the
> >suspension -- everything from wheel bearing housing to strut bearing,
> >intact.  No spring compressors are involved yet, right?  The spring is
> >prevented from expanding by the inner nut I was holding with the allen
> >key, and not by the one I removed in step 8?
> 
> Put a floor jack under the strut to hold it in place while you are
> removing the upper strut nut. The upper spring perch/strut bushing
>  is held in place by a slotted nut. There is a special tool for removing
> this nut. I bought mine at Asembacher(sp?) Speciality Tools. Get
> new slotted nuts too.

Ok.  So the slotted nut holds everything together and the hex nut just
holds it on the car, and the allen key fits into the strut piston itself.

I didn't notice before that the strut itself had the allen socket -- I was
looking at the new Boge which still had the plastic shipping strap on it
obscuring the end, and I didn't expect it to be designed that way.

The slotted nut wrench would be what Haynes calls a "peg spanner"?

Do you have a number for Asembacher?

> >10. So it's off the car.  I fit spring compressors on the spring and
> >compress it until it's no longer exerting tension.  I then remove the
> >nut that holds it together and can disassemble the entire thing and put
> >it back together with new parts.
> 
> Correct. If you are going this far, be sure to replace the upper strut 
> bushings.

Yes, have them sitting in the box with the struts for installation day.

> Also, you might consider replacing the wheel bearings since the strut is out
> and replacing the control(A) arm bushings. You are just 2 bolts away here.

The control arm bushings are 30k old.  (No, I don't know why the previous
owner had them replaced and left the original struts.)  They are supposed
to last much longer, correct?

I probably ought to replace the wheel bearings, though -- at 110k
I'm pressing my luck and I don't want to disassemble the thing again
in winter.

I've been tempted to rebuild everything in the wheel well while I'm in
there, but I am trying to keep the job manageable.  I just want to keep
the car well-maintained.

> >11. And assembly is the reverse, with new nuts and gaskets and Loctite
> >in the appropriate places.  Anything special about getting the driveshaft
> >back in the hub, or the ball joint back in the wheel bearing housing?
> 
> Nothing special, it slides in. I use a floor jack to reinsert the ball 
> joint.
> Get everything lined up and slowly giud it in.

Great.

> >So the tools involved, apart from sockets and such, are a spring
> >compressor, a tie rod press, a driveshaft puller, and a 3078.
> >I'm not sure where to get these, or what I might substitute for a 3078.
> >J.C. Whitney has spring compressors and tie rod presses, but I'm reluctant
> >to order from the land of $7.99 torque wrenches.  Where do I get these
> >tools?
> 
> I use a sears 6in gear puller for most of the above. It works on removing
> the drive axle from the hub and removing the tie rod. I bought a spring
> compressor from a local speed shop.

Ok.

> >The rear looks to be much easier, since it's not a driven axle --
> >basically, remove the upper bolt and jack up the body, and the spring will
> >reach maximum expansion and the shock should just fall out.  Unbolt the
> >lower side, reassemble it all, and you're done.  It looks like there
> >are no spring compressors, no parts to replace for better handling,
> >not even any self-locking nuts.
> 
> I found it easier to remove the upper back seat to loosed the upper
> strut nut. The rear is real easy. Also, new nuts all around.

I guess that's the right thing to do.

> >Oh, which locking compound is locking compound D6?
> 
> Not sure, I use blue locktite.

I thought it would be equivalent to one of the Loctites.

Thanks for your help.
-- 
Shields.