Hey guys...

my son is trying to put new front struts on his C230 sport. The spring compressor that he rented from the auto parts store won't pull the spring down far enough to relieve the pressure so he can get the hat off the shaft of the strut.

So he took it to two different shops who said they could do it, but ends up neither of them could. One of them said he could, but he would need a special tool to do it. When I did it, I used my clam shell compressor and a 7mm allen wrench to spin the shaft and back the top of the strut off, no special tool required. Problem is I am 400 miles from him, so he doesn't have access to my tools.

Is there a trick of some sort that anyone knows about to get them apart?

Thanks.