Hey guys, I am trying to remove my front driver air strut to send off to get rebuilt. I have every bolt off and electrical connections disconnected. Only problem I have is the lower part of the strut I can't get off. Here are the pictures.
Trued using ball joint seperator fork and it still won't come out. Any ideas?
Trued using ball joint seperator fork and it still won't come out. Any ideas?
MBWorld Fanatic!
It is frozen. Very common. The dealer will have a special tool- separator. You probably don't- there might be a similar one at your local harbor freight store. Ymmv.
As a last resort- Apply ample penetrating oil and let it soak for few hours. Then reinstall the nut to be flat with the end of the bolt and bang it with the biggest hammer you have. Don't be shy and It will come out.
As a truly last resort cut bolt and drill through.
As a last resort- Apply ample penetrating oil and let it soak for few hours. Then reinstall the nut to be flat with the end of the bolt and bang it with the biggest hammer you have. Don't be shy and It will come out.
As a truly last resort cut bolt and drill through.
Quote:
As a last resort- Apply ample penetrating oil and let it soak for few hours. Then reinstall the nut to be flat with the end of the bolt and bang it with the biggest hammer you have. Don't be shy and It will come out.
As a truly last resort cut bolt and drill through.
So I sprayed WD on it and let it set over night. Got a dead blow hammer and got it out with 2 blows. Now it is on its way to get rebuilt.Originally Posted by alx
It is frozen. Very common. The dealer will have a special tool- separator. You probably don't- there might be a similar one at your local harbor freight store. Ymmv.As a last resort- Apply ample penetrating oil and let it soak for few hours. Then reinstall the nut to be flat with the end of the bolt and bang it with the biggest hammer you have. Don't be shy and It will come out.
As a truly last resort cut bolt and drill through.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Quote:
pretty much sums it up Originally Posted by castroadan
So I sprayed WD on it and let it set over night. Got a dead blow hammer and got it out with 2 blows. Now it is on its way to get rebuilt.
thanks for your help bud.
So I got the strut back yesterday and ran into a problem with the install. I posted a video on youtube about the problem.
Castrodan,
There is a "mounting plate" on the top of the strut. It is angled (wedge shaped) and needs to be removed from your old strut and transferred to new. If they rebuilt your actual strut (and didn't take yours as trade, while shipping you a rebuilt unit) then you have that plate somewhere. Maybe it fell off in shipping either way, or it's under your car somewhere.
If you don't put that plate on, you'll have exactly the problem you're having.
Separating the suspension is best done with PB Blaster. Spray both sides generously, insert your pickle fork and bang it hard with a big hammer 3-4 times to get some vibration in. Then come back a few hours later (over night is better!) and thread the nut on the bolt until the end is flush (so you don't whack the threads with the hammer and mess them up). Whack hard with a heavy sledge hammer and it will come apart. If not, repeat with PB Blaster and try again. The key is to get the parts to vibrate a bit after spraying the PB, so it can penetrate.
By the way who rebuilt your struts? That ball joint on mine (at the bottom) is clunky on both sides, but the strut is perfect. Hate to throw them away and buy a set of expensive rebuilt Arnott struts if someone can replace just that ball joint for me. Arnott does it as part of the rebuild process, but you can't get the ball joint separately from MB. So any rebuilder should easily be able to do it.. just need to find someone!
There is a "mounting plate" on the top of the strut. It is angled (wedge shaped) and needs to be removed from your old strut and transferred to new. If they rebuilt your actual strut (and didn't take yours as trade, while shipping you a rebuilt unit) then you have that plate somewhere. Maybe it fell off in shipping either way, or it's under your car somewhere.
If you don't put that plate on, you'll have exactly the problem you're having.
Separating the suspension is best done with PB Blaster. Spray both sides generously, insert your pickle fork and bang it hard with a big hammer 3-4 times to get some vibration in. Then come back a few hours later (over night is better!) and thread the nut on the bolt until the end is flush (so you don't whack the threads with the hammer and mess them up). Whack hard with a heavy sledge hammer and it will come apart. If not, repeat with PB Blaster and try again. The key is to get the parts to vibrate a bit after spraying the PB, so it can penetrate.
By the way who rebuilt your struts? That ball joint on mine (at the bottom) is clunky on both sides, but the strut is perfect. Hate to throw them away and buy a set of expensive rebuilt Arnott struts if someone can replace just that ball joint for me. Arnott does it as part of the rebuild process, but you can't get the ball joint separately from MB. So any rebuilder should easily be able to do it.. just need to find someone!
Quote:
There is a "mounting plate" on the top of the strut. It is angled (wedge shaped) and needs to be removed from your old strut and transferred to new. If they rebuilt your actual strut (and didn't take yours as trade, while shipping you a rebuilt unit) then you have that plate somewhere. Maybe it fell off in shipping either way, or it's under your car somewhere.
If you don't put that plate on, you'll have exactly the problem you're having.
Separating the suspension is best done with PB Blaster. Spray both sides generously, insert your pickle fork and bang it hard with a big hammer 3-4 times to get some vibration in. Then come back a few hours later (over night is better!) and thread the nut on the bolt until the end is flush (so you don't whack the threads with the hammer and mess them up). Whack hard with a heavy sledge hammer and it will come apart. If not, repeat with PB Blaster and try again. The key is to get the parts to vibrate a bit after spraying the PB, so it can penetrate.
By the way who rebuilt your struts? That ball joint on mine (at the bottom) is clunky on both sides, but the strut is perfect. Hate to throw them away and buy a set of expensive rebuilt Arnott struts if someone can replace just that ball joint for me. Arnott does it as part of the rebuild process, but you can't get the ball joint separately from MB. So any rebuilder should easily be able to do it.. just need to find someone!
Well I got everything installed. Sorry for the late response. I didn't know that these can flex and just muscled in the holes.Originally Posted by bha
Castrodan,There is a "mounting plate" on the top of the strut. It is angled (wedge shaped) and needs to be removed from your old strut and transferred to new. If they rebuilt your actual strut (and didn't take yours as trade, while shipping you a rebuilt unit) then you have that plate somewhere. Maybe it fell off in shipping either way, or it's under your car somewhere.
If you don't put that plate on, you'll have exactly the problem you're having.
Separating the suspension is best done with PB Blaster. Spray both sides generously, insert your pickle fork and bang it hard with a big hammer 3-4 times to get some vibration in. Then come back a few hours later (over night is better!) and thread the nut on the bolt until the end is flush (so you don't whack the threads with the hammer and mess them up). Whack hard with a heavy sledge hammer and it will come apart. If not, repeat with PB Blaster and try again. The key is to get the parts to vibrate a bit after spraying the PB, so it can penetrate.
By the way who rebuilt your struts? That ball joint on mine (at the bottom) is clunky on both sides, but the strut is perfect. Hate to throw them away and buy a set of expensive rebuilt Arnott struts if someone can replace just that ball joint for me. Arnott does it as part of the rebuild process, but you can't get the ball joint separately from MB. So any rebuilder should easily be able to do it.. just need to find someone!
I went with a company out of Miami. rebuildmastertech.com
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Yeah I got it in, just had to bend in, I didn't know the air strut is flexible, just takes a little muscle.Originally Posted by new550
ever get this sorted?
