About my shocks of course! Tried to remove the passenger side front wheel shock today without being able to budge the nut. Course I sprayed PB blaster on them and I waited a little while but still they are on solid. I have a half inch impact driver which didn't do nothing of course. I have three quarter inch drive made in China ratchet and breaker bar for the one and 1/8 in socket needed for these. Couldn't budget at all so I went to the driver side cuz it was in the shade and way cooler, and decided to pull the fender off this made it much easier to get access to the top nut. After a lot of work I was able to get the front driver side shock off and the new one on. Koni FSD's.
So I go to the other shock and again can't budge that nut at all. After feeling like my head was going to explode outward from all the blood rushing to it and my upper body strength pretty much gone I decided to call it a day. I've also tried a torch on it that didn't help and multiple springs and toppings with PB blaster. John 44 ( David ) has a 3/4 inch drive torque wrench that's longer and we're going to try that tomorrow. I also thought about using a pipe extension on the ratchet to apply more torque or to get a 3/4 inch cordless impact driver. David told me that those are at harbor freight for $280. I looked at it and it seems well liked by users. Course harbor freight is over an hour's drive from here but that's okay and they're open on Sunday.
So let's hear from you guys any ideas on how to bust a nut loose when you can't get it to move.... No pun intended...
And yeah and I know you can spend $150 an hour and have somebody else bust it up for you but that's not what I want to hear. I've got to justify having these tools somehow lol.
Get a 4-1/2" hand-held grinder at Harbor Freight and cut the nut off. I think they're $14.95 now.
And if there isn't room for a grinder, then do what I used to do on Chrysler products front shocks. I would center punch the nut, then drill all the way thru with a 3/16 drill bit, then a bit the same diameter as the shock rod.
Then whack the rod above the nut and everything falls out.
Don't abuse the torque wrench just because it is longer. Use the breaker bar or ratchet with a cheater pipe instead. Don't know why yours are so tight. My 1/2" drive Ingersoll Rand took mine right off.
Make sure that there is no" L" on the stud..
I had to undo 20 one-inch bolts and nuts when I replaced the suspension bushings on our previous coach. First one was easy. Second, third and fourth were brutal. Fifth through 20th, I cut the bolts with a grinder and thin disk, and knocked the pieces out.
New parts are easy and (relatively) cheap. So much nicer to work with too!
Matt B
I have a Milwaukee Fuel 1/2 drive impact wrench and it takes my wheel nuts easily. Before getting this impact wrench I would
use a 3/4 drive ratchet with at least 5 ft of pipe to remove the wheel nuts. When I was changing the front air bag I removed
a couple of shocks as they were in the way with the impact and they came apart very easily.
You just need a bigger and/or better impact driver. Seriously...don't blow out an aneurysm trying to do it with muscle and hand tools.
I had our shocks replaced at MOT. One skinny kid did all 8 of them in less than an hour. Those tight nuts spin right off with the correct tool. He did have one big advantage, though. Our coach was jacked up off the ground and all 6 tires were removed cuz they were doing the brakes at the same time.
Even though you don't like to hear it...sometimes it pays to pay someone else to do the dirty work.
I know a guy who broke off all 5 of the lug nuts on one of his car wheels before figuring out they were left handed threads.
A Dremel can come in handy where there is little room.
Mine needed to come off when I did my air bags. They were incredibly tight. They did however loosen with my Milwaukee fuel 1/2 impact gun after the initial cracking loose. But it took a lot of time and batteries. They fought all the way down the threads. In hindsight, that is a characteristic of red loctite.
I bought a nine amp battery for my Milwaukee and it makes a difference for the power. This year I found a switch that I hadn't
seen before on it that gives it more power so when I'm putting my wheels back on, not to over torque the nuts.
Thanks. All great ideas. I have a Bosch grinder 18V and cut off wheels but not looking forward to using it right over my face. It's very tight there with aqua hot exhaust. Tire is on and don't really want to remove it.
Mike, what does the L on the stud indicate?
Left hand thread! Look at you driver side lug nuts.
Left hand = right loose
Left tight
Right hand = right tight
Left loose
I was up.
Mark
Another option is to hire the guy with the oxy-actylene torch to heat the nut and then hit it with the socket and breaker bar.
With impact try tightening first, then try loosening it
Heat on any old stuck nut/bolt will help loosen it. Heat guns(big hair dryer) work and don't have a flame. Still need a 3/4" air impact.
Pat
But you agree that nothing beats orange hot for loosening bolts? Also that the speed with which you can apply enough heat to do the job limits the spread of the heat.
I was never a lover of high heat or flames where something can melt or catch fire.
You didn't ask me, but I agree. If my IR 3/4" impact fed by my commercial air compressor wasn't enough then a glowing nut would soon follow. I
might try a 3/4" breaker bar with a long pipe on it if there was room before getting the torch out.
Yes Absolutely, But it does make a difference in hi torque/corroded fasteners. New design built impacts make unimaginable torque numbers. Fasteners will move or shear.
$339. Milwaukee 2767-21B M18 FUEL 18-Volt Lithium-Ion Brushless Cordless 1/2 in.... (https://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-Lithium-Ion-Brushless-Multi-Voltage-Contractor/dp/B08DTQLVSG/ref=sr_1_3?crid=ELN6IAYXWJ39&dchild=1&keywords=millwalkie+tools+m18+1%2F2+impact&qid=1612728569&sprefix=Millw%2Caps%2C237&sr=8-3)
Yes it's crazy money, but it does so much. Use caution installing fasteners because you have no feel for how tight they are with these tools.
Scott
Just a thought Bob, we stopped by Safe T Plus in Ga. and they removed and installed 8 new Koni FSD golds for free, as I purchased the shocks from them at regular Koni price and they installed their safe steer product to our front end as well. Did not help our wandering, but ..................you can't beat free!
Here's a couple of videos that shed light on torque.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_dtpR_AlQI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtzAT4BYcgw
In my driving career, I've seen two "wheel off"incidents. Neither caused any damage as one bounded into the woods off I-90 near Syracuse, NY and the other flipped in a ditch along US 20, Geneva, NY
In the interest of full disclosure, I use a 1" impact to mount big tires, because that's way I've done it for decades. Right or wrong, it works for me.
jk
At $50, you can't beat the torque multiplier. I bought the more expensive model with more sockets but the tool is the same even with the smaller kit. You can't use it if you have the stainless hub cover in the back unless you remove it first and that defeats the purpose of the torque multiplier. After you use the multiplier and loosen the nuts about one turn, then you an use the $39 HF 110V impact wrench to spin them off. After they are loose a turn, even a 1/4" 18V battery impact will finish taking them off.
I spin them back on with light application of never seize on the threads (never the mating surface) and then use a pipe over the breaker bar. It's 4 feet long so I use a bathroom scale and take the weight off or on my weight depending on which side of the wheel I'm on. 360 lbs at the nut would be 80 lbs added or subtracted from your weight on the scale.
Buy a quality breaker bar or T handle as the cheap ones can easily fail. You will still need a flip socket for the inside rear.
Here they are on ebay. All the same tool but different number of sockets. torque multiplier | eBay (https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=torque+multiplier&_sacat=0)
I've got two nice stainless hub covers for free with only postage/freight needed.
Pierce
Will get with the Roamer tomorrow and get the nut off with the tools we have here,will not be a problem,these are the shock nuts and bolts not the wheel nuts.
Welcome back, I myself was wondering about the 1" impact accessing the top shock mounts.
I would not use a 3/4" torque wrench as a breaker bar. Use a good quality 3/4" breaker bar and a long pipe.
Otherwise if you have a adequate sized air compressor you could buy the cheaper 3/4" air impact from Harbor Freight, It should be able to spin the nut loose, you might even be able to return it or keep it as it works great for wheel removal and other HD bolt wrangling.
HF also makes a high output 1/2" electric impact that has over 1200# of nut busting power, for less than $85.
I'm surprised that yours are worse than mine: Rear Shock Replacement -- DIY w/ 1 person (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=41610.0)
Mine's a 1997 with original shocks on the front part of the rear axle.
I used a 4' length of iron pipe on an 18" long 1/2" drive breaker bar with impact extensions to get back to the shock bolts. Even with impact extensions, they torqued enough that the breaker bar depressed about 8-12" before the nuts broke. They broke with a bang that sounded like I broke something. It was pretty impressive. Nothing broken -- they were on tight.
I _did_ spray penetrating oil beginning several weeks before the job. Maybe that was the difference?
Don't get me wrong -- I love the fancy tools, I just didn't need them. Maybe I was lucky. I guess we'll see when I attack the front shocks.
Lon,
I have both HF 1/2" 110V impacts and while they are good for some things, the $89 gun does not come anywhere close to the advertised 1050# torque. Perhaps one of their battery impacts might to the trick. I do have their 1" air impact and with a squirt of tool oil and a short 1/2" ID hose, it does a good job. But it's really heavy.
For lug nuts, the torque multiplier requires almost no effort to remove the nuts other than putting it in place as it's fairly heavy.
Pierce
My HF Earthquake XT is pretty impressive and I bought it specifically to remove the shock nuts (it didn't even grunt). I also use to remove the lug nuts and more recently to tighten 12" x 1/2" lag bolts for the bridge I'm building. I can't guarantee that it will work, but would be surprised if it didn't. Sounds to me like you have a good excuse to get one.
So yesterday I drove one and a half hours into town to get the harbor freight earthquake 3/4-in drive impact. By the time I got back it was kind of late and I was tired so I decided to wait until today to try it. It broke the nut loose no problem. So I was able to complete the driver side shocks I put the fender back on and went over to the passenger side. It broke the bottom not loose no problem on the forward shock but I could not get it to break the top nut loose. I hit it with some more PB blaster and then got out my 48-in pipe that I bought at Lowe's yesterday for $35 slipped it over the breaker bar and while I thought I heard something break it didn't so then I went over and got David and had him push down on it while I held the center even with the rotation of the pole and while it seemed like it broke it didn't. So more penetrating oil and I came in to hydrate cuz working out in the desert here can make you dehydrated fast even though it's not very warm out the air is very dry. Going to go out and try it again with the impact driver that I bought from harbor freight.
There's really no place on some of these nuts to apply heat because the airbags are right next to them and there's tubing that would not like to get hit with a torch. yeah I might be able to hit the backside of the night but still it's too close to air tubing that would definitely be damaged quickly with heat. I may try to tap it a few times with my 3 lb Hammer though. But appreciate all the suggestions. Also there's really no room to cut the nut off. And I couldn't find a nutcracker for 1 1/8 inch bolt at Lowe's or harbor freight. So I think it's just going to take time. I don't think there's any way I could get these off with a half inch drive set I just there's too much torque on these bolts. The three quarter inch drive is straining at times. Since I don't own a one inch drive and wouldn't want to be hauling that thing around I have no idea on that one but I'm sure it would make it much easier so if you have that kind of tool that's great I just don't have that.
That 3/4 will do it Bob just let it simmer some more in the oil. You got on the run now.
Assuming your 3/4" Earthquake XT is an air impact. I took a stainless aircraft accumulator tank and welded on a fitting for the large diameter hose. I bring the coach/shop air to it with the regular hose and then plug in the 25 foot large diameter hose for my big impact. A propane tank will do the same thing but easier as it has the threaded openings out of the box and all you need is the right adapters. Out of date bottles are usually free online.
Propane bottles are rated for 960 psi so no problem with 120 psi. I give the gun a few drops of air tool oil and then go for it.
Friction loss is the problem for small and long air hoses. The static pressure might be 125 psi but when you push the trigger, the pressure drops like a rock. The big tank will keep the pressure higher for the few seconds it takes to loosen the nut.
Now that I have the torque multiplier, the tank stays home.
Here are the photos.
Pierce
Im just finished my Airbag and FSD shock replacement...had the same issue trying to loosen the big nut ...bought the 3/4" Earthquake XT 20V and ratta tata taaa...kept hitting and they broke loose.
Keep at it..!
All 4 front shocks now replaced. Pb blaster ftw!
Only 1 bolt out of 8 came off easy. Will do rears in Mexico. Thanks for all the suggestions.
Think if the torque on the nut is 400 and you set the wrench to 600 it would work fine without damaging the wrench,just my opinion.
I'm sure John 44 AKA David is correct however I still don't think it would have taken a nut off without the cheater bar attached to it. And the problem with that is that along with the extension that you need and the one and 1/8 inch ratchet socket when you add the cheater bar you're not going to be able to center the angle of pull and it's going to be off center. I'm sure there's some terms in geometry that describe this exactly but in practical terms when you try to push down it's going to be crooked and it's going to fall off Time after Time. Unless you have someone to help keep it centered.
The impact gun keeps it centered nicely but it does weight a bit and is LOUD. I waited till past 11 am to use it and finished before 5.
For those that are interested in doing their own shocks know that it's not a huge job if you have the right tools like everything. And I'll second somebody else's advice to start spraying ahead of time each night with PB blaster or a good solvent days before it will make your job much easier. And on my coach taking off the fenders was well worth the effort. Not really sure how it would have gotten to the top bolt without it.
Just wondering if all those high torque values are good for the stud?
Yes, it will damage the fastener. The bolt and nut should match in type (class 5, 8, etc, etc) and the proper torque can be found at the Fastenal site here: https://www.fastenal.com/content/merch_rules/images/fcom/content-library/Torque-Tension%20Reference%20Guide.pdf
Pierce
I'm pleased to report that on the drive from Salome Arizona to Oregon pipe national monument that the shocks performed admirably. The usual porpoising that I get is eliminated. And the road from Salome to I-10 is a very bouncy road with lots of dips for flash floods to go past. Coming in I had a lot of it, leaving ... None.
I will replace the rears in Mexico over the next 2 months.
Finished the rears. What a job. Several bolts sized on coming out and had a time getting them off. Finally had to cut one off. But all 8 are in and saved a nice chunk of cash doing them myself.
Twig and I went to a local mom and pop hardware store and I purchased 6 grade 8 bolts, washers and nuts. Also got screws to replace the ones holding on the fenders. All were rusted out and bad. Not stainless. Also found that when the previous owner had the radiator replaced they didn't bother to put in screws... The things you find. That's why you should always do your own work if you can can. I'll post a final when I leave Mexico but that may not be for a month and a half.