Strut Piston Bolt Removal

[RJ_IS_BATMAN]

Hey Everyone!

I was trying to replace my blown out shocks today and had a total fail! I was able to get the drivers side done without a problem but on the passenger side is where i ran into the issue.

The center bolt in the strut the one attached to the strut piston will not loose up at all. It just spins and spins. On the driver side i was able to use a 17mm wrench and an adjustable wrench to hold the piston bolt from free spinning but on the passenger side i can't get it to budge at all.

I was thinking of using a dremel to grind the bolt off?

 

[spyderdrifter]

Why grind off the nut? Grab the piston with vise grips, and have someone hold that while you loosen with a wrench or socket.

 

[RJ_IS_BATMAN]

Why grind off the nut? Grab the piston with vise grips, and have someone hold that while you loosen with a wrench or socket.

I tried using a wrench to loosen it while holding it with a vice grip and literally the piston bolt would not stop moving and just make the vice grip let go

 

[spyderdrifter]

Am I correct to assume the spring is still installed?

 

[RJ_IS_BATMAN]

Yes, the sprint was compressed but wasn’t able to be removed due to the top bolt just free spinning

 

[spyderdrifter]

At this point, since the shock is being replaced, make sure that spring is well secured (like with a ratchet strap) and cut the end of the strut off. New struts typically come with new hardware anyway, so no loss there. Just be extremely careful and make sure that spring is well secured.