Guest ozcheek Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 Does anyone have a trick for removing a sticking strut cartrige? I have removed the cap nut reinstalled the spring, heated the bottom with a rose bud. Then removed the spring and atached a slide hammer. I am about out of ideas. If no ideas, then how about a used strut assembly for a 73 240. Thanks, Oz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David K Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 LOL good luck. So far ive tried the following: Vice grips drill hole on bottom, stick rod in, pound with hammer attach one end to tree, other to truck; pull attach both ends to 2 trucks; pull believe it or not, after a few hours, it just fell out, go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ON3GO Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 i heated mine up with a torch and went at it lol. and i droped one of mine and it fell out. there a pain ill tell u that. mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ozcheek Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 I attached a large slide hammer, the type used for removing axels (5 lb weight) suspended the strut by the flange of the hammer so the the mass of the strut was off the ground. Then whipped the hammer into the stop like there was no tomorrow. I will probably be going for a vist to the chriropractor tomorrow. Mabe the strut elves will come in the middle of the night and free it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j260z Posted March 1, 2004 Share Posted March 1, 2004 i ended up drilling a 1/4" hole in the bottom of the strut and spraying in a ton of WD40. after letting it sit all night, i put in a punch and gave it a few good whacks. it came out quite easily once the initial rust bond was broken. the only thing is that you have to weld up that hole when you are done otherwise the next cartridge you put in will rust in also. when you put your new cartridges in, fill up the remainder of the strut with ATF. this will prevent any new rust from forming and also acts as a heat transfer fluid when the struts are working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evildky Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 I have torn down 2 sets with no problem but my 71 decided not to come out, I tried the 13 lb slide hammer more rust penetrant than you can shake a stick at and even heating with a torch, the thing that finally got them out was the port-a-ram, you have to be carefull not to damage the top of the housing but with a good sized shoe on the ram I finally got it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruxGNZ Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 Ozcheek, You are not the only one that has had problems. You can see my post a while back about the "strut from hell". The pictures have been deleted from the original site, but I still have them on my computer if you would like a good laugh. It was done very similar to what David K. said. Sometimes these things can be a pain in the butt . Check it out: Strut from hell !M! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnc Posted March 2, 2004 Share Posted March 2, 2004 I do what j260z does. The insert comes out with a couple good whacks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ozcheek Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 At 10 am this morning, the dam finally broke. It required lots of heat and many choice words. I even broke the end of the shaft on slide hammer, but mannaged to salvage the strut. Thank You all for the helpful suggestions, Oz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toysport Posted March 3, 2004 Share Posted March 3, 2004 here's how i did mine. 1.0 losen the three tower bolts and use a good size biggest pipe wrench. 2.0 hammer the wrench handle (acting as an impact wrench) towards both directions to break the rust. 3.0 spray w/ wd40 and wiggle it back and forth until its very loose. 4.0 torque the three top tower bolts back. 5.0 unbolt the sway bar link and the tension bar. 6.0 insert a good size pry bar or pipe onto the control arm and get on it. it should come off hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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