Gland nut strut housing damaged

[lastbrunneng]

1976 280z, basically stock everything.

After a few weeks of rattling from the rear strut, and doing some research, I disassembled the rear passenger strut and found the gland nut had come completely loose. From driving with the nut loose, the first two rows of threads on the nut were completely rounded, and worse yet the threads inside the strut are rounded as well. I have purchased a replacement shock with the gland nuts but I have three questions:

1: Can the threads inside the strut be repaired?

I found one other thread on this topic suggesting to make a tap/chaser with the old gland nut. But since only the first two rows of threads in the strut are damaged I was thinking about just cutting the top 1/16-1/8 off of the strut housing to expose the good threads. I would do this to both rear sides to make them match. Is that a terrible plan? Other than the potential to further damage the threads (I would be very careful), would this complicate matters any?

2: I recieved two gland nuts in the KYB replacement shock, I know one goes on the top, where does the other go?

I have reviewed the Chiltons and FSM and not seen reference to the second gland nut.

3: Should I put motor oil in the strut housing? The KYB instructions seem to indicate that I should not, and the fellow at Carquest concurred, but I have read from others online that I should.

 

This is my primary vehicle and I want to get it back on the road as quickly as possible. Thanks everyone.

[jasper]

3) I think oil should be added to the housing, to act as a conductor,to dissipate heat generated during normal shock use. No oil (air) would be an insulator and raise strut cartridge temps. .......Open to other interpretations ??????

 

2) I think you either got an extra/bonus gland nut, or they're different, possibly for another application. You don't need 2 gland nuts per strut.

 

1)A thread file may help to repair the housing. Using a "dremel" to remove damaged threads may be an option. I see no benefit to cutting the housing. Doing this may cause other issues. Poor cutting technique is a whole other issue.

[lastbrunneng]

So I tried the thread chaser method. I started by using my air powered rotary tool with a conical abrasive. I ground the damaged threads away after identifying where I would stop, and used a thin-blade flathead screwjy to clean out the leading thread. Then I took the damaged gland nut and ground off the damaged threads, after which I used a cutoff wheel to cut four notches perpandicular to the threads. As a precaution, I also ground away the thread in front of one of the notches. It may be hard to see in the pic, but I wanted a definate starting cut.

This method worked well, and since my threads were only slightly damaged, I didn't have to do much. Sorry for the fuzzy pics, and that I didn't get any before or after shots of the strut. Hopefully this can help someone else with a similar problem.