Guys, need your help here.

I was trying to remove my alutec strut bar and managed to strip one, possibly two, nuts or studs.

The outer portion of the nuts are fine, which leads me to think it's either the threads on the stud, or inside the nuts, that are stripped.

I can't put any leverage below it to lodge a flathead or such to coax it into moving upwards and aid in removal.

Any ideas?

Thank you.

p.s. To borrow a photo from mishmosh, you'll see why it's hard to lodge anything underneath either the bar or the nut itself.

 

You might try jacking up the front end. The weight of the suspension components + wheels/tires may add upward force on the nut.

You might also try turning the nut with an open ended wrench and using a flat head screwdriver to try to pry the nut upwards.

Same thing about happened to me. The problem, is with the thickness of the alutec ends, there is not enough thread on the stud for the nuts to get a firm hold. When you tighten, the few threads that engage get stripped on the studs. Thankfully, the threads of the stud were salvageable once I had the bar off and could thread a nut back on. I still use the Alutec but I replaced all the jis flange nuts with regular nuts without the flange. There are no threads on the flange and that is a real problem. With regular metric nuts, you maximize the number of threads engaged.

 

^ mishmosh seems to have covered the best possible advice, jacking up the car seems like a great place to start and might just work otherwise buy one of those small 90 degree pry bars which i think should allow you to pull the nut up a little.

 

^^ I agree, letting the suspension droop is the easiest way to load those threads.

I do have a concern though about eliminating the flange nuts, as they serve the additional purpose of a washer (to better distribute clamping forces and bridge the void of the stud bore). At a minimum, I'd make sure you get some other washer in the mix. Usually, the SS ones are thinnest. Another possibility would be to deepen the bore for the nut seat a bit more; assuming it can be done without weakening the bar.

That's really too bad Mike, I hate to see that on your baby, especially since I thought you had coilovers on there.

 

Thank you for the fast and helpful responses guys, jacking up the car is a great idea! Hope it works.

I'm unable to do it today, do you think it's safe to drive around with it for a while? Two other nuts still seem to be torqued down properly on that one side.

mish, i can't get a screwdriver underneath at all. kool, i'm not familiar with small pry bars, would you happen to have quick pic of how it looks? I'll also give the wrench/vice grip a try, there's just not enough space to do it, really.

vq, haven't had coilovers in a while, after the dampers on those wore out i went back to damper+spring combo... Swift/GR-2s.

Thanks again!

 

Im talking about something like THIS. The smallest one on the lower right of the screen/pic i think it MIGHT work but cant say for sure but its only about $10 when i got it so worth a try if other way doesnt work.

Also driving a day without one nut properly torqued should be fine as long as you take it easy of course, no issue as long as other two are torqued down good and you dont hit big potholes or take corners too fast etc.

 

+1




.

 

Thanks guys! Very much appreciated.

I think the local Harbor Freight carries those small pry bars, i'll look into it this weekend. I also brought a small locking plier. Between the technique y'all shared above and these two tools, hopefully i can get it out.

Worst-case, would it be a bad idea to force torque down that loose nut? I may not be able to remove anything, but at least it's secure.

 

That's true Mike, it may solve the immediate problem about securing the nut, but I fear you could also end up really regretting it later if you ever HAVE TO remove the brace (i.e. for access to something). In that scenario, you'd then have not one, but two problems to deal with, and the nut issue will likely be even worse. Put it this way, would you likewise be willing to sacrifice that nut (and stud) by tack welding them together? . . . it would be fairly easy to do, and it would certainly hold it securely. If you answer yes to that, then sure, why not torque it down again and walk away. My guess is you wouldn't do it though.

 

^ agreed, the tech that installed my Viper alarm did that on a stuck bolt(that he caused) on the door behind the door pull and had to get it drilled out to remove the door panel next time and it was a painful and time consuming process

 

Good analogy.

Ok, i'll give this a shot tomorrow. What do you guys think about chiseling off the nut, or jb-welding another nut on top of it for more leverage to pull it out while turning?

Just thinking of every option i have and be ready to try everything. The car will be up on stands and want to make sure this is fixed before putting it back down and in time for work on Friday. :\

 

An "Impact Gun" is the easiest way to remove the nut. Remove the upper strut bar and cut new threads on the bolt. Auto parts store will have what you need to do the job. Add a new nut/lock washer, you're back on the road....Gary

 

So here's something i realized from some responses over on MyG. They're saying the studs may already be stripped, and if i forced this nut out, it's like i won't be able to put on another nut after the strut bar is removed permanently --- that is, without replacing the studs (or rather, the top strut/spring mount with the built in studs.)

What do you think, guys? Worth trying it out? I'm afraid if the risk above does present itself, i'll be left with an undriveable car as i don't have a replacement for this top mount.

p.s. Gary, i tried an impact to remove the nut, it just spins. I am really hoping it's the nut that's stripped, and not the stud. At least the nut i can sacrifice.

 

My guess is it is actually the stud Mike. I'm hoping for your sake it is not, but if I had to make a bet, it's what I'd go with. If that holds true, it could very well be that replacing the assembly outright or welding a new stud onto it are likely outcomes in your future.

 

Unlikely it's the nut that's stripped. Your best bet is to get the nut off with gentle turning (ie. no impact gun) and seeing if the existing stud is salvageable. It would be difficult to cut new threads with a tap and die kit because of the other studs but once brace is off, you will expose a lot more useable threads on the stud to see if the nut can be re-fastened and maybe realign the stripped threads on the studs.

Worst case scenario, you may have to cut off the stud, drill out what's left in the top mount and replace it with a bolt, either spot welded or jb welded to the top mount. I've actually done this before on my WRX after a new torque wrench (harbor freight incidentally) did not work and I snapped off the stud.