steering and suspension Strut and a problem

[ohioplatt]

So I took my struts to the media blaster and while they were there I had them painted too.  Last night I finally got started on piecing the front suspension back together and here is where I ran into a problem.  I did not notice but when I "took" the inserts out I apparently I left some insert in there.. Now my question is can a hole be drilled in the bottom of the strut without detriment to the strut itself?  I am thinking no but I always seem to look at the rosy side and do not see the bad until it is too late.

[M3M3]

Yes you can drill a hole there. Mine are that way for access to the compression adjustment screw.

How did a piece of the damper get left in there?

[artbo]

Assuming you're talking drilling vertically. Bottom portion of strut assembly is a forging, pretty stout. Don't think a hole 1/4" or so will affect integrity. Obviously you will need to use a self contained shock insert. Would fill hole with epoxy afterwards to keep any moisture from getting into ball joint nut cavity in steering arm. Nothing you can do from the top? Long punch, screwdriver to knock remaining bits loose? If the inserts used the strut tube as the oil reservoir, there is kind of a star shaped piece at the bottom that gets stuck. Drilling a hole may not help with that.

[ohioplatt]

The struts were very rusty and did not want to come apart.  Kind of came apart in pieces and I must have just gotten absent minded did not do a good enough inspection of the part before sending out for cleaning/painting.

The struts were very rusty and did not want to come apart.  Kind of came apart in pieces and I must have just gotten absent minded did not do a good enough inspection of the part before sending out for cleaning/painting.

[artbo]

Does your new shock insert go into the tube all but about 1 1/2"-2"? I had a set of rusty struts and there were no pieces left in the bottom, it was just rusty at that point near the bottom of the tube where the water would sit. I ended up using a piece of 1/2" bar stock sharpened at one end (multiple times!) and slowly hacked out the rust scale until the insert would seat. The original shock setup which used the strut tube as the outer body of the shock notoriously collected moisture and it ended up at the bottom of the tube, and as you try to remove the piston assembly from the tube, it comes apart in a bunch of pieces!

Edited January 14, 2015 by Artboakrill

[ohioplatt]

The obstruction is the outer wall of the previous insert.  I have a new set of billies to go in and only go in about an inch or so and then stops.  So this is my problem i have this all the way down the tube.  It is rusty and nasty and does not want to give up.

[Buckeye]

is there any clearance betwwen outer wall of the previous insert and strut tube inside wall? if there is a clearance, maybe you fill that cavity with PB Blaster or rust removal fluid of some type and let it soak for a couple of days or even more. Then, you maybe able to crush it with long rod or heat maybe?

[artbo]

Are they tii struts or regular 02? Hate to say it, but it might be simpler, less aggravating to find another pair of struts especially if they are standard 02.

[ohioplatt]

tii struts.  So here is my plan.  I drilled a hole through the bottom and I am gonna try to thread the lots of material.  Then I am gonna take all-thread run it up against the old insert then bp blast and heat and patiently ease it out with the all-thread over possibly a few days

[Tommy]

I used the same method removing Koni inserts that were kinda tight. They were not rusted but tight because I had shortened them and the strut tube gets thinner at the bottom. Hope it works!

 

Those all thread bars are often very low grade (all-thread seems to be a brand that I don't know but that's general experience of threaded bars). I think it would be good to start with a high grade 10.9 bolt so you don't loose threads there. 

 

  Tommy

Edited January 14, 2015 by Tommy

[TobyB]

Something I did once-

 

Can you get in there with a pick on a slide hammer?

I had a sleeve jammed into the bottom (as a spacer) 

and it had gotten expanded by the insert coming loose

and pounding on it.

 

I got a hook- shaped pick underneath an edge of it,

and then slide- hammered at it.  It took a while, and I

managed to lose quite a bit of blood and skin, but it

eventually came out.

 

The tube itself can be replaced- as long as you don't

damage the forging much, you can always fix it.

This is where I really like having a lathe- worst case, mount

that sucker on a plate, and run inside it with a boring bar.

THAT'LL clean it up!

 

heh

t

[artbo]

That's a looong boring bar!

[TobyB]

Yes, and it's not very exciting, either....  

 

t

[artbo]

Gives me a headache.