close call

[harrym2]

I have been working on my car today removing the front struts . All the bolts where siezed solid could not even remove the calipers . so i decided to just cut the brake lines and remove the whole strut in one piece and work with it on the bench

the only thing was geting the bolts of the bottom of the strut not easy . so i placed a jack under the car and supported the front arm to take a bit of pressure of the spring and also fitted a spring clamp . stated to undo the first bolt and it just shered of wich then cause the one next to it to brake

could say it made me jump . and i never found the second bolt

[Lee]

Have a nuts welded to the remains of the studs. That will allow to heat the area, burning rust, and offer you something to use a wrench on.

[jerry]

what Lee said.

and i'd remove those struts from the car before going any further. you may be forced to have to try to drill the remains out and re-tapp the bore. use your favorite rust penetrant and a torch when trying to loosen the welded nuts as suggested above. may even want to soak them overnight first.

anything to try to avoid having to drill them out. at that point you may just want to look for another strut housing....

looks like you're dealing with a lot of rusty bolts down there. i bet your ball-joint nut is gonna be a challenge to remove, too.

[GrindGarage]

I had one of those nuts break when replacing my ball joints... i guess bmw had some super hardware for this app that sometimes gets replaced with weaker material.... i ended up with 2 nuts and a nice thick weld... next time i need to replace i just need to grind off the weld..

The things that happen at 2am in your garage with your only transportation home 15 miles away!

Cliff

72 Bmw 2002

91 Bmw 325i Turbo

91 vanagon vw luv

82 Honda nighthawlk 650sc

[harrym2]

both struts are of the car and sitting on my bench waiting for a complet rebuild and as they are coil overs i do not wont to just get some new ones .

thanks for the idea about the welding a nut on to the stud that is left . i will do that tomorrow

and yes there are alot of rusty bolts to deal with what a pain in the back side it is . cannot wait to try and get the ball joints of

[Mike_R]

I am not sure if I understand why you are working to save struts that are in such poor condition.

[harrym2]

I would not say they are in bad condition . Just because of a few bolts that are seized . They only need a clean and then a friend is going to powder coat them for free . So why buy new ones when i dont think coil overs are cheap