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tool help


smashweights

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does anyone have a 22mm socket with a hex top? i'm trying to get the damn front struts off my car and that's what i'm missing and autozone/homedepot dont have them. here's what i'm looking at (this is not my car, but another of the same model year):

IMG_6213.JPG

need to set a 22mm socket on the nut, hold said socket with a wrench, and drop a 7mm allen wrench down the middle of the socket into the piston, and wrench the damn thing off. Problem is i only have rounded 22mm sockets and the needlenose vicegrips dont seem to be giving me enough leverage/grip to hold the thing. it's hard in there as fuck right now and it's pissing me off cause i should have been done with the whole front suspension project 2 hours ago...

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well i bought a 7/8" oxygen sensor socket, which fits and has the hex top... but after removing the top strut mount bolt, the retainer plate bolt wont fit cause the damn rubber bushing opening isnt wide enough, still a 22mm (7/8") nut... ran out of time and patience so just put the old struts back on after finally getting them off. very pissed right now as in reality the only thing stopping me from doing this job is two fuckin nuts that i cant unscrew.

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yes i'm compressing the spring! I already got the rear struts replaced no problems and the ride is massively better. but that makes sense considering the rears were completely non-functional (absolutely no rebound once compressed). the fronts are just being a pain in the ass cause the piston spins when you crank the nut and you have to use a non-socket wrench to wrench the socket while holding the shock piston steady with a 7mm allen wrench (aka, gotta stick the allen down through the socket). i wont need/be able to use the impact wrench as there's no electric out in our garage, but if the 22mm socket will work, i'd be glad to snag it. the spring plate retention nut seems it might be a 21mm nut, why they would change it from the 22mm mounting nut, no idea but my rounded 21mm socket fits just fine. just cant grip the damn thing. where you at in clintonville? i would come during work, but my lawn route will be in reynoldsburg tomorrow, so it'd likely be in the evening.

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Oh shit. I think I've been wasting your time. I just reread your above post. My 22 is completely round on the exterior. So you won't be able to grip it as you have to stick an Allen wrench through it. I didn't catch that part cause I'm stoopid.

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aww man. thanks anyway, i have short and deep 22mm sockets, they're just worthless for this application. i cant figure out why they dont make all sockets with a hex external top, seems like it would make them all more practical. Autozone, Advance, Lowe's, Home Depot, Sears, and Harbor Freight all do not have what i need (wasted 4 hours today driving around looking) and this is just getting irritating.

any other suggestions? anyone work for a shop that'd do it for cheap? i'd feel like a failure bailing out on the DIY at this point, but i'm gonna need an alignment afterwards anyway. got all the parts, just need the damn right tools.

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Do you have room between the spring coils to get a pair of Vise grips on the piston / metal part of the strut and then use a regular socket and rachet to get the nut removed? If you are placing the strut, it wont matter if the piston gets nicked up alittle? Or possibly an off set box wrench, assuming the strut mount is not too deep..

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This is after the fact since you already bought the replacement parts, but for alot of cars, Monroe makes what called a "quick strut". The new strut is already assembled, has a new upper bearing,spring,dust boot, strut.I used a quick strut on a 2003 Chevy caliver and it cost $170 per side.

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Take the struts to a local shop and have one of the techs zip them off for you. Any machine shop can do it' date=' as well. I'm not convinced you won't strip that allen head trying to hold it while you turn the socket. I've learned over numerous strut replacements that impact wrenches are the only way to go. Zip it off and zip it on... you're done.[/quote']

:plus1:

If you were close to Johnstown, I could help you out, unless you would want to drive out here. Do you have any way to bring just the struts out?

I have a 22mm O2 sensor socket that would do the outer nut, and for the inner nut, it it is indeed a 21mm, just use a 13/16 sparkplug socket! 21mm is pretty close to a 13/16 (I interchange them once in a while.)

Good luck!

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This is after the fact since you already bought the replacement parts, but for alot of cars, Monroe makes what called a "quick strut". The new strut is already assembled, has a new upper bearing,spring,dust boot, strut.I used a quick strut on a 2003 Chevy caliver and it cost $170 per side.

Yeah i saw those online but got KYB struts/mounts/boots for about $80 from Rock Auto. trying to cut cost was most of the reason i'm DIYing.

:plus1:

If you were close to Johnstown, I could help you out, unless you would want to drive out here. Do you have any way to bring just the struts out?

I have a 22mm O2 sensor socket that would do the outer nut, and for the inner nut, it it is indeed a 21mm, just use a 13/16 sparkplug socket! 21mm is pretty close to a 13/16 (I interchange them once in a while.)

Good luck!

Yeah, i bought the 22mm O2 sensor socket and it worked just fine using a 1" box wrench on the upper strut mount nut, the O2 sensor socket is just too wide to fit inside the strut rubber bushing. I work in Gahanna, and at this point i'd try anything just to get this project over so a drive to gahanna wouldnt be out of the question. i just cant see how the impact wrench is gonna work we cant stabilize the strut piston. i tried the 13/16" spark plug socket and it's just a tad too small and the 7mm allen is too thick to fit through the socket on that size.

Take the struts to a local shop and have one of the techs zip them off for you. Any machine shop can do it' date=' as well. I'm not convinced you won't strip that allen head trying to hold it while you turn the socket. I've learned over numerous strut replacements that impact wrenches are the only way to go. Zip it off and zip it on... you're done.[/quote']

might work... just either need to be able to work on it in the shop parking lot or have another car to drive the removed struts up there :(

Edited by smashweights
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Well, POO! You're having no luck at all here!

The impact wrech works by just hitting the trigger in bursts. It spins the nut a little bit before the strut piston shaft turns. Or, we use the vice-grips one in a while, when there is too little resistance on the piston to keep from spinning too freely.

Really, showing someone is a lot easier, and understanding how the impact guns work is a help in understanding, also!

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