again I say LOL. You really need to read my post again.

I specifically said what they cut.

bottom line is that yeah it would be dangerous to cut the gland nut off but...

That is not what they did. They did not have the special gland nut that KYB gave them so they had to cut the strut a little at the bottom to make the factory nut go on.

again...

They didnt have trouble taking the gland nut off (so why would they cut it ) they had trouble getting the FACTORY gland nut to work over the KYBs. KYB sends special gland nuts for that very reason. They didnt have those special gland nuts so they improvised and cut a metal bracket (basically a spacer welded on the bottom of the insert) so that the FACTORY gland nut would go back on.

I edited this because I was grumpy when I wrote my first post so I apologize to anyone that read it and I took my frustration out on .

 

You're right... Now I'M CONFUSED

I'm tempted to say that...



but the photos linked at the beginning of the thread only tell part of the story, don't they...

It seems as though the bottom part of the cartridge (i.e.; the extra part on the very "bottom" of the strut - pg.3 on the www.cardomain.com/id/wink182 link, last photo at the bottom, right hand corner of the page) results in the cartridge being too long for the sleeve it's supposed to fit in to replace the stock cartridge, right? (see link, pg.3, last photo on bottom, left-hand corner of the page). This is the part that needs to be removed/screwed off/cut off/ground-down in order for it to fit and be "locked down" with this "special gland nut" that KYB would have provided if the strut cartridges were purchased new, right? What seems to be causing the confusion are the following issues:

a) How to make the KYB strut cartridge fit inside the sleeve since with this specially-designed KYB-extension at the bottom, makes the cartridge body containing all them nice explosive nitrogen gases too long to be held in place by the KYB-provided gland nut that's supposed to be screwed on top of the cartridge once the stock cartridge is removed.

b) How to accomplish this without causing a terrorist scare in the neighborhood after the gases from the strut cartridge explode from being exposed to too much heat, and separating the resulting shrapnel from said explosion from your person...

What I'm hearing though, is that if you screw this "extension" off the bottom of the KYB strut cartridge, the oil inside the KYB strut cartridge will come running out. I hope I'm misunderstanding this part of it, because if that's not the case, I'll go get those pipe wrenches and screw that off ASAP so I can get these strut cartridges in - by now, I think I might be able to do it myself if I have to...

If nothing else, we can all agree that the good old independent rear suspension is a bizzzach to deal with If anybody has the energy to try to clarify this topic any further, I think we'd all appreciate it. And for all of you guys who took the time to try to clarify things, I would like to thank you personally for your input. I really appreciate your efforts, and this is why I visit this site almost every day.

peace2u

 

EXACTLY!

 

So, what bvtran is saying is that removing the gland nut is the PITA, but that if you have the KYB provided gland nut, you won't have to cut the bottom part of the strut cartridge at all for it to fit and replace the stock cartridge, correct? And where is this oil coming from? Is there oil in the stock strut cartridge housing that has to be replaced when the strut cartridge is replaced? This is confusing to me as well...

My feeble little mind is trying to get the story straight so I can get it done & over with and move on with my life... I'm going to have to take photos of this process when I do get it done, so people will know what's going on here...

peace2u

 

Removing the gland nut can be difficult but just put the strut in a vise and use a pipe wrench or something larger that you can grab it with. Or use the method bvtran (or someone else) talked about and have a wheel on it and a friend helping.

BUT I am not sure how taking the gland nut or cutting the gland nut off came into this conversation.

I will say this one last time and I am finished with this thread OK LOL.

KYB gives you gland packing nuts with their rear inserts because the inserts stick up a little higher and probably because it is hard to get the factory gland nut off without tearing it up (I tore one of mine up getting it off). Now with this nut that they provide you do not have to cut anything. If for some reason you throw away the package or lose the nut that KYB provides then you can cut a small portion off of the bottom of the strut (not the gland nut) which is what swowlinc and vwink did. That will let you re install the factory gland packing nut.

There is oil in the strut housing...its in the directions...you dump it out before taking the old strut out. You put it some back in when you put the new insert in to help cushion it or something like that.

You are really trying to make this harder than it is. It is a very simple process.

1. take strut assy. off of car.
2. take gland nut off
3. pour oil from the insert into something to catch it
4. insert new cartridge insert
5. pour a little of the oil back in
6. put the NEW gland packing nut that was supplied by KYB on.

thats it...now if the KYB gland nut is missing you have to add one more step and that would be...

after step 3 cut bottom of strut insert a little...and change step 6 to put on OLD (factory) gland packing nut.

 

@awsm66...

Thank you, sir... THE CASE IS ADJOURNED!!!


BTW - Can we make a case to have this thread turned into a sticky or something so we can properly preseve this topic for future questions/concerns/etc.???

peace2u

 

The fluid is for cooling.