dpassino

i am putting on my FSTB tonight. I am borrowing friends tools. the bolts are huge.. what size are they so I can call him and see if he has the right size tools cause he lives 45 minutes away.

Dan

dpassino

i am shocked. 15 ppl viewed this thread and no responses. I dont think that has ever happened to me b4. It is almost hard to believe that all of those 15 ppl DONT have the tie bar. wow.. lol

fst96se

iTrader: (1)

FTSB? Federal Transportation Safety Board??

I didn't know Front Strut Tower Bars had bearings...

That is why I did not answer your thread.

mlocke

Are you talking about the "Acorn" nuts that have to be removed from the car to install the FSTB brackets? I believe they are 22mm.

99maxi

iTrader: (2)

why don't your friend just bring all the sockets 14mm - 22 mm??

RastaManMax

iTrader: (5)

These are a ***** to remove... You might need a breaker bar

Dave Holmes

There are 3 per side. All 14mm. If you've never had them off before, they can be a little tough. I used a small cheater pipe over my 3/8's drive and had no problem. If I remember right, the factory had used some kind of thread locker on them. I re-used the nuts after cleaning them (and bolts) up, re-applied blue Loc-tite, and re-torqued them. Looking at my FSM, it lists torque spec as 29-40 ft/lbs, and says to replace the nuts after everytime they are taken off (so they are coated with a thread locker at the factory. Explains why they can be tough getting off. Amazing my 32 year old brain had remembered that, too!). I have had no problem with mine vibrating loose, and have had them off and on several (many) times. I always use a blue (medium strength) Loc-tite though (I avoid red, as I don't have air tools). I have also read on a few sites, and follow this on my bar, to always install a FSTB while the vehicle is level on the ground. You can search to find the technical reason why, but I think it has something to do with pre-loading or whatever.
Hope this helps.

Dave

dpassino

i got it installed. I am still not sure what size it was, but we used an adjustable wrench.. The first set of 3 were fine to get off, the second set of 3 were HARD AS HELL to get off!!! we had to use a pair of vice grips and shock it with a hammer. then we used the wrench to get them off the rest of the way.

I drove around after putting it on, and OMG.. SUCH A DIFFERENCE!!! Its GREAT!

Dan

MrEous

iTrader: (11)

I installed the cheap-o brand I got last weekend, definitely a difference. Feels alot tighter now.

By the way...my 99 SE-L used 20mm bolts.