I can't get the bolts off of the struts! I just tried spraying the bolts with wd 40, but they don't even budge. Is there a trick to getting them off? Did any of you have problems removing yours? Please help!

 

heh, no mine were easy...

breaker bar? longer rachet, longer is better if u cant get it off!

 

u need a torque wrench to help you remove those 6 14mm bolts. stock spec is 60lb/ft i believe. u should tighten the bolts with the FSTB at 30lb/ft.

 

Man those nuts should not be hard to get off. Be carefulll if you break off the bolts to your struts that will get very expensive. But really the only thing you can do is use a pry bar and hope to hell that they come.

Things to try:
1. WD-40(you said did)
2. Tapping with hammer, not to ruin sides of bolt, ie tap
3. Hope to hell the bolts dont break
4. Make sure you are loosening. counterclockwise


Sorry man not much else to tell you

 

ahh, i have the same problem too, i got a front strut bar last week but couldn't get the bolts off. i tried soaking it in oil, used ratchet, wrench, pliers, but it wouldn't budge also, still can't get it off

 

If you read the instructions you are really never suppose to loosen things with torque wrenchs they are made for torqueing things down. If you loosen very tight bolts/nuts your wrench will become in accurate. Also be sure to always loosen the tention on your wrench when done with it.

 

OMG wtf are u talking about?

http://web.archive.org/web/200111210...eston/stb.html

 

just make sure you don't strip it or it's goin to suck even more. I ended up needing an airtool to get my strut bolts off... at least 2 of em.

Get penetrating oil / wd40 and spray alot and let it sit for a day or a couple of hours.

 

Well those people dont buy the torque wrenches either. All i am saying is that you are not suppose to loosen very tight nuts/bolts with a torque wrench, it can stretch the metal inside the wrench and make the wrench torque Improperly when re-toruqeing things. Just something to thing about. Sorry to be so direct about it before I just want people to be aware of it. Dont want them screwing their cars up when trying to do things right with the torque wrench.

 

Just get a breaker bar or some kind of extender for the socket.
Then, you should have not problem.
Torque is what you want on your side, and when you have a much longer bar to pull, it is easier.

 

WTF are you talking about? A torque wrench is used to torque things not to loosen them. You will **** it up if you use it as a breaker bar.

 

Dude calm down. Yeah that is what I am saying you will ruin it if you use it as a breaker bar. Its not a breaker bar its a torque wrench for tightening not loosening

 

The nuts on my front strut brackets were really, really hard to get off.
Be more carefull than I was; if you turn them hard enough, you can actually twist the nut enough that you will never be able to wrench it off.
I ended up cutting the damn nut right off the bolt because it was so warped. A new upper strut mount bracket (called an insulator assembly or something similar, just a plate with three bolts on it) only costs around $30, but if you have to pay somebody to put it in, well, labor costs "more".

 

how about taking it to a local garage with some air tools. Give the guy a couple of bucks to save you the trouble.

 

get a propane torch and heat the thing up. Heat for like 5 minutes and then if it doesnt come off you're SOL. Dont spray WD-40 before you heat it up. If you do it might catch fire.

I've never had this happen in my life. You must spray your engine compartment with water or something.

 

Sorry I haven't replied back, just finished washing, claying, and waxing my car. Anyway, I finally got the bolts off. I stripped one of them really bad, but I got the local mechanic to get it off with his wrench. Right now, I have a regular 10-1.25 nut on there with 2 washers to replace the stripped nut, but I called nissan and ordered a new one. It'll be here on friday. Should i be ok without the stock nut?

 

yeah just take it easy with the car til you get that bolt in, you dont want it to get rippedoff on a tough turn

 

breaker bar did it for...maybe try some pb blaster? oh yeah, dont break em off...the plates that go onhe top of the shocks are hella expensive. I ended up boring out a stud that was broken off and replacing it with a bolt...was slow work...

 

mine were very hard to get off also, i actually broke my socket wrench tryin to get it off, it was a cheapo wrench but it amazed me that it broke. i finally got them off with enough strength and wd40. i actually messed up a nut pretty bad as i was retightening it, its almost completely round. im going to install my new struts soon so i hope i can get it off.

i was using a lil hand wrench, im positive if i had a longer wrench i could got them off alot easier. invest in one.

 

OMG u are such a . i use torque wrench to remove all my wheels lugs. i use torque wrench to remove my shocks assembly. i also use torque wrench to untighten/tighten other modifications as well. the only person who will **** it up is whoever doesn't know how to use a torque wrench.

okay whatever. use ur breaker bar or whatever wrench that u feel the best to mod ur car. at least when i use my torque wrench to untighten bolts i never stripped them. so whatever works the best for u works.

 

You obviously don't know how to use it. Either that or you're calling something else a torque wrench. In the end, yes you can use it. It's not what the TQ wrench was made for and it WILL shorten the tools lifespan and it WILL make the wrench less accurate. You may be thinking you're tightening it to 40ft/lbs when in reality it's 45ft/lbs. It's your choice.

 

okay you're right. i'm wrong. you win.

 

This isn't some freaking competition. I just don't want others to get false info.

 

You sure you're not talking about an impact wrench?

Dave Sz is right - you can ruin the calibration of a clicker type torque wrench if you use it for loosening. It will still work, but it may not give you the right torque when it clicks. Now the flex beam type of torque wrench you can use for whatever you want, as long as you don't bend the indicator rod.

 

I hope your pride/ego doesn't prevent you from realizing that he is correct and you're wrong. If you need leverage you use a breaker bar like these: ,
or a "cheater bar" which basically is a long pipe you slip over the breaker bar for additional leverage. A torque wrench is a precision mechanism that helps you tighten things to the correct specification and thats it. You use it for any purpose other than that you will throw it off.

Since you've been working on your car this whole time loosening bolts w/ your torque wrench basically you have no idea if your torque wrench is clicking @ 60ft/lb even when you set it for 80ft/lb to tighten your lug nuts.

 

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