suspension help can't get bolts into knuckle!!
 

Well i have replced me struts before with s-tech but i wanted to rais the car to h-techs i sucessfully did the driver's side no sweat. but when i get to the passenger side i can't move the knuckle in to mount into the strut. it is liked locked at inner cv joint. I placed a jack under the lower control arm when i took out hte strut but the sterring knuckle still rolled out. Did i mess up my new axles which only have 20miles on them. and is there a way to get this knuckle to line back up with the strut so i can't mount them together. I worked on it for 3 hours lastnigth and no sucess.


please help guys.


Tim

Stick in a big screwdriver where the knucle is held inside the strut and push the rotor assembly/knucle off the strut.

Don't you want the jack under the chassis? Let the suspension hang. And have the car level, both sides on jacks so sway bar's not bound up?

IME, sway bar doesn't really matter, i've done suspension and axles both on cars that are only up on one corner, no issues. Usually if I had an issue getting the strut-knuckle bolts in (and that was only on my 2 inch drop), jack the LCA up while getting the knuckle to slid into the strut. Other than that, you can drop the strut, put the bolts in loosely, and jack up the whole assembly and bolt the strut back up.

guys i can get teh lower bolt to bolt in but the angle of the knuckel to sitcking out too far tha i can't get the top bolt to line up? and if i push on the rotor i jsut end up turning the wheels. no matter how high i jack up the lower control arm i can't get the top steering knuckle bolt to line up with the strut. when i look at the axles the boots on the inner joint are stretched might be an indication fo why the steering knuckle is tilting to far out and won't line up with the strut. Both side of the car are jacked up. Any suggestions or experiene with this. Does the inner cv joint lock up when at sever camber because that is what it would look like if a wheel was mounted.

You aren't fully tightening the lower bolt after putting it in, are you?

Don't push on the rotor, push on the knuckle itself where it mounts to the strut. Try spraying some sort of lube in there before assembling (WD-40 or equiv). I've never had an outer joint lock up while R&R'ing suspension. Did the joint come apart? That's really the only way IMO that the axle can keep the knuckle from moving towards the strut.

take a picture of what is happening here....

Did the cv joint come undone?
Waiting for pic
Jae

^^^ I am wondering if the outer joint came apart.

I had this problem before.

Make sure your steering wheel isnt locked.
I took the bolts out, moved the rotors back and forth and side to side, and it went back in fine.

Sometimes it seems to get stuck in certain positions.

thanks wiggafly i got the strut in now the rear ones are little more difficult because the one top mont nut its rusted and ut won't come off now it appear a little stripped, any suggestions? i was going to get a nut/bolt extractor from harbor freight or sears does this actually work. I where do i get a new flange nut to replace the stripped one? I was just going to hit up lowes or home depot and try to find one made out of SS. So after 2 eveings of work all i have the front done and the rear passenger done and the rear driver is hanging there by one stripped and rusted nut, lol. ughhh

Vise grips ftmfw, set them so tight that it takes all your strength to lock it togethor.

so i shouldn't invest in bolt outs then, and where do i go about getting the replacment nut?

Im sure home depot or city mill would have the size.
14mm, not sure of the thread pattern.

You could use them until you get some replacements, or just keep them.
If you get locking nuts it should hold fine.

You won't find those 14mm flange nuts at the home stores - no Lowes, HomeD, Menards. Just use a regular metric nut & washer in a jam. Just lube that nut and be careful removing or else...
http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...131342_151.jpg

i've tried everything and the nut still won't come off, i've tried pb blaster, sears bolt extractor and vice grips the nut is toallt f-ed and rounded, now what?

you going to have to get it with vice grips and hit it with a hammer.

can you explin furhter i've tried the vice grip mehtod i used the 12 inch monster szed vice grip it just tears the nut does't move it at all. what is the hammer method?

if worse come to worse shouild i dremel it off?

I may be missing something but the center nut should not come off until you remove the strut assemble from the car and have compressed the springs. Then you can f*** with it all you want, it's the old strut who cares. New struts come with new bolt. If you are having a problem with one of the two outside bolts you may dremel is the way to go. Looks like you have to get a new strut mount anyway because one of the stud mounts is broken anyway. The 14mm bolt is available at Ace hardware I believe it's a fine thread.

that pic isn't of my car it is one from another orgers of the worse case scenario, I'm not getting new struts i've got illumnas now i'm jsut replacing the s-tech with h-techs and the top nut is striped and seized, not the center nut that won't come off until i get the strut off, all the other 3 struts are complete except this rear driver side one.

well make sure the vise grips are not slipping on the nut and bang them with a hammer to break the nut free. if that doesnt work, file two new sides on the nut and use a wrench to turn it.

bang the vice grip? the thing is i can't get the vice grip any harder i've given it all i can do to tighten it on the nut but it just rips the metal. ughhh!!

well if worse comes to worse just cut it off with a sawzall, dremel, grinder, etc and get a new strut mount.

thats what i was worried about bc no autopart stroe carries the rear strut mount jsut he bump stops. Do you have any suggestions? Or happen to know the part number for it?

Probably will take a few days but Courtesy Nissana is a good place. [55322] BRACKET ASSY-SHOCK ABSORBER MOUNTINGMaxima (A32B) 55322-A32B001
02/1994-03/1994
04/1997+

http://www.courtesyparts.com/betasit...1873_1877.html

If you do decide to order parts, you should be fine running on 3 H Techs and 1 S.

I had trouble getting my front pass H tech out while swapping to S, so i kept it in maybe 3 more days until i had the tools to get it out.

Didnt notice anything differently, couldnt tell the difference in ride height either since its only like a half inch difference.

this is exactly what i was telling you when you called me last night. try it.

Normally in these situations heating the nut with a propane torch helps alot, but that's not cool, we all now how akward of a space your working in, your trunk liner would end up going up in flames for sure, But heat the tip of the vise grips up and clamp them on real tight one last time, if you have a smaller pair try those, I've found sometimes the bigger teeth tear up smaller bolt heads easier and if you use smaller ones and get them more in the middle and have lots of little teeth it works better.

But if vise grips as tight as possible can't get it off, I wouldn't bother trying to file the nut, it would take forever, by than you could have cut it off, finished the install with 1 nut in place on that side, and be driving around while waiting for your new upper strut mount. Avoiding catching air & big potholes of course, lolz, but I wouldn't sweat it, you might here a clunk over big bumps but that's about it.

well i've tried everything and no luck i've filed the nut down on one end to the point where the thread is showing, my dremel ending up running out of power, what should i do now i call NAPA and other parts store and they don't carry the strut mount, what the hell is up with that isn't this part relatively used on most nissan sedans? I'm in a real bind bc the car i'm borrowing needs to be returned on sat therfore today after work is my last chance, could i really drive around with one top nut bolt until i get the new rear strut mount?

is it possibly to change the spring while the mount is attached to the car still? maybe i can loosen the middle nut off and take off the spring then slide up the new h-tech and place the bottom bolt into the strut then jack it up to compress the spring up enough to expose to get it on the top middle nut and bang i'm good to go until i get the new mount? What do you gusy think, or is this too dangerous?

ughh am i SOL now

you might have a good point

ok guys here's the update everyhting is imstalled and check i got to test drive it turn a left and i get a metal to metal grinfing noise could this have been the result of my initial problem when i couldn't get the steering knuckle to line up with the strut. The noise is tomming from the right side the same side i had the problem with getting the strut mounted to the steering knuckle. This sound is real bad guys like a dragging metal on the road real loud, and guess to what it is. I also check the CV axle maybe i accidentally knock it loose from the knuckle but i don't know what to look for there are teeth some teeth exposed from the cv axle while in enters the steering knuckle is that normal or is that the source of the noise, ughh i'm so frustrated a simple suspension change turned into a real 7 day headache. Help guys. and the cv axle was locked up at the inner cv not the outer one. If that helps and the thing is the cars ht went from and s-tech drop to and h-tech drop more oem. Help!!!!! Can i drive this thing to a shop or am will i do more damage?

How's the strut bearing?
Jae

it was fine this noise is not comming from the top strut bearing it sounds as if u have a exhaust pipe hanging on the street and draggin that's how loud it is?

At this point driving a few miles probably won't make much difference either way.

Maybe you bent the rock guard for the brake rotor?

Take your wheel off and take a good look.

i did that and took of the brakes and rotor everything looks ok, what the hell, I can't figure out what is going on, does this sound like my axle? Is it normal to see some of the teeth exposed on the bottom where the axle enters the steering knuckle/hub The funny thing is they are new ones that were installed by a shop last weekend, lol. Could i have whacked the steering system out of whack with my numerous attempts to get the knuckle into the strut. every unsuccessful attempt to move it in to get it lined up on the top bolt i just ended up moving the whole steering to the left to to pt where when would walk over to the driver's side the tire would be fully turned to the left.

I did a strut job this summer it did not go well because the struts I bought did not fit my Maxima. The manufacturer (Gabriel) screwed up with the sizing. I ended up getting Monroes, they were a different size then the Gabriels and fit perfect, installation was a breeze. My point is 1) you are not alone as far as strut jobs from from hell are concerned and 2) make sure your parts (springs) are the right size /specification for the car. With the correct parts this job should be relatively easy but if you somehow get the wrong parts it can be a nightmare. I think the gears you see are normal, they are they for the antilock brakes.

i don't have abs i have a non abs, no lsd, i have an 99 SEL auto