shocking shocks

[boardmonkey]

Hi,

My Bus has been SORN for two years due to finances, bought a house, have a 3 year old etc...

Anyway, I am getting her back on the road and was checking front brakes and noticed front suspension coil has snapped, thanks JK for that 5h1t product...so going through the motions to replace said item.

To remove shock (also JK) you need to loosen top locking nut, whilst holding the top of the shock..however top of the shock is absolutely rotten and very little to grab hold of to continue to loosen nut.

Any suggestions ?

PS these springs & shocks were fitted during last world cup so are all only 4 years old...

[dekhelia]

I've just done this job and yes - it can be a pig. My first thought on seeing your attached pic is that the shock hadn't been tightened down sufficiently: there's not much in the way of thread showing above the nut, and there should be at least 1cm. The nut needs to tighten down against the sleeve that sits inside the rubber washer on top there.

Anyway, be that as it may. You still have to get the nut off. My advice would be to get some heat on it. Use a blowtorch, and get it hot enough to melt the nylock thread lock. Having said that, this method will probably work for the O/S, but not the N/S - loads of road crud from the road on the N/S makes the joints that much more difficult to undo.

Once the nylock has been melted, use mole grips to hold the top of the shock absorber shaft while turning the nut (17mm spanner). This will only get you so far, as the nut needs to loosen beyond where the mole grips are. At this point, if the nut isn't turning freely, take off the mole grips and use the gap you've achieved below the nut to get to the shaft with a junior hacksaw.

On both sides, I ended up cutting the shaft in this way. Only takes 10 mins, and maybe 3 blades per side. Get stuck in.

[DavidPallister]

I used a hacksaw to cut down either side of the nut when I replaced my shocks.

Yes, it damages the shock thread, but if the top is rotten then you really want to be replacing the shocks as well.

Saying that, being JK shocks, you really want to be replacing them anyway, if the spring has broken, the shocks will probably be knackered too knowing JK's usual quality

[icosahedron]

Are the Sachs Boge shock absorbers from JK different to the Sachs Boge ones from Brickwerks?

[boardmonkey]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies, yeah this was as far as I could get before running out of nib to hold onto..cutting them seems the next option. Just wondered if that was the last resort & it is...bugga.

Bilstein shocks are 70 - 120.00 a pair...and I now know I also need two hubs, front hub bearings & pads ...My n/s is a mess, shield plate is rotten through and the n/s hub bearings are rusted as water has ingressed via the speedo cable and when i took the dust cap off the hub I was greeted by a load of rusty water ..so possibly a speedo cable as well.

At least the sun was shining most of the day in Cornwall so i got it all stripped out oh and fitted a new ball joint n/s...

[Fudgy666]

Seemed like an apt thread title for this

Just finished replacing the front suspension bushes (Radius Rod, Anti Roll bar, Drop links etc), so I've made a start replacing the 2 front shocks.

Decided to go for the Heavy Duty Sachs Boge's and managed to replace the OS shock with no problems, but . . . . . . . . . . . . .the NS !!!!!



The bottom bolt that goes through the lower front suspension arm has completely seized in the lower metal sleeve of the shock.

So much so, that just winding the bolt out has totally destroyed the rubber section of the shock as it has been turning with the bolt.

I've tried everything (club hammers, heat, plus-gas) and nothing looks like it's going to budge. I can even get the nut off of the end of the bolt, but it's not going anywhere

Now I've decided that my only option is to cut through the bolt. Not going to be nice though as I'll have to do it 'in situ' whilst under the van.

Anybody had experience of this, and has a magic solution that would save me the effort . . . . . . . .and hacksaw blades ?

[Oldiebut goodie]

Can you get a suitably sized pair of vice grips onto the sleeve to hold it whilst turning the bolt with a breaker bar? Cut away the rubber to expose more sleeve.
My next method would be to try to rig up my 10 ton hydraulic puller to press the bolt through. Not a lot of room to do that though.
Oxyacetylene torch for the final method!

[Fudgy666]

Can you get a suitably sized pair of vice grips onto the sleeve to hold it whilst turning the bolt with a breaker bar?!

Cheers, I'm liking that idea more than me trying to saw through it. I'll give it a go sometime over the next couple of days.

acetylene torch is my plan B !

[Plasticman]

hehe,gas axe would be my first choice ,my new mini one
mm

[boardmonkey]

I prefer brute force and harsh language...

[Fudgy666]

Hoooooray !!!

Finally managed to get it cut out !





Eventually managed to use a breaker bar to push the shock over slightly, giving me just enough room to get an angle grinder in

Even after cutting it up, and using a vice, I can't remove the bolt from the sleeve !!!!!!

[Oldiebut goodie]

That certainly didn't want to come out!