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[addy]

Sorry to bother everyone, but thought someone might be able to help me?  I have removed the old drivers front drivers shock as the coil spring had broke and the old shock looked worse for wear. I am now trying to sort out the new one.  I have put it all together, but when I tighten the nut to hold the washer to the recomended torque onto the rubber bush that turns, it seems to take forever to get there and the rubber mount seems to lock up and not turn. I have a crows foot on a torque wrench and a spanner on the hex, to hold the shock still. Would anyone have any ideas why it is doing it? The bearing in the rubber was smooth rolling when I checked it, before putting it all together.  I have checked to make sure everything is back as it should be, as I took pics as I dismantled it.

Is the rubber bush supposed to turn smoothly when torqued up, or is it supposed to be tight?

I am at a lose end as Mot is next week and still got passenger side to do.

I have attached pic to show what I am on about.



Thanks in advance for any help.
Addy

[Doctor Gollum]

Fit it to the car, fit the wheel, put the car on the ground and then tighten it.

Personally, I get it hand tight +1 then hold the nut with a modified deep offset ring spanner, then 'undo' (relative to the nut) the 11mm on the strut top to the correct torque.

Be mindful that some aftermarket shocks use different nuts to those originally fitted, so the threads may be different...

[addy]

Thanks DG for the quick reply. I like the adjusted spanner idea.

The new shock's are Sachs, they came with two new nuts.  Will try it the way you said, torque it using the hex part. Is the part in the pic I put up, supposed to move freely?

Thanks
Addy

[Doctor Gollum]

Yes. The body sits on the rubber and the strut sits on the bearing. If it didn't, you'd be trying to twist the inner wing off every time you turned

Using the weight of the car helps ease the pressure under the nut as you wind it down.

The spanner mod is basically to file the shank of the spanner so that it sits comfortably within the cup. This is essential to prevent it slipping, which it will at the unmodified angle. And punching the plenum really hurts

[addy]

Thank you for the reply.  I thought that it should move freely. Still like the spanner idea, just not smacking of hands, against things that hurt.

Addy

[Nick W]

The part you've arrowed, the top mount, is clamped to the body work. So it's stationary, and the bearing allows the spring cup(and everything below it) to rotate. I've done several of these, and other cars that use a similar design, and just done them up. Usually with an impact gun. I don't like messing about with springs that aren't completely secured(reassembled a Cavalier strut with the top washer upside down, and when I released the compressors the spring and everything above it shot up higher than the house), so always tighten the strut nut completely.


So, I think you need to take it apart again and investigate. How much of the old  assembly have you reused?


Here's all of the parts laid out, only parts 1,4&5 aren't new.





I was doing this before I had taken the existing strut apart so they're not in order. They're assembled in the order of the numbers above each part. Plus the spring - also new - and the nuts and top washer that are in the plastic bag. I found securing the lower rubber isolator(#1) with a dab of superglue kept it in place whilst loosening the compressor.

[Doctor Gollum]

Agreed re the dangers of compressed springs. I read the issue as struggling to fully tighten the nut having got it onto the thread, as opposed to getting it a quarter turn onto the edge of the thread.

My suggestion clearly made a few presumptions towards the doings of the process... A side effect of being better at doing than succinctly explaining

I should probably buy an impact driver... Kind of got used to working on Omega suspension without

[Nick W]

This helps:







as it compresses the spring enough that the nut can be completely tightened before the spring is acting on it.

[johnnydog]

Whilst I have removed complete Omega struts before, I have never stripped one down. However on other cars, I try to keep the spring compressor in situ, just sufficiently to keep the spring under some moderate tension whilst fitting the top mountings / bearings, and then release the spring compressor when all torqued correctly prior to fittng to the vehicle. Some cars require the torque to be set accurately using a torque wrench; some use the depth of thread on the rod as the guide.

[addy]

Yep got one of those compressors and decent cordless gun.  All parts changed except 1,4,5 and 7.  Checked bearing for free movement before reusing, no roughness. Also looked reasonably new, it seems that the old coil had been changed so possibly a new bearing aswell? But they never changed the shock, it is in a state.  Before the spring broke, I never had any problems with steering, or any suspension noises, the car actually drove straight and even stayed straight when braking, swo reused the bearing.

The spring compressed ok, so that could get bearing and nut on and tightened down. It just seems to lock the bearing when tightening it to torque setting.

Agree with you about the dangers of springs, uncompressing without warning. Heard Health and safety stories when younger, about heads being removed because the person, was looking over the top as they were tightening everything up. I keep to one side and make sure, the spring as somewhere to go, if it does decide to let go.

Addy

[Doctor Gollum]

I now have one of those compressors. Using the simpler lighter duty ones on Omega struts is a real PITA...

The Omega top nuts are torqued, and the compressor Nick pictures makes light work of Omega struts as they work around, rather than interfere with, the spring cups

[Doctor Gollum]

As an aside, be sure that you have oriented the upper cup the correct way

Compressing the spring will be sufficient to adjust it

[Nick W]

Yep got one of those compressors and decent cordless gun.  All parts changed except 1,4,5 and 7.  Checked bearing for free movement before reusing, no roughness. Also looked reasonably new, it seems that the old coil had been changed so possibly a new bearing aswell? But they never changed the shock, it is in a state.  Before the spring broke, I never had any problems with steering, or any suspension noises, the car actually drove straight and even stayed straight when braking, swo reused the bearing.

The spring compressed ok, so that could get bearing and nut on and tightened down. It just seems to lock the bearing when tightening it to torque setting.

Agree with you about the dangers of springs, uncompressing without warning. Heard Health and safety stories when younger, about heads being removed because the person, was looking over the top as they were tightening everything up. I keep to one side and make sure, the spring as somewhere to go, if it does decide to let go.

Addy

The top mounts and springs do compress significantly in use, but that's not obvious until you put them next to new ones. A mismatch of old and new components could have removed the combined wear that allowed the old parts to work together.


I would be examining the bearing next. Although I wouldn't have refitted it without cleaning and greasing it first. Do that with the bearing in a container so you don't lose any of the balls.... Perhaps you've installed the bearing upside down, although I don't think that should matter.


I know two people who hurt themselves badly using traditional and inadequate spring compressors: one of them had three days in hospital while they screwed his hand back together.

[addy]

I have the washer ontop of the bearing so that the flat side is against the bush, as in the picture I put up. Also could see the marks on it, where it had sat against the bearing.

I took photos of the old shock before dismantling, then as was dismantling it. To make sure it went back together correct. Will check the nut again and turn it so that the bearing can rotate freely.

Addy

[addy]

Did check bearing and did regrease it,. Didn't loose any bearings as did it over a box, incase any came out.  Bearing runs smooth with no notchiness. Fitted the bearing onto new shock as it came off old one.

Will go back through everything and tighten the nut, as DG suggested. Hopefully will sort it. 

The tension on the compressor with the spring compressed, would not like to even think of using the other type of compressors. Got two sets of them for smaller springs but could imagine them, giving up on these springs.

Thanks for all the help. It is very much appreciated.

[Doctor Gollum]

For Spring Cup read Upper Spring Seat... ie the large metal piece that the top mount/ bearing sits in/on

The cup washers you describe both have the flat face against the top mount rubber. Should be two fitted... One between the top mount and the shock rod shaft, and one between the top mount and the first nut...

[GastronomicKleptomaniac]

My left thumbnail still grows in three pieces having smashed the end of my thumb to bits with a badly adjusted spring compressor. 15 years ago... Lesson learnt.