Removing the rear strut tension rod?

[Denny]

I'm currently removing the rear strut assembly on the 94. I need to remove the strut tension rod in order to this apparently. I'm thinking it's holding the hub and strut up and once it's out of the way, I can simply push the hub down? I'm having a hard time removing this rod, well the nut on it. Is there a way around this or am I going to have find a big breaker bar to try to do this with?

 

[Shoaz]

You don't need to remove the strut rod in order to remove the strut. It can be a little tricky if you have the long strut housings, but you can push the hub/upright assembly off the bottom of the strut with the strut rod attached. The strut rod will put some tension onto the hub to try to prevent it from drooping too far, but this is really the way to do it.

It is sometimes necessary to get a little creative about how to separate the hub and strut. Large blunt objects and bottle jacks are often used.

 

[Denny]

A bottlejack right under the strut...I can see it now. Thanks for the tip! I'll see if I can pursuade it like that.

 

[Rockledge]

I had a bottle jack on hand when I recently overhauled my SHO's suspension and replaced the clutch and tranny, and I ended up using it extensively (the regular floor jack also got the usual workout, of course).

Honestly, right now I have more respect for that punky little bottle jack then I've ever had before in my life.

 

[F-22 Raptor SHO]

You don't need to remove the strut rod in order to remove the strut. It can be a little tricky if you have the long strut housings, but you can push the hub/upright assembly off the bottom of the strut with the strut rod attached. The strut rod will put some tension onto the hub to try to prevent it from drooping too far, but this is really the way to do it.

It is sometimes necessary to get a little creative about how to separate the hub and strut. Large blunt objects and bottle jacks are often used.

God that night will live in my mind for eternity. We beat the **** out of that thing for like over an hour with a sledge hammer. In comes some old dude in the wee hours of the morning and had that sucker off in 2 minutes using a bottle jack. Where the **** was he at 2 am?


Denny, if you still must remove that strut stablizer, there is a flat spot on it that you need to use a crescent wrench on to keep it from spinnning.

 

[Shoaz]

God that night will live in my mind for eternity. We beat the **** out of that thing for like over an hour with a sledge hammer. In comes some old dude in the wee hours of the morning and had that sucker off in 2 minutes using a bottle jack. Where the **** was he at 2 am?

Ah, selective memory.

Although I know the recollections of those dark night hours are a bit of a fog, you had just vetoed my suggestion to use a bottle jack when we decided to quit for the day and get some sleep.

But, yeah, bottle jacks or for people who are awake.