Front strut dissassembly problems

[dodgem]

I'm getting really disheartened about working on my car now....

So far this weekend i've managed to replace the rear tops mounts, shocks, and springs.

At the front, after a little bit of messing about (i had to cut both sides off a nut in order to get it off the track rod end spigot) i've managed to get both struts out and the control arms. However i cannot get the old shocks out of the struts. I've taken the top mounts off and removed the springs, but the collar that holds the shock in seems rusted to the strut!

To try and get it to budge, i've bolted a length of wood across the strut using the holes for the track rod end spigot and the outer control arm ball joint spigot, in order to give me some leverage. Then used a stilson to grip the collar and hit the stilson with a big hammer. I've sprayed WD40 around the thread (not that i can really see a thread for the rust) and heated the outside of the strut housing around the area. All to no avail however as all i succeed in doing is bending the flanged edge of the collar...

Is this area normally so corroded, and how have others managed to get this bit undone? This is on a 318iS by the way so it's the 51mm strut. This is starting to do my head in

Also found that on one side, the dustcover and bumpstop were missing. On the other side, the bumpstop had pretty much disintegrated

Anyway, any help appreciated - i really don't want to have to buy new struts - this MOT has cost me over a grand already! (£600 on bushes, control arms, topmounts, shocks, and springs, and £450 for the garage to do the rear subframe bushes and handbrake bits).

Cheers

[gareth]

mine were an absolute pig last time.

i had to put them in a vice and use a blowlamp on the threads to free them. it had to get properly ferkin hot too. i then used a chisel on the outer ring to screw them out. one thing to note, if you heat the casing up and then spray WD40 in, it'll have a larger gap to get through and will penetrate further.

if you get the retaining rings out and need new ones, let me know as i've got a brand new pair here that i never got round to fitting.

[old_skool]

When I had this problem I welded a 1 1/2" pipe socket onto the top of the remains of the collar. Then I used stilsons on the pipe socket. The added heat from welding - together with the stilsons did the trick.

I guess what your saying is there is very little left of the collar to get the stilsons onto?

[Cyruz]

Had the same problem on mine, heated them up used a massive plumbers wrench and a mate stood on it while I gave it a big fucking pull....

Although it's not the nicest method of doing it, we tend to do things a bit pikey round here

[dodgem]

if you get the retaining rings out and need new ones, let me know as i've got a brand new pair here that i never got round to fitting.

Thanks for the offer, but i have new Bilstein shocks to go in that have a collar already attached

I guess what your saying is there is very little left of the collar to get the stilsons onto?

Not yet, but only cos i stopped and decided it was time to ask the zone before i totally destroyed it

Thanks for replying guys, i'll continue tomorrow and see if i can't persuade it out with a lot of heat, a lot of oil, and a lot swearing. Really is a pig of a job... tbh i'm kind of getting put off doing more work on my car myself - for a first time experience this isn't good!

edit: Woohoo!! 100 posts and i get a little bimmer emblem
edit2: Bugger - everyone has at least one badge

[gareth]

in all fairness, E30's are generally a lot easier to work on. you've had the misfortune of picking one of the worst jobs as your first.

[dodgem]

I guess so - getting down and dirty with the ins and outs of the suspension can't be the easiest job to start on - it must get more abuse than most parts of the car to be honest. Had to be done for the MOT though... Well, if i pull this off then at least i can be relatively happy i've faced the worst of it!

[old_skool]

in all fairness, E30's are generally a lot easier to work on. you've had the misfortune of picking one of the worst jobs as your first.

Seconded.

There's not many occasions when you need to pull the heavy gear out to work on an E30. You have just been unfortunate; It's one of those jobs.

Stick with it. Things can only get better!

[jokipea]

I did both of mine this way, nothing else worked.

Bolt the wheel back onto the hub and lay it on the grass. Fit stilsons onto the collar nut, stand on the wheel so that it doesn't move, and hit the stilsons with a big sledge-hammer (tool number 1). First one slackened with one hit, 2nd took 2 hits. Don't let the nieghbours see you, they'll think you're mental.

[DanThe]

A good old vice and big stilsons never fail me

[bigun]

^^^ thats how i always do it dan my old man runs a coach place so his stilsons and vice are huge never had a problem

[dodgem]

All sounding better and better with each reply... At least i know that it can look impossibly hard to get off and still come off

No-one heard of any instances where the collar simply wouldn't come out of the strut?

Going to go for it this morning, and if it doesn't come off then the car will have to go back together with the old shocks in so i can get it to a garage and let them have a go at it...

[bigun]

pull it my son and it will come


pardon the pun

[dodgem]

I just pulled it!!

And it came!!

Seriously though, thanks for the relpies guys - i just needed confidence that i really did have to be nasty to it to make it work, and that i wasn't doing something wrong... The collar is now off of the first strut and i can get on with cleaning it up and putting the new shock in Then onto the second one...

Cheers fellas!

[bigun]

good work fella

[Kedge]

I know it thats feels was doing mine the ohter day, bigvice and stilson sorted it in the end, was still bloody hard work! Everything has been an absolute pain on mine, having to wait for tomorrow so i can get some control arms as my were all corroded and horrible, track rods came off nice n easy after some heat which was a relief.

[gareth]

track rod ends are the other favorite for wleding themsleves solid!

they usually come off if you get the whole track rod in a vice and apply heat.