Removing strut from support arm

[tuna]

Hi im having a little trouble getting the strut of the support arm. I've disconnected everything that connects to the strut except the arm! I've tried lifting the strut of the not that holds the arm in place, coated it all in wd40 and tried tapping it off with a hammer but the thing just wont budge!

I dont realy have any specialist tools, just your average socket/spanner set. Some people have said you need specific tools but i have no access to them and must do this before my MOT tommorow - Please help!

[daimlerman]

This the front strut/track control arm balljoint that you are fighting?

[bmw9818]

Are you reusing the arm? Get a hammer and batter it on the side, and get the nut back on and hit it at the top if your reusing it if not just bang the shit out of it, there's not really any other way exept a balljoint splitter, it does take time I was trying for nearly an hour once! But just persevere and youl get there

[tuna]

Thanks bmw9818! what you said work, destroyed the nut in the process though . Only problem i got now is getting the standard struts back in without a spring compressor which by the looks if it just wont quite fit, litteraly half an inch away from fitting straight in! Oh well looks like a mot cancellation and more bike riding for me!

[Scruffymurphy]

Get yourself a balljoint splitter. They aren't expensive and if you plan on doing your own work, it's essential.
As for the springs, you'll need a spring compressor to get standard springs back on. If using lowering springs they can usually be built up without it. If buying spring compressors, get a decent set. It's not nice when the spring comes flying out of them, which happens with the cheap ones.

[G-Bear]

As Scruffymurphy says.. Ball joint splitters have the job done in a matter of seconds with little effort or damage..

You can get adjustable ones that vary the leverage and size but this is the one I got for the very job you are doing and it worked fine..

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/produ ... 20splitter

I've bought these spring compressors (i think they're the ones) too but haven't used them yet so couldn't say how good they are but they seem strong enough for the job..

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/produ ... compressor

The spring compressors are a bit more expensive and it might seem a bit of a waste to buy in comparison of how much you'll use them. If you feel thats the case, perhaps take the springs down to garage and offer them a few beers for swapping the springs over it'll only take them 5 minutes..

[tuna]

Im back, with more problems! GO ME! So, got the compressors through the mail, compressed those spring bastads, Now i managed to get the strut connected to the top mounts, tie rod, wishbone etc but the problem i got now is that the compressors are still on, but i cant realy loosen them by using a ratchet or a spanner because the lack of space inside the strut well. It seemed the only way i could compress the springs was by keeping the compressors upright (screw head on the top). I guess i could use a molgrips on the thread of the compressor and spend the next 20 years of my life undoing them that way, otherwise i got no idea. To be fair im probably being a simple minded idiot and am just doing it wrong... some how...

Ps. i've never raged so hard when fiddling with my car, those struts, with everything still attatched weigh a bloody ton, and just getting that one strut in was an utter bitch.

"Hi im a wishbone and im gonna sit a bit higher than the lowest point i actualy go, just so you have to use a hand to push me down whilst using your other hand to push the strut up! Oh and my friend mr tie rod likes to swing underneath me aswell to make life for you so fantastic"

I think ill be getting a friend over tommorow to help me with the otherside, providing i can get those compressors off!

Oh and almost forgot, thanks alot G-bear for those links, brought both of what you linked me

[bmw9818]

lol be a man! struts are heavy but manageable with one person, get a jack underneath the strut and guide it through the top holes you might need to hold it up with one arm depending on your jack and use the other arm to get the nut on,

which compressors you got? two hook or one, if the one its good your head is still in one piece through the process however just try to loosen it a bit and shimmy it around get a heavy rag or a curtain is what i used, my struts were being rebuilt to put on a scrap car so i just got a curtain put it over and just knocked the compressor off with a hammer, but those springs were scrap so if you do that you might damage the new springs and chip the paint on it,

you can unwind it pulling out as you do if it budges... use the curtain as well incase they pop off its not pretty when they do! mine blew off and smashed my window

[Brianmoooore]

Get the feeling I may regret asking this, but why are you trying to refit the struts to the car with the compressors still attached?????

[maxfield]

Get the feeling I may regret asking this, but why are you trying to refit the struts to the car with the compressors still attached?????

That was going to be my question.

[tuna]

I got two hook compressors bmw 9818,

and without the spring compressors i cant get the strut onto the wishbone, even if i push the strut all the way into the top mounting point, screw the three nuts in so its at its highest possible point, the bottom strut mounting hole still sits lower than the wishbone balljoint by an inch or two. And thats with the wishbone pushed as low as it can go. So i thaught that the only way of getting it back in was to shorten the strut a few inches by compressing the springs.

[daimlerman]

Remove the strut,remove the spring compressers from the strut.
Offer the strut up into it's housing and bolt the three top nuts into place.
Using a lever such as a tyre lever,lift the bottom of the strut up and swing it onto the balljoint.

Dead easy,should take 5 minutes!

[capri_rob]

Get the feeling I may regret asking this, but why are you trying to refit the struts to the car with the compressors still attached?????

That was going to be my question.

And mine ?

You build up the strut off the car - compress spring, fit top mount, remove spring compressors, fit strut to body, then bolt up the steering arm and wishbone

If you cant get the wishbone on with the strut in-situ then just unto the lollipop mount and balljoint that bolts through the front crossmember and it will drop down enough for you to fit the balljoint to the bottom of the strut then just bolt it all back up again.

you should not be attempting to refit the strut to the car with the spring compressors still attached.

I've done this successfully on my own and I'm no mechanic

Oh and you don't need a balljoint splitter - a suitably weighty tapping-stick and being careful is all you need to split an E30 balljoint.

[Brianmoooore]

Should be no problem at all getting the control arm low enough to go onto the assembled and fitted strut - unless you're fighting the anti roll bar!

[tuna]

Ok guys i managed to get it in, i ended up using the jack to compress the strut unit a tad so i could get the wishbone underneath, got their eventually, not as easy as you guys make it seem though must be doing something wrong! Anyway thanks alot for the help.

[Brianmoooore]

Where was the other front wheel when you were doing this?

[G-Bear]

Where was the other front wheel when you were doing this?

Detective moooore, good thinking if the answer is what I think it will be.

No worries for the links tuna.

Capri_rob's probably right about the balljoint splitter, but I've never tried the 'tapping stick' method.... never keen whacking anything whilst the cars up on axel stands if I don't have to..

[tuna]

Lol im guessing from what your saying that the other front wheel is meant to be on? doh!

[Brianmoooore]

Most definitely not! That's the common mistake that's often made - working on one front hub, while the other front wheel is firmly on the ground, compressing the strut it's attached to. The wheel on the ground pushes the anti roll bar upwards, forcing the control arm on the side you're working on upwards as well.
If the other side's suspension was at full droop as well, I don't understand why you had the problem you describe.

[tuna]

Ah well atleast i dident make a fool of myself then, no idea why i had the problem either, both wheels where off the car and the car was raised a fair height, i was able to push the control arms as far as i could downwards without them touching the floor, anyhow its all done now, just got a rounded allen nut on the disks again as these legs i got on are rather corroded, time to get the drill out again . Anwyay, once again thanks for all the help!

[Brianmoooore]

To remove disc: Remove the calliper and calliper bracket, turn the disc so that the disc retaining bolt is as far from where the calliper was as it can be, then use a heavy hammer to give the disc a hard smack from the back. The head of the bolt will shear off, and the disc will be removed without damage to anything other than the bolt. The remains of the bolt will still project from the hub face by several mm, and can usually be unscrewed using grips.
Note that it is not 100% necessary to replace the bolt at all, although it makes fitting wheels easier with it in place.

[tuna]

Ok brian thanks! I will try that tommorow, i guess its not an MOT failure to not have the retaining bolt in.

[Brianmoooore]

It's not an MOT failure, or even anything a tester could possibly discover. Can't be seen with the wheels in place.