The TP efi sedan I just bought does not ride quite as well as my TP carby sedan, so I decided to swap all four shock absorbers and springs onto it from the carby sedan.

Last week I swapped the rear shocks and springs. Apart from the bottom bolts being very tight, that was relatively easy.

Today I attempted to swap the front struts and springs. I got the driver's side strut off the carby sedan easily enough and also confirmed that I can undo the passenger side one. However I could not undo the top strut to body nut on either side of the efi sedan. I then noticed something that makes it imperative to complete the swap. Despite the nut being excessively tight, the top of the driver's side strut on the efi sedan is loose. I can't tell for sure without getting the nut off, but it seems to me that the rubber insulator on that side must be missing. I've attached photos of both side strut tops. Note how the driver's side one sits much lower.

http://users.tpg.com.au/acheson1/images/driver_side.jpg
http://users.tpg.com.au/acheson1/images/passenger_side.jpg

The top nuts are so tight that there's a risk of rounding off the corners of both the nuts and the allen key holes or of bending the allen key. They are far in excess of the specified torque. My 19mm ring spanner doesn't have quite enough crank in it to sit flat inside the recess and has already slipped off a couple of times. Does anyone have any hints on other methods of getting them undone?

On page 2 of magna_buff's info posts, he mentions using a rattle gun on them. Does that work without using an allen key? Of course I don't have a rattle gun but I do have an impact driver - the type that takes any 1/2" drive socket. Each time you hit the end of it with a hammer, the shock makes the socket rotate slightly. Magna buff's post is post #14, here: http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40090&page=2 The rubber insulator I'm talking about is part No. 4 in the diagram attached to that post.

I'm sure others with more experience will chime in,but to me it looks like the drivers side is jacked up with no weight on the wheel while the passengers side is sitting with the vehicle weight on it. Both sides of my car look the same as your passenger side strut when it's sitting normally,if I jack it up they look like the drivers side. I think this is normal. As far as the tight nuts go,mine weren't all that tight,undo the nuts with weight on the wheels maybe? That way the strut is a little more steady,if your determined to change the perhaps you could grab onto the chrome strut shaft near the top with some vice grips,then you can use a bit more leverage to undo the nut? All that being said be careful because the strut will be damaged and definitely need changing after you do this. When I did mine it was pretty easy to undo these nuts.good luck with it,I hope it helps.

I'm sure others with more experience will chime in,but to me it looks like the drivers side is jacked up with no weight on the wheel while the passengers side is sitting with the vehicle weight on it. Both sides of my car look the same as your passenger side strut when it's sitting normally,if I jack it up they look like the drivers side. I think this is normal.

I think you're right there. The driver's side was jacked up when I took the photos. I've since put the wheel back on and taken it off the jack. I just took another look and now the top of the driver's side strut is no longer loose. I'm rather surprised that it can float around once the weight is off it.


As far as the tight nuts go,mine weren't all that tight,undo the nuts with weight on the wheels maybe? That way the strut is a little more steady,if your determined to change the perhaps you could grab onto the chrome strut shaft near the top with some vice grips,then you can use a bit more leverage to undo the nut? All that being said be careful because the strut will be damaged and definitely need changing after you do this. When I did mine it was pretty easy to undo these nuts.good luck with it,I hope it helps.

I got them undone on the other car quite easily too but this one is ridiculously tight. That's a good idea about leaving the weight on it. I might try that tomorrow and use the impact driver.

I had a go at them today with the impact driver but still couldn't undo them. I'm a bit suspicious of that red stuff on the threads. Maybe it is some kind of Loctite or similar. Anyway, short of cutting the tops off with an angle grinder, the only option at the moment is to leave them as is and put the other one back on the carby sedan.

You need the allen key to stop the strut cartridge turning. Sounds like someone has over tightened them or loctited them.
Think i had one that was really tight in the past at some stage.Ok if your putting new ones in you can use other methods to remove but as you want to use them you have to use whats there.Vee

Thanks, Vee. I'm fairly sure now the red stuff on the threads is Loctite and that's why I can't undo it.

This is a video on how to undo Loctited threads: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9zFgB8lTNM

I tried that today but the LPG cylinder of my soldering/brazing torch was almost empty. I could barely get a flame at all and it was not nearly hot enough. I will have the cylinder refilled on my weekly trip to Tamworth on Wednesday, then try again. For the time being, I put the strut that I removed from the carby sedan back onto it, so that both cars are mobile.

The swap is actually an easy job and should only take 15 to 20 minutes per side if all goes well.

If you get caught out and are unfortunate enough to damage one there was a guy on eBay selling monroes with a opening bid of $100 for a pair.....good deal for that brand. If you bought them you could get a bit more aggressive with trying to hold the shafts and not be worried about damage. Where there a will there's a way!

Today I got the struts undone. With the gas cylinder refilled, I used my soldering torch to heat the nuts and melt the Loctite. I soaked an old singlet in water and wrapped that round the strut top area to prevent the heat from spreading. The Loctite has to be really hot. You should see its colour change from red to black. Anyway, they are undone now so later this afternoon when the cars are in the shade, I will swap the front shocks and springs.