Is there a trick to getting the centre nut off the top of the front shock absorber?
I am using a tube socket to get over the bolt that sticks up through the nut but it is only a small bar that goes through the tube and I have bent that trying to undo the nut.

Front shocks? Not sure if this is the right way to do it, I loosen - BUT DO NOT REMOVE - that nut while the shock/strut is still on the car. Just loosen it enough so it can be undone when you have the strut off the car and the spring secured by spring clamps.

Front shocks? Not sure if this is the right way to do it, I loosen - BUT DO NOT REMOVE - that nut while the shock/strut is still on the car. Just loosen it enough so it can be undone when you have the strut off the car and the spring secured by spring clamps.

Yes that is what I am trying to do, just loosen the nut but it won't turn at all and I don't want to bugger anything else up.

1. Spray the nut with penetrating oil, it will help loosen it.
2. Use an appropriate sized socket (17mm?) with a breaker bar if required.
3. Loosen only, and then remove the whole strut.

Is the whole rod spinning with the bolt?

Is the whole rod spinning with the bolt?
No nothing is spinning except my head.

I am going to give it another go after drowning it in WD40 and I realised I can use a spanner on the outside of the tube so it might give me the oomph I need. FIngers crossed.

Hang on, can you supply a pic showing what you're doing?

I don't think you remove the center nut, only the 3 or 4 outside ones? Or as Skapper described, do you remove the center one to remove the strut from the to hat?

Either way, the right tool will make the world of difference.
Do you have a ring spanner? Otherwise a deep socket might be in order, but the few times I've seen deep sockets, they are smaller 1/4" drive, not the strong 1/2" drive sockets, so might not be up to the task?

Where are you? Maybe someone is close by and can lend a hand?

Cheers!

Hang on, can you supply a pic showing what you're doing?

I don't think you remove the center nut, only the 3 or 4 outside ones? Or as Skapper described, do you remove the center one to remove the strut from the to hat?

Either way, the right tool will make the world of difference.
Do you have a ring spanner? Otherwise a deep socket might be in order, but the few times I've seen deep sockets, they are smaller 1/4" drive, not the strong 1/2" drive sockets, so might not be up to the task?

Where are you? Maybe someone is close by and can lend a hand?

Cheers!

I'm a little confused, there are only three nuts on the top that are accessed from the engine bay, and two bolts attaching the strut to the wheel hub, which hold the strut in. Don't bother with that centre nut at all until you've removed the strut from the vehicle.

To clarify again, first, you undo 3 x 14mm nuts which hold the strut in the strut tower, then, with the car jacked up with the wheels off you should be able to undo the two bolts holding the strut to the wheel hub.

If you need pictures of how to do this i'd be only happy to help, I had to change my struts/springs a few months ago. :) joshuabentley25@gmail.com email me if your number if you want and i'll mms you a few pictures of where to attack :)

Don't bother with that centre nut at all until you've removed the strut from the vehicle.
most people will loosen the centre bolt wilst its still in the car .

The correct way to do it is to loosen, not remove, the centre nut while it is attached to the car. That way the car is holding it tight so you can get the force needed to undo it. I finally managed to get a 19mm deep socket 1/2 inch drive from Ebay for $9.00. There was no problem loosening the nut except it required a lot of force and the trusty trolley jack handle to extend the socket wrench.
Remove the brake hose from the strut. Remove the two nuts from the bolts holding the strut to the knuckle. I removed one bolt and then removed the three nuts from the top of the strut in the engine bay. That way I can hold the weight of the strut and remove the second bolt from the knuckle and remove the strut from the vehicle.

All that went without a hitch once I had the deep socket. There is no room to use any other tool to loosen the centre nut and the amount of force needed to loosen it would require the strut to be placed in a vice, which I do not have so as people on here have said and as it says in the manual you loosen it while the strut is still on the car.

I put the spring compressors on and tightened them up and then started undoing the centre nut. I was working on the dining table and noticed that the strut was pointing at the tv so I pointed it at a wall and carried on undoing the nut.

Suddenly there was a loud noise and the nut flew off the strut, the top cover fell off and hit the floor. One of the spring compressors had slipped and fallen off.
I was grateful I had the foresight to point the strut away from the tv and not to stand in front of the nut. I still had my tv and there was no hole in my stomach.

I stuffed rags under the clips of the spring compressors so they wouldn't slip again. It took a lot of messing about to compress the spring enough to get it onto the new strut, but eventually I did it after two days and a lot of swearing.

I put the strut back on the car yesterday and found that the back of the spring was tight against the body, preventing it from turning. I have taken it off again and have removed the other strut.

comparing the two it looks like the cover isn't far enough down so I have to reseat the spring and cover.

I don't know what i am doing wrong but I can't seem to compress the spring straight and can't compress it enough. I just don't have the strength to turn the spanner once it gets to a certain point. I think I will have to take the parts to the mechanic and get them to put it back together.

Did you try compressing the springs with the top hat on top of them?
For it to compress straight you need to have the springs compressors equal lengths and directly opposite each other. The issue is sometimes they move as the spring is curved so you have to hold them and make sure they don't get too close to each other

I had the cap on backwards. I forgot the centre spindle turns and it was facing the wrong way when I put the cap back on.
I managed to get it assembled ok and then did the second shock. Got it off ok and started to compress it on the strut, remembering to pack the compressor clamps so they didn't slip.
BANG. The damn nut on the spring compressor that one uses to tighten or loosen it broke off the compressor and went flying past my head. My thumb was so painful I thought it had been broken but fortunately not.
I had to take the parts to the mechanics to get the spring put back on. The bastards didn't do it that day and then had the cheek to charge me $50. I argued with them that they were only going to charge me $0 per corner to change all 4 shocks and they brought it down to $40. I told them that for 15 minutes work they had a cheek and that I thought they should only charge $20 for the ten minutes it probably took to do it but they wouldn't have it.