Front shock stuck, bolts are all off. Help

[BigMike18]

Installing new suspension up front and the shock is the last peice but it seems to be stuck. All bolts are off and I torched, pb blasted, and pryed it (possibly in the wrong spot if you have suggestions) and came up short. I can wiggle and move the bottom as you can see the movement in the picture but the older forums I’ve read I attempted their solutions but no luck. It’s been a few years and if anyone has any new ideas or possible solutions I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks, Mike.

 

[spartacus]

Installing new suspension up front and the shock is the last peice but it seems to be stuck. All bolts are off and I torched, pb blasted, and pryed it (possibly in the wrong spot if you have suggestions) and came up short. I can wiggle and move the bottom as you can see the movement in the picture but the older forums I’ve read I attempted their solutions but no luck. It’s been a few years and if anyone has any new ideas or possible solutions I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks, Mike.

This is a first. you can try this method.
DIY: Front Strut Replacement

 

[Tironeous]

Might want to try the no spring compressor method. Then you can deal with getting the shock mount off with the shock out of the way.


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[montijo505]

Top hat rusted to the bucket, try some more PB and a bry bar and big hammer. Frustrating but she'll come out eventually. Definitely wire brush and paint the bottom side of the bucket before putting in the new stuff. A beer or three always helps. Good luck!

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[eleven14]

I had the same issue on both sides, used a smaller steel wedge and BFH right at the seam where the top hat and bucket meet. Three seconds later it was free after I'd been fighting it for an hour pre-wedge.

Good luck!

 

[sentinel89]

I ran into the same issue with my front struts. The solution was to put a small bottle jack in the position shown below, add a bit of pressure and than deal the strut hat a solid whack with a hammer. You will need a small bottle jack, as there is not much room to do this. The bolt through the bottom end of the strut allows you to use the LCA as a lever to yank down on the strut.

 

[Clausenfoto]

I just dealt with this yesterday. Tried the stock jack against the UCA and fender but that just lifted the body up. Hammering a chisel or screwdriver into the top hat didn't work either. I ended up loosening the LCA bolts to get more room, and both came out after about 10 minutes of swinging the shock back in forth with my hands.

 

[BigMike18]

I just dealt with this yesterday. Tried the stock jack against the UCA and fender but that just lifted the body up. Hammering a chisel or screwdriver into the top hat didn't work either. I ended up loosening the LCA bolts to get more room, and both came out after about 10 minutes of swinging the shock back in forth with my hands.

Well I gave your method a shot, loosen the two ball joint bolts and the front cam but then the rear one decided no. I talked nice to it with the torch and got smacked in the face for it with a broken nut. Any ideas or moving forward... fearing having to buy whole new lca, anyway I can just buy bushing and bolts and maybe clean it up a bit?