strut wont come out, feels stuck
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mikebontoft
New member
what kind of strut are we talking here? suspension? hatch?
more info please! happy to help but you're not giving me much. what have you done to it so far? which strut?
more info please! happy to help but you're not giving me much. what have you done to it so far? which strut?
4Running Daily
New member
Hit it with a hammer?
Here is what I done and steps I took and still NO luck
Ok so I removed the two bolts on the lower control arm, removed the lower bolt from the strut and the three bolts on top of the strut from the strut housing.
When I tried to push the lower control arm down I was unable to because it would hardly move at all. I friend of mine who is very strong and does a lot of manual work with roofing and he is pretty strong was unable to get the lower control are to barely move at all. We tried and tried and tried many times and barely could get the lower control arm to barely move. Finally out of last resort one forum or set of instructions someone wrote up said to loosen the bolts at the alignment area on both sides of the control arm - of course this would be throwing the alignment out but of course I will be needing to get an alignment anyways so it doesnt matter much anyway. We loosened the bolts a little bit and was able to get the lower control arm to move a little more. But we were unable to get the lower control arm to move a lot like in some photos I have seen people lower them. We lowered it enough to where we could try to pull the strut loose. *Reminder lower bolt on strut is out and the three bolts on top of the strut are out as well. While my friend held the lower control arm down the best he could I tried pulling, wiggling, shaking and everything but the strut would not budge at all. I tried using a crowbar to push down the strut from the top of the spring where it meets the strut housing and nothing budged at all. *It's like the strut was welded or glued in. lol. *We even put the bolt back into the lower strut and tried pushing down the lower control arm with the strut attached and no give. *We banged the strut housing with a hammer, taped the tops of the strut screw and everything and no movement at all. We could see the metal top of the strut where it sits flush against the strut housing and it was completely flush and no give at all. We were afraid to try anymore after trying for over "5 hours" to remove this strut and it was 2:30 in the morning and called it quits and bolted everything back up and I went home.
So we will be trying this again but can anyone let me know why we could not get this lower control arm to go down very far? And yes, it was down enough to where the strut could at least drop some ways but nothing from the strut gave at all. I would like to get the lower control arm lower than what we had it if possible and get the strut out but no play at all.
Please please please help out. Right now I am very upset and frustrated and need all the help I can get.
:wtf:
Ok so I removed the two bolts on the lower control arm, removed the lower bolt from the strut and the three bolts on top of the strut from the strut housing.
When I tried to push the lower control arm down I was unable to because it would hardly move at all. I friend of mine who is very strong and does a lot of manual work with roofing and he is pretty strong was unable to get the lower control are to barely move at all. We tried and tried and tried many times and barely could get the lower control arm to barely move. Finally out of last resort one forum or set of instructions someone wrote up said to loosen the bolts at the alignment area on both sides of the control arm - of course this would be throwing the alignment out but of course I will be needing to get an alignment anyways so it doesnt matter much anyway. We loosened the bolts a little bit and was able to get the lower control arm to move a little more. But we were unable to get the lower control arm to move a lot like in some photos I have seen people lower them. We lowered it enough to where we could try to pull the strut loose. *Reminder lower bolt on strut is out and the three bolts on top of the strut are out as well. While my friend held the lower control arm down the best he could I tried pulling, wiggling, shaking and everything but the strut would not budge at all. I tried using a crowbar to push down the strut from the top of the spring where it meets the strut housing and nothing budged at all. *It's like the strut was welded or glued in. lol. *We even put the bolt back into the lower strut and tried pushing down the lower control arm with the strut attached and no give. *We banged the strut housing with a hammer, taped the tops of the strut screw and everything and no movement at all. We could see the metal top of the strut where it sits flush against the strut housing and it was completely flush and no give at all. We were afraid to try anymore after trying for over "5 hours" to remove this strut and it was 2:30 in the morning and called it quits and bolted everything back up and I went home.
So we will be trying this again but can anyone let me know why we could not get this lower control arm to go down very far? And yes, it was down enough to where the strut could at least drop some ways but nothing from the strut gave at all. I would like to get the lower control arm lower than what we had it if possible and get the strut out but no play at all.
Please please please help out. Right now I am very upset and frustrated and need all the help I can get.
:wtf:
mikebontoft
New member
excuse the lame post, but it should have come out. there must be some serious adhesive (why?) stuck up there or something. the middle nut is used to hold the top bearing and seat assembly together... do not try to remove it.
I'm guessing the bearing assembly is being an absolute pain to move because it should just come right out. they don't bolt the sway bar links to the struts on these like they do on fwd cars do they?
are you reusing the bearing or did you get one of those quick struts? thread the top nuts on so they are flush with the top of the stud and try to pop them with a hammer.
sleep on it though... you're pissed at it and if its anything like my luck, the damn thing will just fall out in the morning.
I'm guessing the bearing assembly is being an absolute pain to move because it should just come right out. they don't bolt the sway bar links to the struts on these like they do on fwd cars do they?
are you reusing the bearing or did you get one of those quick struts? thread the top nuts on so they are flush with the top of the stud and try to pop them with a hammer.
sleep on it though... you're pissed at it and if its anything like my luck, the damn thing will just fall out in the morning.
Trying to put spacers in with my Daystar lift kit I just bought. I have just thought with removing the lower bolt on the strut and the three top bolts on the strut would let me wiggle it to come out but no play or much wiggle. It seems to be stuck on the strut housing somehow and will not budge.
So I will be reusing the strut, spring and everything just needing to remove so I can place my spacer on it.
The sway bar links are not attached to the struts at all.
And it wont fall out in the morning as I had to put it all back together and drive home. I could not even get the first strut out to even move on to any other struts or spacers on the other wheels.
So I will be reusing the strut, spring and everything just needing to remove so I can place my spacer on it.
The sway bar links are not attached to the struts at all.
And it wont fall out in the morning as I had to put it all back together and drive home. I could not even get the first strut out to even move on to any other struts or spacers on the other wheels.
ARK_SWAMP_RIDER
New member
Did you remove the swaybar end link? What about the lower ball joint bolts?
momo.75
Registered User
Not sure if this will give you any more help.
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/98231-ds-1-5-2-5-ordered-seeking.html
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/98231-ds-1-5-2-5-ordered-seeking.html
2nd this one these are out and the lower shock bolt is out the shock basiclly extracted itself. If need be use a small pry bar in the hole in the lower ball joint To pry down the arm.
zonianbrat
New member
I think you might need to use the bottle jack to lower the control arm. Also if you have been hitting, prying on it you might want to replace the strut once you do get it all taken apart. It would suck to go through all this get it put back together and realize you have damaged the strut and need to pull it all apart again to replace it. Today is a new day so if you tackle it again take a lot of pics and post them up. So many people on this board have installed the daystar kit that I'm sure will be able to chime in. I also have the daystar sitting in my garage and plan on putting it on so I'll be looking for what happens. Good luck.
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Ok I dont think in anyway I have destroyed the strut but a photo from another thread I will edit in paint and post on here what I am having an issue with.
Best I could edit and play with. Hope this helps someone help me. Please. Thank you.
BTW as I stated the lower control arm/a arm would not move with not amount of force I placed on it with out loosing the lower control arm/a arm bolts.
Also if I remove the sway bar and other bars around to help for more room, do I need a pickle fork to reapply the joints to tighten it or can I just tighten it back together?
PEOPLE PLEASE REPLY ASAP AS I WILL TRY AND ATTEMPT THIS TOMORROW. THANK YOU
BTW as I stated the lower control arm/a arm would not move with not amount of force I placed on it with out loosing the lower control arm/a arm bolts.
Also if I remove the sway bar and other bars around to help for more room, do I need a pickle fork to reapply the joints to tighten it or can I just tighten it back together?
PEOPLE PLEASE REPLY ASAP AS I WILL TRY AND ATTEMPT THIS TOMORROW. THANK YOU
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ARK_SWAMP_RIDER
New member
If you can get enough room, you need to try to pull the bottom of the shock out and away from the vehicle. Once you remove those three nuts and the lower bolt on the shock (after taking out the bolts for the lower ball joint and removing the swaybar), you should be able to pry down the lca and pull the bottom of the shock out.
Another suggestion if the top is still stuck, try using the stock jack to apply force. Setup as shown in the pic, just be careful not to let things slip.
Another suggestion if the top is still stuck, try using the stock jack to apply force. Setup as shown in the pic, just be careful not to let things slip.
If you can get enough room, you need to try to pull the bottom of the shock out and away from the vehicle. Once you remove those three nuts and the lower bolt on the shock (after taking out the bolts for the lower ball joint and removing the swaybar), you should be able to pry down the lca and pull the bottom of the shock out.
Another suggestion if the top is still stuck, try using the stock jack to apply force. Setup as shown in the pic, just be careful not to let things slip.
But it looks like you are using the stock jack to apply force to the upper arm SO how does this help getting the strut to pull out if it is stuck?
gaterose
Senior Member
Pushing the upper arm down will also push the lower arm down and it should give you enough room between the lower strut mount and the strut eye to push and pull horizontally to wiggle the strut out.
It may also be worth trying that method (with the jack) without removing the lower bolt, that may cause the LCA to pull the strut out of the mount.
