Busted Locknut!!

[danza]

Hello everyone,

Today I finally had time to install my leaf springs. I did the passenger side fine. When i got the the drivers side i ran into some trouble. The KYB shock goes into he spring plate and is secured with a nut and then a smaller nut. Well the smaller one i'm assuming is to keep the bigger one from coming loose.

My problem is that the smaller one spins but doesn't get off the bolt. I didn't have this problem on the other side. I'm assuming the threads inside the nut are stripped. How do I take the nut off without damaging the threads on the shock absorber.

I know its a dumb question but i've never run into striped nuts from the inside. This is putting a stop to my project. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[mustangdave]

It is not stripped; you need to grab the shock with a pipe wrench to keep it from spinning. If you look, I'm pretty sure that is what is happening.

 

[danza]

Thanks for the reply MustangDave,

I understand what you mean but the problem is that i'm trying to remove the locknut not the actuall nut holding the shock in place. At this point i can't remove the actual nut holding the shock because when it tries to spin (and while i'm holding the shock absorber steady to keep that from spinning ) the nut backs into the lock nut making removing it impossible.

So again i tried removing the lock nut but it'll just spin (the shock absorber doesn't spin). I think the threads inside the locknut are stripped. Would a hacksaw be a good solution that wouldn't damage the threads on the bolt?

 

[iskwezm]

are you talking about the end of the shock on the bottom or the top?????must be the bottom if it on the spring plate. Is the shaft spinning in the shock???I guess if you have to cut it off, thats your only choice........

 

[danza]

Problem solved. I decided to try and spin both nuts at teh same time. It worked! But i ended up stripping the crap out of my shock absorber . Guess I have to buy a new one.

 

[2nd Mustang]

Problem solved. I decided to try and spin both nuts at teh same time. It worked! But i ended up stripping the crap out of my shock absorber . Guess I have to buy a new one.

More excuses to stock up on tools. Nutbusters are fairly cheap, or I've used my rotary (Dremel) tool to cut off seized nuts without harming the threads of the bolts (no comments from the peanut gallery).

 

[iskwezm]

Problem solved. I decided to try and spin both nuts at teh same time. It worked! But i ended up stripping the crap out of my shock absorber . Guess I have to buy a new one.

Where do you live??I just took the rears off my 65', their in good condition,low miles, mainly drivewat time. Make offer