Can't Remove Strut Center Nut(pics)

[theKnifeArtist]

so i have this problem that might just really suck.
when i installed my new shocks and springs..i forgot to put on that little braket piece before you put on the center nut so it won't spin when tightened(yeah i know stupid me, i keep kicking myself for it:nono
when we finished installing and bounced the car we realized they were loose in the back. so on the right side we tightened it up and it SEEMed fine. the left however, spun with the shock absorber rod thing. so after some thinking and playing around we got the nut off by drilling it off and spreading it. we put the bracket on, replaced the nut..done deal.
now i realize that the right one is loose and is knocking on bumps. not good. does anyone have any ideas how to get this nut off without doing the same technique...or a way to tighten it up without the bracket?
heres a pic of the center bolt and the what we did to that left center nut.

help. please.

 

[tubbie]

Use an impact on it.

 

[IJ.]

If you pull the strut out of the car you can hold the shaft at the top under the mount with a pair of vice grips (shock doesn't travel that far but still try to not mark it)

 

[bowsercake]

Yeah, use a towel and vice grips and pull it out. I had a similar problem where the nut on the kyb wouldnt go down enough on the thread to tighten it. So, I just used a couple washers from ACE hardware and then stuck them under there, used the vice grips again. I'm good for right now while I save up for coilovers.

 

[theKnifeArtist]

impact gun: could work, but when we tried it for the other side it didnt work. but then again it wasnt really that powerful of a gun...it wasnt working right that day.
taking the strut out:heh, thanks but i rather do the drill technique instead of all that, but thanks.
i was thinking...cuz i need an alignment...i might just ask the guys at the shop to impact it off for me before they start workin...or at least try to..

 

[IJ.]

It's 3 nuts and 1 bolt to pull the strut but hey it's your car.......

 

[theKnifeArtist]

when you say pull the strut...you mean take it out of the car? or just have the top unbolted. im not getting you right now.. elaborate if you could

 

[IJ.]

3 nuts on the top 1 bolt on the bottom remove from car ..

 

[theKnifeArtist]

oh you're right. i was thinking front.
does anyone know this....
is the rectangular bracket that holds the tems in the front able to work for the back...cuz i know i have those back in my house in jersey i just dont remember eactly what they look like...just in case the other one doesnt get found...does anyone have a picture of the front bracket right under the tems? its really hard trying to get my folks to find a part by explaining it through the phone...and they dont do computers.

 

[Facime]

Im with IJ...if the impact doesnt do it, taking the shock/spring out of the car is the way to go (btw...we dont have "struts" in Supras)

 

[theKnifeArtist]

sorry sorry that always confused me...

http://gallery.sanitylapse.com/v/supra/displayimage.php?album=120&pos=6
theres that bracket in the middle. is that the same as the rear one? i mean it looks identical..is it?

 

[johnathan1]

Isn't that thing just for mounting the TEMS actuator?

 

[theKnifeArtist]

right it is. but on the rear it is what keeps the center shaft from spinning when tightening the center nut. notice the two small screws stickin up on the sides on the rear...and not on the front.
yes, weird situation. but is my hypothesis correct?

 

[Wiisass]

The shock mounts should keep the shock in place when tightening. The rears have a flat side on the hole the shaft goes through. So I don't know what you're doing unless it just didn't fit in there right. I'm not sure how the stock shocks fit in the hole, but the mount should keep the thing in place for tightening. So I don't know what your problem is. But the mount I saw was a stock replacement made by KYB.

 

[black91turbo]

i had a similar problem......Whatever you do DO NOT use vicegrips with a towel to tighten it up, i blew out two tokicos that way. Put a couple of washers under it like one of the guys suggested, it fixed my problems instantaneously. I would not use an impact either simply because you only need like 26 foot pounds on that center nut. Just put a torque wrench on it or something. Oh those rear upper shock mounts from Toyota are a joke, even though they are designed to keep the shaft from spinning like one of the guys said, my tokico just stripped that shit out which is why I had to use vice grips on it. -Good luck

rear upper shock mounts :bigun2:

 

[theKnifeArtist]

im not sure you're understanding..that bracker isn't holding anything big and heavy...it doesnt even need to be bolted in...all its there for is to lock into the flat spot to keep the shaft from turning when you tighten it. ..black87...you said put a torque wrench on it. the problem is not that it's tight, its just impossible to loosen the center nut if the shaft spins.
if these brackets don't line up the way im thinking...ill try to impact it off and then do some washer action and put it back on.

 

[johnathan1]

i had a similar problem......Whatever you do DO NOT use vicegrips with a towel to tighten it up, i blew out two tokicos that way. Put a couple of washers under it like one of the guys suggested, it fixed my problems instantaneously. I would not use an impact either simply because you only need like 26 foot pounds on that center nut. Just put a torque wrench on it or something. Oh those rear upper shock mounts from Toyota are a joke, even though they are designed to keep the shaft from spinning like one of the guys said, my tokico just stripped that shit out which is why I had to use vice grips on it. -Good luck

rear upper shock mounts :bigun2:

So how did you get it fixed? What is the solution to the Toyota shock mounts?edit: derrr...i just noticed you used washers...but how did you keep the center shaft from spinning?

 

[3p141592654]

Wiisass is right. The top mount has a D-hole in it and should keep the rod from rotating. If yours is rotating then the mount hole must be damaged. The little bracket just mounts and locates the TEMS actuator to the strut, nothing else.

 

[Boostedstr8six]

Wiisass is right. The top mount has a D-hole in it and should keep the rod from rotating. If yours is rotating then the mount hole must be damaged. The little U-shapped bracket just mounts the TEMS actuator to the strut, nothing else.

IIRC, the little "D" hole strips pretty easily.

 

[IJ.]

IIRC, the little "D" hole strips pretty easily.

Very easily!