I live in the rust belt and can not get the front strut gland nut off. So far I have destroyed it almost beyond recognition and can no longer get a wrench on it.

Does anyone have any pictures of the strut gland nut (4 slot) and strut tube with no insert of gland nut installed? I don't know how thick the strut tube is or how deep the gland nut goes.

I have an air grinder and can do some serious metal removal, but I need to know where to stop before I destroy everything.

Thanks,
Joel

 

The threads go down about 3/8" as I recall. So, do you have a source for a new gland nut or were you just going to get another strut assembly at the jy?

 

I was hoping to replace the gland nut, it is hard to find parts in the local junkyards. I did get an oil pan for $50 though. So I'll give the jy a call and see what they have.

How thick is the wall of the gland nut and are the threads located at the thin edge of the strut tube?

I still have to get new inserts and that should come with a new gland nut.

 

I needed to replace the strut inserts and want to share my experience.

Easy removal of strut assembly - jack up front end and support, remove tire and brake rotor, LOOSEN (not remove) the top nut on the strut rod. Remove 2 bolts at the ball joint on bottom of strut housing. Pry on sway bar near the control arm link between the cross member and sway bar to pop the strut housing off the ball joint (moving control arm down. Support the strut housing with a jack or helper. Remove 2 nuts on strut mount (top) and the strut assembly will drop out.

Go to PEP boys or Advance Auto and borrow the spring compressor. Disassemble the strut, instructions for this are easy to find, but you need to compress the spring until it is loose before removing the strut rod nut or you will get a nasty release of spring energy that could ruin our day.

I could not remove the gland nut for the strut insert (tried heat and large wrenches), so I ground out the gland nut using a 3" cut off wheel working from the strut rod to the outside and a dremel with reinforced cut off wheels. There are threads on the inside of the strut housing tube, so be careful not to damage the inside of the strut housing.

This is slow going. It took 5 hrs for the first one (learning curve) and about 3 hrs for the second. The junk yard wanted $60 for the full assembly, but I didn't figure it would be any better than what I had. I didn't have a oxy-acetylene torch to burn out the center but that would have been quicker.

I used antisieze on the gland nut when installing the new strut insert, hopefully that will help if I have to do this again. Reassemble and enjoy.

 

Hello John,
I have found a couple of your posts in the 740 forum regarding removal of front struts. I am hopig you can help me with my situation/problem. I am doing a complete brake/suspension overhaul on my daughter's 1987 740 station-wagon. It may not matter but it has the turbo with intercooler. When i lifted the driver-side the tire sagged and sagged until my floor-jack was at its full height, at which point the tire was just touching the floor and the spring appeared to be at its full extension. (the passenger-side, on the other hand, is 4-5 inches off the floor and the spring is "tensed" as you would expect.) I separated the hub from the control arm at the balljoint and removed the entire strut assembly with the hub and rotor from the car. The strut is extended so far it looks rather like a telescoping antennae. the coil spring is completely loose between the "plates" where it would normally be sandwiched. The strut cartridge slides a few inches in the tube but won't slide out. Is there some connector I haven't found that needs to be removed for the cartridge to slide free, or could it be years or accumulated dirt and oil that has jammed the cartridge in the tube?

I know I will have to use coil spring compressors to dismantle the passenger-side safely, but aside from that difference, what will I need to do on the passenger-side to remove that strut from the tube?

Thank you for your assitance.

Sincerely,
Robert Booth

oddjobbob at gee mail dot com.

 

you might put a jack under the suspension control arm and lift it back up some, and see if that doesn't give yuou the clearance/angle to get the strut out.

 

Hello Pierce,
Thank you for your reply. I have the strut assembly removed. My question is how to get the strut cartridge out of the strut tube. I don't see a fastener anywhere on the tube or in the area where the ball-joint sits at the bottom of the hub assembly. The cartridge slides a little in the tube, maybe 4-5 inches. Do I just need to pull harder? The cartridge is extended to the point that there is no tension on the coil-spring.

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,
Robert Booth

 

the cartridge(2) go in from the top of the tube(9), held in place by a lock ring(4) at the top of the tube(9). you should have removed gland nut (3) first, then (5)-(8) just comes unstacked.



if you have the strut assembly removed from the car, the spring should be sitting on your parts table (or floor).

 

Thank you Pierce, That picture and your explanation saved me a lot of time. I got both struts changed out today and tomorrow will re-install the control arm after I have new bushings pressed into place.

Sincerely,
Robert Booth

 

here's the other parts drawing of a 7/9 front suspension, this shows the radius link (9) and associated stuff, also the hub and ball joint and strut mount.

 

oh. on that second drawing.... the bushings most likely to need replacing are 11, the two cone bushings on the radius arm. the other main bushings, 10 and 8 were in very good shape on my wagon at around 200K miles when I did a full replace. I didn't need to replace them but I was already there and had already bought them

on the first drawing, the sway bar bushings 15, (or 27 if you have the alloy control arm 24, unlikely), and 19 wear out eventually.

I do not recommend polyurethane bushings on street cars, they will harsh your ride for no measurable benefit. The stock rubber bushings last 20 years and 250000 miles.

my 740 drives like a new car except its a little too stiff and harsh with the bilstein shocks and ipd sway bars for the rough roads around here. but boy, its fun going fast in the mountains. brembo disk rotors, combined with the PBR pads are working better than anything I've tried before. strong smooth braking, no fade, no pulsing, even when hot. the 250000 mile 740 wagon's brakes are nearly as good as my low mileage 1990 Mercedes 300E (that car can brake really hard with total control)



edit: this was taken before the swaybar was installed. I'm embarrassed at how oily the undercarriage was, the turbo oil return gasket was bad, so the oil was going everywhere.