I had a shop assemble my new struts (I walked them in and walked them out) and when I got home and installed everything into the car, it appears they didn’t tighten everything to spec, so I’m wondering what’s the easiest way to go about wrenching everything tight.

First off, a few questions;

Should the strut move up and down like this when everything is ‘to spec’?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YnXfz_pTR0

Should the space between the strut mount and the large toothed-disc (what IS that thing called?!) be that big, or should they be touching?

I know the top shouldn’t spin like this – this tells me it’s not tight at all.

So it looks like I have to remove the strut and tighten everything down, but I had a thought; does the cross-shaped nut keep the tension of the spring, or is it a combination of both nuts?

And before I ask this next question let me remind you I am deathly afraid of shooting a spring into my body so I don't try things I don't understand, but my mind comes up with odd questions: Would it be foolish to take the top nut off and tighten the cross-shaped nut with the strut still mounted in the car without compressing the spring?

Could I compress the spring mounted in the car and torque everything down, or should I remove the strut?

Since this is a new strut with new nuts & bolts holding it in place, can I reuse them or do I need to get new ones? I’d hate to replace them without getting any mileage out of them but I’d prefer that the car not shake apart on a highway!

 

http://members.shaw.ca/heeeeee/strut/

here you go. Perfect walk throught. Do it yourself.. do it right.

first things first... DO NOT TAKE OFF ANY NUTS WITHOUT SPRING COMPRESSORS...

 

Yeah, I've read that one many times, but it doesn't show the top nut or if the mount & big-toothed thing should be touching. Plus, there's no mention if I have to remove the strut to tighten it or if it can be left in the car.

 

I would take them out of the car to do it. seems like it may be "easier" maybe just me.

im not sure what you mean about the top nut and the cross nut/ retainer touching.. I would have to look at it, But does this breakdown help at all?



(All credit to FCP for the image.. i stole it from there website)

 

Yes it looks like the cross nut is not tight.

 

Hey guys! First post from a long time lurker. I just finished replacing my struts. During reassembly the cross shaped nut tightens against the top of the new spring seat and strut bearing. It is supposed to be torqued to 52 ftlbs. Since I used a special wrench designed for that nut http://www.ipdusa.com/Volvo-850/Susp...2-151-239-877/ I could not torque to specs so I just tightened by hand as tight as I could. Next you put on the funny looking special washer ( part #30647969 ) and finally the lock nut which should also be torqued to 52 ftlbs. When the strut is back in the car the washer should definitely not turn like it does in your video clip. Hope this helps.

 

Yeah, I wound up doing the same thing – compressing the spring, taking it apart and torqueing the heck out of the star-nut. No more squeaks, thank God!
One interesting thing - at least, something I thought interesting - was that the two nuts pretty much clamp themselves together with the Cap (p/n 30647969) when it’s all put back together. I noticed that as I was taking the top nut off, the star-nut was moving. This was a clear indication that removing the top nut alone is simply not possible since it causes the star-nut to rotate. So this was the answer to; “Why can’t I remove the top nut only?”