The gland nut on my 240 '91 front suspension strut tube won't undo so I can change the shock.

I' ve tried hammer and drift, bigger hammer and drift, WD40.

The nut is round with four squareish notches. I don't have a bench vice and I don't have an oxy torch to heat the nut. I do have a heat gun but would that get it hot enough?

I'm trying to get my wagon back on the road before the nationals.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers

    Afternoon

    You will definitely need a vice. The amount of torque necessary to undo the nut is significant, a lot more than you would be able to withstand just by holding by hand.

    That and maybe a large pipe wrench or vice grip/channel locks

    If you get stuck I may be able to help, I have a vice

    Ramrodfunk and I don't have an oxy torch to heat the nut.

    @VolDan gave me a brilliant solution to get around that problem.

    Bunnings sell a mini butane torch known as a Little Devil. It's ideal for jobs like this.

    Oh - and instead of WD40, try Loctite Freeze & Release.

    Even so, ramrod is correct in that you'll still need a lot of torque to undo 'em.

    If you put the strut back into the car without the spring, this is a better way to hold onto the strut body than trying to hold it in your hands.

    21 days later