struts etc

[mettler]

I bought Tokicos. They ride great..make sure you align the notch up. I have to take my fronts apart to make sure I did do that, but it is looking like I didn't.

re: the notch - is the shaft of the strut grooved for the notch? And, the notch is on the mount, right? Should I be able to feel the groove in the shaft?

thanks

[mettler]

So, I jacked the car up, took the tire off, put a cinder block under the control arm and lowered the car down in order to put the strut in MAX compression. Then, I marked the bolt/nut with a sharpie and took my impact wrench and hit it. That finally tightened it up. The sharpie mark let me know that the nut was spinning and not both the nut/rod... so much better..

thanks

[ThurzNite]

Aren't the pistons slotted so they don't turn?
Dr J

[mettler]

I couldn't find any slots in mine. I checked, but they definitely turn if I try to use a wrench on the bolt. The impact worked.

[mettler]

I did finally find the slot. It is not really a slot, but the threaded rod is shaved on the sides at the very bottom - some struts are like that at the top so you have something to grab onto when tightening the bolt. So, when you put the threaded rod thru the strut mount, the threaded rod gets locked into the strut mount. I usually put my strut mount in the car, and then put the threaded rod thru the hole and put the bolt on, but with Tokico you have to put it all together before you put the mount in the car. Then, the mount holds the threaded rod while you tighten down on the bolt. You have to be a little careful that you keep the threaded rod locked while trying to get the strut to align with the control arm, but all good now.. Funny thing, I even called Tokico about this and they tech had no idea what I was talking about regarding a 'slot'..