roll pin won't budge

[bkreigsr]

the 7mm roll pin holding my bilsteins in the front struts will not move. (77 930, 94,000 miles, first replacement)

I'm thinking the next step is heat the bottom of the strut (which might melt the ball joint grease and rubber cup?)

...or drill through the center of the pin in increasing bit sizes till the walls are thin enough to break the (rust) seal

...or remove the whole strut and press it out.

...or will the roll pin punch' that McMaster-Carr sells do the trick with a few taps?

seems like a lot of trouble, no?

any help would be greatly appreciated.

sorry if this has been covered before, but I have had no luck with a search.

Bill K

oh, and anybody ever replace the pin with a nut & bolt?

[patkeefe]

A rollpin is harder than a drill bit. Get a punch with a shoulder on it, such that the inner diameter fits inside the pin; the shoulder drives it out. You can modify an ordinary punch on a bench grinder as necessary, just quench it in water a lot as you grind, so it doesn't get too soft.
Pat

[Wayne 962]

See the project in 101 Projects. Use a steel drill bit to drill through it in increasing sizes - it does drill quite easily, and should come out with a little bit of work.

-Wayne

[bkreigsr]

Pat, I tried that, than proceeded to whack that mother more than a few good ones. - no luck- maybe the nipple I left on the punch is too big? I see that the Snap-On one is just a little tip.

[patkeefe]

Bill:
The Man himself says it can be drilled. Although every roll pin I ever saw was extremely hard, I would take Wayne's word for it on this one.
You surely do not want to drill the hole too big, or then you have big problems (I-cut-it-twice-and-it's-still-too-short theory).

As long as the little nipple doesn't expand the pin diameterially, you should be OK. Squirt it with some PB Blaster or Aerokroil also.
Pat

[Wayne 962]

Just be sure to use new, or recently sharpened drill bits.

-Wayne

[Cdnone1]

I had the same problem with mine. Have you tried placing a jack underneath and raising and lowering the car small amounts then punching it out. That worked for me. Something must have been binding it because at one spot after whaling on it for quiet a while a raised or lowered it once more, whacked it and the thing shot out of the housing like a bullet. It sure was easier than drilling and I think worth trying first
Good l

[Jesset100]

bkreigsr, drill and punch it'll come out.
When I did mine I just drilled about half way thru the roll pin and I guess it weakened the hold enough to let go.
My passenger side strut caused me all the grief but the driver side drove right out without any drilling.
btw, yes you can drill roll pins but if you don't have a drill bit sharpener just toss the bits their no good anymore.

[john walker's workshop]

never had to drill one. you need to use a LONG flat ended punch just a tad smaller than the OD of the pin, and a stout hammer. with the tip of the punch on the roll-pin, the shank of the punch is about 1/2" away from the wheel lip. wrong angle and they don't move well. the hole in the strut fakes you out because the pin hole is a bit offset and you end up beating on the strut housing instead. another trick is to use a flat tip punch larger than the pin to get it moving and flush with the hole so you don't mushroom the end before you get it to budge. then use the other punch. when installing the insert, use the smaller punch in place of the pin to locate the notch in the shaft. leave the punch in and try to pull the insert out. it's easy to not get the insert in all the way, then you have this wierd knock that wasn't there before. the punch also lines up the notch with the hole so the pin will go in properly and not hit the area above or below the notch. and position the slot in the pin away from the shock shaft.

[bkreigsr]

thanks everyone.
all good stuff, to be sure.

John, sounds like you are doing the job on a lift from below. never thought about the alignment for the install. thanks

the fronts were top on my list today, but since I couldn't get that done, I did the rears and the motor mounts. ( 'bout time I finally got up the nerve to remove the air box, I've had the car since April)
looks like I shouldn't be doing the fronts without a new pair of pins anyhow.

Tomorrow I go after the ss brake lines

Thanks again
Bill K

[RLJ]

Buy a punch for a 7mm rolled pin. Flat on the end and the proper size for the pin. Best way to drive a rolled bin is with the propper punch.

Randy Jones
1971 911 "Iris"

[john walker's workshop]

i do it on a lift, but with the tire just a few inches off the ground. i don't take the wheel off either. so the work is done from above, with the strut top and wheel leaning out of the wheelwell. (remove the brake line horseshoe clip and feed the metal line thru the bracket first). one side at a time so you don't have to fight the swaybar.

[cstreit]

I always soak mine with some Kroil or PBBlaster first... Lots of crud can get in there and bind it up.

Drill a bit in the center and then use your punch...

[bkreigsr]

for anyone interested, the elusive 7mm replacement roll pin is available from Bilstein (West)
1-800-537-1085
ask switchboard (real person) for 'small parts'
price was between about $1.50 ea + ship.

Bill K

[Breeang]

It's called a roll pin,and they make other things called roll pin punches. Hmmmm-Do I see a pattern here ?.

[vash]

JW's method worked for me. you gotta have the right punch. i got one that fit the hole perfectly, and a bigger than average hammer. call it a baby sledge. tap, tap, it was outta there. it (the punch) needs to be long enough too. so you can hit it easily with the hammer.