First project of 911 ownership HELP

[SoCal911SC]

Hello all, new Pelican here in my first month owning an '82 SC. Wheels are getting redone with Al Reed so I had some time to dig into the front suspension. List is as follows:

- turbo tie rods
- A Arm bushings
- sway bar bushings
- ball joints
- rebuilt Bilsteins HD's

Problem is I can't get the dang pin out of the lower shock housing. Also, I've taken off the lower nut but the bolt won't budge. I've soaked them in PB to no avail. Any suggestions? Maybe take a torch to it? Thanks in advance.

Any fellow Inland Empire DIY'ers out there?!

Matt

[tdw28210]

Try to heat it. If the torch is too scary try a heat gun first. Let it get real hot before going at it.

[SoCal911SC]

After beating the s#!t out of it tonight, I think I'll give that a go tomorrow night. Thanks.

[pors1968]

I would drill it instead of heat it.

[Flojo]

as this will be solved only with raw force (aparently), I would cut the pin from the balljoint that is still stuck in the strut, as I guess you will mount new ball joints anway.

this done, you can handle the strut better to place it in a jaw vice to drive out the pin and the nut.

[pete3799]

One of these and a BFH

[SiberianDVM]

That pin caused me great anguish the first time I tried to remove one, but it does come out.

Use the proper size punch: pin is 7mm so use slightly smaller or the punch will jam. 1/4" is almost perfect.

Use a 2lb short handled hammer.

It also works better if the shock is still mounted to the car, so it doesn't move.

Good luck, and bang away.

[GH85Carrera]

I just bought a mid range air hammer. A few blasts and it drove it right out. Mine was better than the $12 units Harbor freight sells but it was not much. The punch bit cost as much as the hammer. It saved me a lot of frustration and busted knuckles.

[awhnry]

The bolt is just in a bind since the complete suspension has been removed from the car. You may need to do some more disassembly to get a better "look" at the bolt but I dont think that it is frozen.

[SoCal911SC]

Originally Posted by Flojo

as this will be solved only with raw force (aparently), I would cut the pin from the balljoint that is still stuck in the strut, as I guess you will mount new ball joints anway.

this done, you can handle the strut better to place it in a jaw vice to drive out the pin and the nut.

Hadn't thought of that. I also like the air hammer idea, but before I go out and buy more tools I think I'll try some localized heat first and hit it with the pin punch again.

I don't quite understand drilling it, since to me it seems that would cause the pin to flair out and further bind in the hole....what size bit do you use to drill it out?

[douglas bray]

You need a bigger hammer and the strut need to be somewhere like a vise to anchor it in place or all the force in the world is just going to dissipate away. And heating will do wonders.

And hey neighbor. I am in Rancho Cucamonga and am going to be doing that same project starting in just a couple hours.

[SoCal911SC]

Originally Posted by douglas bray

You need a bigger hammer and the strut need to be somewhere like a vise to anchor it in place or all the force in the world is just going to dissipate away. And heating will do wonders.

And hey neighbor. I am in Rancho Cucamonga and am going to be doing that same project starting in just a couple hours.

Thanks Doug, let me know how that goes.

[SoCal911SC]

Finally got it. And the winner was the air hammer!

Ended up slightly stripping one of the threaded pins that holds the shock to the ball joint. Try to avoid that if you can......it's a $19 mistake to replace that bolt.