Strut insert replacement?

[surflvr911sc]

The Bentley book says, "Using strut nut wrench, remove strut cartridge cap."
I didn't have a rubber bumper and the top of the strut housing (cartridge cap) looks nothing like the picture. The scratches were from my lame attempt to put a pipe wrench on it. I'm waiting for the tools for the ball joints and the tie rods so that’s why it's still on the car. This is the strut I'm replacing so I didn't care about the scratches.

[fred cook]

Doc,

Save yourself a lot of sweat and anguish! On the Bilstein struts,
you do not have to remove the strut caps! At the bottom of the
strut you will find a roll pin (about 3/16" diameter) that holds the
strut insert in place. Once you have removed the strut from the
lower control arm (with ball joint attached), take the whole assembly to a work bench. You will be able to tap out the roll pin
with a long punch and a medium hammer. The strut insert will then simply pull out of the strut housing. Piece of cake.

Getting the ball joints loose could be a lot tougher. On my car which is a 1980 911SC coupe (w/ 95k miles) it took a good air wrench, the special socket and lots of 120 psi air to break them loose. Once you have the strut assembly on the bench, look for a 13mm nut near the bottom of the strut. Loosen the nut, and supporting the opposite side (an appropriately sized socket works well) hammer out the special wedge shaped pin that holds the ball joint to the strut. Once the pin is out, you can place a large open end wrench between the ball joint and strut housing and by tapping on the wrench, drive the ball joint stud out of the strut housing. Don't worry, the new ball joint will go back in much easier. IMPORTANT ! Be sure that the wedge pin that holds the ball joint in place is correctly oriented. Otherwise it will NOT go all the way into place. It is probably best to use new pins and nuts as the old ones will take quite a beating to remove.

When you get ready to reassemble the strut-ball joint to the lower control arm, be sure to seat the ball joint correctly. There is a raised section that mates into a relieved area on the ball joint that keeps the ball joint from turning in the control arm. Once the ball joint is seated, tighten the special ball joint nut to the correct torque specs. The rest of the reassembly is pretty straight forward. By the way, if you remove the nut on the top of the strut and don't disturb the adjustment plate (held on by 3 allen head bolts), your alignment won't be off too badly .

Good Luck!

Fred Cook
'80SC Coupe

[surflvr911sc]

Thanks! I wondered about that. I knew the roll pin had to come out but didn't realize that it was all that held it in. New ball joint wedge pins are the way, so I'm good there.

I'm replacing one strut assembly b/c it's bent so an alignment is a must next week. Turbo Tie rods too.

Thanks for all the other advice too. It will really come in handy.