MA61 front struts question

**UZA61** · 01-11-2006, 11:07 PM

Hey guys.

I decided to change my front struts on the supra at the weekend.

Removed the old retaining nut at the top and removed the oil and the inserts.

New struts are Lip Gas Tech ones and they are a sealed unit unlike the weird toyota things i removed. They come with a new retaining bolt also.

So it put the new shocks into the tube and then realised the nut that goes on top to secure it had a diffrent thread to the toyota design.

Asked around many metal shops and unfortunately they all said that they couldnt or wouldnt remake the thread to fit.

So i decided that they best course of action was going to be to file off the thread and push the cap/nut thing in and spot weld it.

But last night after a beer i got angry and decided to hit it in there with a big hammer with the shock out

Anyway it went in and then between me, my dad, an 18" truck spanner and a metal vice we managed to turn the cap back out and it seems to have cut a thread in.

So i slid the shock back in and put the cap in and we did it back up. We torqued it up tight and refitted the spring and even with the force of the spring being on hasnt budged it so im personally happy to refit it to the car like this

I mean from looking at the way the suspension is designed it looks like this cap/nut is only there so you can fit the spring onto the shock without it coming off. And the way i see it is once its in the car the lower arm doesnt move anywhere near enough to allow the shock to move even if the bolt did come off.

Anyone agree?

**wilbo666** · 01-11-2006, 11:29 PM

That sounds so dodgey to me is what i say....

Is there a reason the stock nuts didn't fit?

Sounds like you've stuffed the thread in the struts at anyrate now :S

Cheers
Wilbo

**UZA61** · 02-11-2006, 12:10 AM

The standard toyota nut was too thick to fit around the top of new insert.

Had to use the ones supplied with the new shocks. Im certain that these will be 100% safe in the car but just wanted to see if anyone else had the problem or if anyone else can backup my thinking that the nut is just there to let you attache the spring.

**thechuckster** · 02-11-2006, 12:36 AM

I'd be thinking seriously of heading of to the nearest wrecker to find an RA65 strut (slightly better camber angle) and steering-knuckle arm ... and making sure the rings on those struts can fit around the insert (or getting them machined to suit).

**UZA61** · 02-11-2006, 08:35 AM

Decided to get the struts spot welded today. Only took 5mins to do and least now i can be 100% certain they will never come apart

**wilbo666** · 02-11-2006, 09:04 AM

Well regardless I still wouldn't have taken a hammer to it

I would have contacted the shock manufacture and talked to them. I'm under the impression that they are able to supply the different top nuts required. (that is what my monroe catalogue suggests...).

Cheers
Wilbo

**RObErT_RaTh** · 02-11-2006, 09:26 AM

Originally Posted by UZA61

Decided to get the struts spot welded today. Only took 5mins to do and least now i can be 100% certain they will never come apart

Well I hope your Lip Gas Tech ones are quality

If not then it'd probably be easier to swap in RA60/5 struts next time

Spot weld is a better idea than just hammering it in I think

**Norbie** · 02-11-2006, 10:57 AM

It's not hard to file/grind the thread off and use a die to cut a new thread of the required size and pitch. In fact I helped a friend do exactly that recently so he could use S13 strut tops in his VL Commodore. Wasn't hard and worked a treat - and I think it's a slightly less dodgy method than hammering the wrong size nut on!