RA brakes/struts into TA22

[PULSE]

****SOLVED*** - Another problem down below in new post.

Hey guys, I'm swapping some RA struts into my TA22. Its my first time doing anything involving the brakes so I'm a bit clueless. How do I get the brake lines off the caliper? I unscrewed the fitting that holds it to it but I can't unscrew the whole thread without twisting the fuck out of the brake line which I tried but it wont twist that far. I'm guessing that I've just missed something obvious, could any point me in the right direction?

Cheers, Matt

[mynameisrodney]

if you are swapping the whole strut you need to undo the fiting where the steel line meets the first rubber hose, then the two rubber hoses come off with the strut. you just need a 10mm spanner to undo the fitting, then there is a clip which holds the end of the hose into a bracket on the car. just yank the clip off with some pliers.

[Officer Doofy]

Or unbolt the caliper and spin that instead of the line

[PULSE]

***SOLVED*** one last question in my next post.

Alright I got the caliper off using a breaker bar for the bolts, and so now the brake line is off. I've removed the strut, taken the strut top off and spring. But How do I remove the shock from inside in the strut? The RA strut that I bought didn't come with shocks and apparently I can use the TA22 shocks with a spacer. How do I actually remove the shock though? There seems to be little indentations on the inner part that screws to the strut which could be used to remove it. But these are fairly burred so I don't know how to use them. I thought I'd ask before trying and fucking them further.

Cheers, Matt

[ONCE-NA]

Big vice grips or a pipe wrench! -It sounds like you don't have the sort you could use a shifter on...

[Officer Doofy]

Give it a good clean first so you can see what your doing. Then pop it in a bench vice and use the above mentioned tools to crack it loose. It will be hell tight and there will be many moments of anger and loud profanitys, walk away for awhile if needed and collect your thoughts to save you doing something silly.

[styler]

the easy way of older jap strut dis - assembly is

top nut use:
a impact gun and hold the inner shaft with your hand
or use multi grips with cloth to protect the inner shaft.

tube retainer use:
a vice to hold it on a suitable section,
a suitable drift / blunt chisel for cutout type slots and tap with hammer.
a punch for circle indents and tap with hammer.

also some penetrating fluid or wd40 may be of use.

[PULSE]

Alright I got it all done, heres what I ended up doing. I chucked the strut into a bench vice and used vice grips to get a good hold onto the shock end and finally managed to get it out after a bit of WD40. And then the other strut which was going to be more of a problem, we werent able to crack the strut top nut while it was still in the car before we started as the nut was a bit burred and the socket kept slipping. The spring also kept moving around as we tried to undo the nut. So we pulled the whole thing out of the car, then chucked it into the bench vice and undid the shock end the same way as the other one, except the spring and strut top were still attached this time. That way I managed to get it off, the spring was removed, and then I put the shock into the vice and I was able to undo the strut top nut.

Anyway, thanks for that guys, + rep for everyone! One last question, how much would it cost me to get a welder to weld the bottom spring mounts onto the strut lower, if I cut them off myself. Just because the car already has low springs in it and I don't want to have to shell out for lower ones if they even make them low enough.

Cheers, Matt

[mynameisrodney]

probably about $100 or so. don't forget that you will need shorter stroke shocks.
NINJA: and probably some RCAs

[PULSE]

I'm planning to use the TA22 shocks i already have with a 25mm spacer in the bottom of the strut. Or would it be better to put the spacer above the shock before screwing them in. Do I really need RCAs? Or is it just to make the steering better. Because the car has already got lower springs in it anyway.

[LeeRoy]

2 options: Cut the strut down 25mm, or use spacers at the bottom of the strut/shock.

I'd say $100 or so to rewelf the spring perches too but thats if you cut both off and just give them a bare strut and the perch. Try a boilermaker or engineering joint if you want it done. Your local exhaust shop probably wouldnt be the right place for something like this.

RCA's reset the control arm angles back to what they should be. As the arms get closer to horizontal, any travel - either up or down, has a greater amount of transfer into your steering.

[PULSE]

I'm gunna go for the spacers because if I cut down the strut, I'd have to tap a new thread which would prove to be fairly difficult considering the ID of the strut. As for the spring perches, I'm going to have a chat to a teacher at my school who does tech metal but hes a car enthusiast too, so he'll know whether its within his limitations to properly weld these on.

With the RCAs, where would I be able to buy these from I didn't have much luck with googling. Are they universal? And any chance you could give me a rough cost?

Thanks for all the help!

[mynameisrodney]

T3 ones are good quality and the exchange rate is still pretty good

[LeeRoy]

IIRC most people cut the strut at the top, but just below the thread so that it can be reused.

You could make some rcs's if your handy with things yourself but its probably easier to just buy them from TTT/T3.

[PULSE]

Well I should have myself some T3 RCAs soon, I'm doing a bit of a deal with Tricky.

As for cutting the strut vs. spacer. I know that the spacer I need is 25mm, I wouldn't think there would be 25mm of thread because the screw cap thing isnt that big. Its a bit late now but I'll check it out tomorrow.

Maybe I should rename the thread again haha