pesky top shock nut

[helliviknow]

I have an 88 c1500 that had the lower ball joint fail/seperate on us. The ball joint came through the lca and is still hanging on the spindle. The control arm fell to the ground (along with that side of the truck)

Anyhow we bought a whole new LCA assembly to put in. I went to take the shock off and i cant get the nut on the top to come out. Iv been using an impact on it with lots of pb blaster and it just spins the whole shock shaft. Tried locking plyers on the flat on top and a wrench, but cant get enough torque as its a bit akward to get at.

Any tricks/suggestions to get this off? I'm just about ready to pull out the angle grinder and buy a new shock lol.

[slo99sierra]

This would be a good time to buy new shocks IMO.

However...You could use vise grips on the shaft, hold it there then hit the nut with the impact.

[helliviknow]

I tried something to that effect to no avail. I think the problem is that the threads just rusted beyond help lol. I think I'm going to give it one last shot tomorrow then the grinder is comming out and the old beast will get treated to new shocks

[snshddog]

All I ever do is use a socket and a long extension when You can get at it from the top like in a truck. Bend it as far as you can back and forth until it breaks.

[MT-2500]

Originally Posted by helliviknow

I tried something to that effect to no avail. I think the problem is that the threads just rusted beyond help lol. I think I'm going to give it one last shot tomorrow then the grinder is comming out and the old beast will get treated to new shocks

Get the ball joint in before taking the shock lose.
The Shock may be holding spring tension.
Cuting/grinding the shock lose without ball joint hooked up could cause a lose of fingers or feet.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by helliviknow

I tried something to that effect to no avail. I think the problem is that the threads just rusted beyond help lol. I think I'm going to give it one last shot tomorrow then the grinder is comming out and the old beast will get treated to new shocks

with the lower mounting studs removed and a vise grip pliers clamped on the shaft just below the lower mounting washer heat the nut with a small tiped propane torch until it glows red then using the air gun at low torque it should come off easy ..it is quite possible locktite was used on this ..

[helliviknow]

The torch did the trick

couldn't get it to glow (the rust? lol) but i got it nice and hot and hit it with the impact and it zipped right off! Before this i went ahead and unhooked the bottom shock mounts and took the spring out so i could get a better grip on the shaft of the shock. not sure i created that much friction as smooth as it is lol. I contribute most of this to the heat!

Thanks everyone for the replies! I think we are going to just give this old truck a proper fixing up at this point. It has served me and my family very well for a very long time.