Macpherson Strut

[Ontario]

Greetings Everyone

The driver's side front wheel bearing has gone on my 1996. I have a 1995 I that I use for parts. I am trying to change entire spidle\knuckle assembly from the 95, which still has a good bearing, to the 96. I am having trouble with the pinch bolt that secures the bottom of the strut in the knuckle. I broke three wrenches on the weekend and tried heating it up an eventually rounded the head of the bolt. I want to take the assembly off and drill out the bolt. Here's my question... Is the bottom section of a Macpherson strut pressurized at all, or can I cut the bottom 6 inches or so off safely? Thanks for any help you can provide.

[busboy4]

HI,
I don't know how far you have dis-assembled it, but the spring is your greatest threat. Don't cut the strut without safely removing the spring using a spring compression tool (autozone etc.). I cannot speak directly to the whether the strut is pressurized. If it is I do not think it highly so as I was able to easily move the arm up and down when the strut was out of the vehicle - it works as a damper and the spring takes the load.
Sorry for the trouble. I fortunately have not had a problem with those bolts. Both of mine came off easily at 115000 miles.

[fcrew]

Don't cut or heat the strut-it is under pressure. What you may be able to do is cut just the tab that comes off the strut and the deal with the bolt when removed from the van.