clutchdust
Millionaire Playboy
I've been driving the 240z a lot lately just because it's kind of fun and a lot cheaper than the vette. But it is a 40 year old car and I know the shocks haven't been replaced in more than 20 years (if ever) because it was parked out in the desert back in '92. So last week I ordered some KYBs to freshen up the handling a bit.
The Mrs. had to work on Sunday so I thought that would be a good day to tackle the project. I've done shocks before so I knew it shouldn't be too big a project, I figured 4-5 hours for all four shocks. I should even be able to have it back on the road in time to go to the club meeting if I wanted.
I jacked up the front of the car and put it on stands, started on the passenger side. Pulled everything apart so that I was down to the strut assembly. The way they work on the Datsuns is the shock is just an insert that drops into the strut tube and is held in place by a gland nut. I popped off the nut and gave the strut rod a couple whacks and out it came. Installed the new shock and put everything back together. So far I'm into it for about 1.5 hours. Not bad so far.
I move over to the driver side and pull that strut out. The gland nut was a little more stubborn but a 24" pipe wrench showed it who's boss. Now comes the ridiculous part. I start tapping the shock and nothing. Hmm, what to do now? I put the spring perch back on the top of the strut rod and bang some more. Still nothing. I shoot some PB Blaster in there and bang harder. Now all I'm doing is bending the spring perch. Time for a different approach. I throw the strut in the back of the truck and go over to a small industrial area down the street. I strap the strut end to a bollard and the rod end to my tow hitch. I jump in the truck and "pop"! I'm thinking cool, the shock should have popped out now. Nope, broke my strap. Come back home and soak it down with more PB Blaster. I grab a couple jacks and manage to fit them in between both spring perches, start jacking and all I'm doing is bending the perches. Holy hell! Next I go over to a friend's house and pick up a chain and a 2000# tow strap. I chain the strut to my tow hitch and strap the shock end to the tow hitch on his truck. He then proceeds to pull my truck backwards two feet. Now I really don't know what to do. I go back home and soak it some more. At this point I'm thinking heat is my friend. I don't have an acetylene torch set but I do have two of those small natural gas torch sets so I light them up. I reinstall the spring to provide some upward pressure and start heating the tube. I manage to burn through pretty much two new bottles and I can hear it pop every so often and catch it on fire a couple dozen times but still nothing. I finally pretty much give up when the seal on the shock explodes and sprays me with boiling hot oil. I was wearing plenty of clothing and safety glasses so no harm but at this point I'm pretty much thinking this strut is a total loss. Of course it's getting harder to find 40 year old parts so it looks like the car is more or less down until I can find someone parting one out. Just amazing that rust can be this powerful.
The Mrs. had to work on Sunday so I thought that would be a good day to tackle the project. I've done shocks before so I knew it shouldn't be too big a project, I figured 4-5 hours for all four shocks. I should even be able to have it back on the road in time to go to the club meeting if I wanted.
I jacked up the front of the car and put it on stands, started on the passenger side. Pulled everything apart so that I was down to the strut assembly. The way they work on the Datsuns is the shock is just an insert that drops into the strut tube and is held in place by a gland nut. I popped off the nut and gave the strut rod a couple whacks and out it came. Installed the new shock and put everything back together. So far I'm into it for about 1.5 hours. Not bad so far.
I move over to the driver side and pull that strut out. The gland nut was a little more stubborn but a 24" pipe wrench showed it who's boss. Now comes the ridiculous part. I start tapping the shock and nothing. Hmm, what to do now? I put the spring perch back on the top of the strut rod and bang some more. Still nothing. I shoot some PB Blaster in there and bang harder. Now all I'm doing is bending the spring perch. Time for a different approach. I throw the strut in the back of the truck and go over to a small industrial area down the street. I strap the strut end to a bollard and the rod end to my tow hitch. I jump in the truck and "pop"! I'm thinking cool, the shock should have popped out now. Nope, broke my strap. Come back home and soak it down with more PB Blaster. I grab a couple jacks and manage to fit them in between both spring perches, start jacking and all I'm doing is bending the perches. Holy hell! Next I go over to a friend's house and pick up a chain and a 2000# tow strap. I chain the strut to my tow hitch and strap the shock end to the tow hitch on his truck. He then proceeds to pull my truck backwards two feet. Now I really don't know what to do. I go back home and soak it some more. At this point I'm thinking heat is my friend. I don't have an acetylene torch set but I do have two of those small natural gas torch sets so I light them up. I reinstall the spring to provide some upward pressure and start heating the tube. I manage to burn through pretty much two new bottles and I can hear it pop every so often and catch it on fire a couple dozen times but still nothing. I finally pretty much give up when the seal on the shock explodes and sprays me with boiling hot oil. I was wearing plenty of clothing and safety glasses so no harm but at this point I'm pretty much thinking this strut is a total loss. Of course it's getting harder to find 40 year old parts so it looks like the car is more or less down until I can find someone parting one out. Just amazing that rust can be this powerful.
