you're nuts.

I have the "cheap" $50 electric impact from harbor freight and I don't have to wish for ****. it Works perfectly fine for the 17mm strut nut and plenty more. I even use the "cheap" impact sockets from harbor freight. So far I have done 4 sets of springs/struts with these tools and they have not broken and shown no sign of wear other then the scratches and grease that all tools get.

I never used the impact on the lower bolts for the ear to hub part. I used an 18" breaker bar(also from harbor freight) and didn't need to stand on it. Just needed a little muscle.



Oh yeah, the torque spec for the bottom two bolts are 102ft-lbs. on the camber bolts, and 108ft-lbs. on the rest.
Torque your wheel lugs to 75ft-lbs.

 

IIRC, the proper torque specification is 67ft-lbs.

I tighten mine to 70.

 

So the 17mm screw should be tightened to 108ft lbs? Also, what should the 3 screws holding the strut in place be tightened to.
Thanks for all the help!
-John

 

well excuuuuuse me Mr "I work at the dealer and can pull up the manual". hehe.


I still am not convinced these cars come from the factory with everything torqued to the spec in the manuals.

When I removed my wheels the first time, they were torqued at around 100ft-lbs.
My downpipe was at about 85ft-lbs.

 

no, there are 2 bolts and 2 nuts(both 19mm) at the bottom of the strut that holds the strut to the knuckle/hub/brake assembly. Those are the bolts you tighten to 102/108.

The only 17mm nut is what holds the top hat down on the spring by threading on to the actualstrut shaft.

I forget what the torque spec is on that though. I just hit it with my impact till it stops, then back it off and back on. This way it is not over torqued.

 

I can have it done in an hour if you want. I'm in San Jose.

 

you could easily pay a shop to do it for $100. just do it yourself.

 

so, how did it go?

 

Well, in short, not good =P. There was one bolt that was on the lower strut connecting it to the hub which would NOT come off. We let liquid wrench sit on it for an hour then hit it again, nothing. I got a 2 foot break bar and lifted up my entire body onto it (160lbs) and it didn't budge.

 

so how many springs did you get on? I am working the early shift at work this week(off around 3pm) so I could probably help you out this week if you want. I don't really care about the money, I will just direct you on what to do and we can both work it at the same time.

 

I think thats the one that broke my ratchet

 

I just did Sean's (downsti) STi springs last week with no such problems.

160lbs. isn't much though, no offense. I guess its the one good thing about being a big guy(275lbs) is it wasn't *that* hard to do.

Seriously though, let me know and we can bust it out in a couple hours.

 

Well I'm pretty busy this week so I'm just gunna drop it off at MPJ today and dish out some cash to have it done.

 

what is toque spec on those tophat bolts?

Edit: further research says 14 ft/lbs