I have modified front spindles with coilovers and tokico bz1086 strut inserts. I'm using them in conjunction with RE Speed camber plates.
My problem: I simply cannot tighten the upper nut. Of course the strut piston starts to spin before the nut seats. It's a real PITA. I went out and purchased high quality strap wrenches to hold the piston/shaft but they aren't sufficient. It still spins before the bolt tightens.
Am I missing something? It does look as though the insert could use a special wrench or socket of some kind since a section of the end is notched.
I haven't installed the wheels and dropped the car on the ground but other than that I've tried everything I can think of. Would that really make much of a difference?
Thanks for any and all help fellas.

 

if yo can let the car rest on the suspension. the wheel or a block of wood, then tighten. however there should be a "counter nut" squeezed into the top of the strut piston, but "should" doesnt always apply to aftermarket manufacturing

 

Its a shame the strut rod only has one flat face on it. With the blues, you can use an extreme offset box wrench on the nut and then a open end wrench on the strut rod.

All else fails, impact wrench?

 

I had a bitch of a time also. I had stock tops so i wedged a wrench down beside the nut and against the round strut top thing, and tightened the box top of the shock using a small wrench. Got it as tight as i could and said **** it.

Impact wrench didnt do me any good even with the suspension loaded. Good luck...

 

impact wrench always works.
gets it down a good couple threads, at least it does for me.

 

Yes, there's not much else you can do with the Illuminas. Even a cheap electric impact wrench will do the job. But I usually just drive it over to a buddy's house and let him do it.



.

 

I've tried my impact on several settings. It's highest is nearly 600ft/lbs (not that it matters) but all the piston did was spin spin spin.
The notch in the threads must be there for some reason. Is there really no special tool?

 

You can get a socket with the D shape, and then hold the nut with a offset box wrench. I just have no idea where to grab the socket. They make smaller sockets for the newer cars, the RX-7's strut tops are twice as big.

 

Does the top of the shaft fit correctly into the camber plates? I'm not sure which version of strut that is that you listed, but some of the illuminas have to have the shaft size reduced to match the size required by the camber plates.

If you grind the shaft down yourself, so that it will fit in the camber plates, you have to be sure that you only grind down as much as you need. If you reduce the size of the shaft the entire length of the shoulder, then you'll never be able to tighten the bolts down enough to snug them up. At that point you can do what I did, and throw some spacers in to take up the slack.

 

IIRC, The BZ1086 is the one tokico made for first gen and the BZ1069 is the MR2 rear ones.

 

Thanks for the responses. I do have the correct strut inserts for the camber plates. No modification was necessary.
Should there be a washer beneath the nut?

 

Don't think so. There should be a locking washer underneath the nut though.

 

Looks like I need to find one and install it then

 

I don't think we have a lock washer either, because the nut is a nylock nut and doesn't require one.

Maybe try backing the nut off, spray the threads with some lube, then hit it with the impact wrench again.

 

You may very well need a washer under the nut or on the shock shaft before you slide it into the camber plate bearing. Some time the threads on the shocks are not as far down as others. This causes the nut to stop before it tightens. when looking for a washer look for copper crush washer.

Best bet would be to use a washer in the shaft before you slide the shaft into the bearing. This way you can flip the upside down and have the tapered side of the nut against the bearing. This gives you a bit more clearance between the nut and the camber plate when setting at extreme negative camber.

-billy

 

Here's what I did and I hope it makes sense. I made a "T" handle out of a piece of bar stock I got from Lowes and a cheap deep socket. I drilled an appropriate size hole in the bar stock so I could insert a T handle allen wrench through it. I had a buddy weld the socket onto the bar stock over the hole. Then you can hold the shaft with the allen wrench while tightening the nut. Just be careful not to insert the allen wrench too deep into the shaft so you won't hit the pin thingy that adjusts the firmness of the shock. Hope this helps.

 

Billy, awesome...thank you!
I bet that's my problem. I'll report back when I get a chance to try it

 

I don't know if aluminum will work as well, but I found some washers of the correct size at Autozone. They are intended as seals for oil drain plugs.