86 accord rear strut bolt not coming loose

[BrianB]

I followed these steps in the chilton's repair manual.

1. disconnect negative battery cable.
2. remove upper strut cover from inside the vehicle and remove upper strut retaining nuts
3. block wheels and looses lugs.
4. raise and safely support the rear of the vehicle
5. remove rear wheel


step 6 is to remove the strut mounting bolt and remove the strut. I held the nut on the end of the mounting bolt and spun the bolt. It cracked loose and spun. I continued loosening the bolt from the nut waiting for the bolt to come free of the nut. It will not turn free of the nut. The bolt continues to spin with the nut held in place but will not come free of the strut. What should I do now?

[ghettogeddy]

I followed these steps in the chilton's repair manual.

1. disconnect negative battery cable.
2. remove upper strut cover from inside the vehicle and remove upper strut retaining nuts
3. block wheels and looses lugs.
4. raise and safely support the rear of the vehicle
5. remove rear wheel


step 6 is to remove the strut mounting bolt and remove the strut. I held the nut on the end of the mounting bolt and spun the bolt. It cracked loose and spun. I continued loosening the bolt from the nut waiting for the bolt to come free of the nut. It will not turn free of the nut. The bolt continues to spin with the nut held in place but will not come free of the strut. What should I do now?

this is the lower one, get a screw driver or othe pointed tool and stick it on the end of the bolt (nut side) wack it a couple times it will come out lol
oh and the nut side isent actually a nut its welded to the strut

[BrianB]

The nut will spin if I don't hold it with a wrench while turning the bolt. Maybe this one is different. I'll go try hacking the end and get back to you on my progress. Thanks for the quick response.

[ghettogeddy]

The nut will spin if I don't hold it with a wrench while turning the bolt. Maybe this one is different. I'll go try hacking the end and get back to you on my progress. Thanks for the quick response.

are u putting new struts in if so cut that fucker off and get a new bolt from the jy

also try getting a nother set of hands in ther with a pry bar and have them pul the nut back while u use the wrenches

[BrianB]

I'm all out of sunlight for today. I tried whacking the bolt in from the nut end but theres a plate in the way keeping me from really getting at it for a good whack. I think I'm liking the junkyard new bolt idea for Monday as tomorrow there will be football.

[MessyHonda]

on the rear lower one only one nut should spin....i had a hell of a time taking the konis out. i had to use a breaker bar.

[bobafett]

Some other things to try before you cut the bolt (which probably wont make it a lot easier to remove).

- if you have room, take 2 large flathead screwdrivers and wedge them underneath the head of the bolt. Then pry them to get a little bit more out of the bolt.

- A small thin phillips screwdriver should fit through the nut and allow you to put pressure on the tip of the bolt. If the threads are completely removed from the nut, hitting the screwdriver with a hammer should help.

- WD40

- I have used visegrips on the head of this bolt, and twisted/pulled, while a friend lifts and move the strut around. It is usually pretty tight, but if you move it around a lot there will be times when it moves pretty well. this trick in conjunction with the screwdriver and WD40 has never failed me.

- remember that if any of the threads are still catching, this is going to be pointless.

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This bolt can be a bitch, but once you have done it a couple times it becomes really easy!

[BrianB]

Just getting back to this thread to let anyone that needs to know know....

I ended up using a hacksaw to get the bolt off. Took a little work because the bolt is not very out in the open but it wasn't too bad at all. The bolt wasn't welded to the strut in this case. The bolt was stripped in a bad place and it kept the nut from coming loose. Hopefully nobody else has this problem. Honda discontinued the little rubber rings that go under the strut spring. I used the old one but if anyone can point me to where I can purchase a new one I would appreciate it.