front strut 3 nut removal tip

I had issues with the overly stupid engineered 3 stut nuts and removal on my 04. These appear to be some kind of 14mm but its a sloppy fit. Either way they are impossible to get at with a proper socket and not round at least one of them off..if not more than one.

Mine are rounded, impossible to get on with anything and horsed on tighter than a line wrench could remove without breaking that.

I have read alot of people having the same or simular issue here.

The "pros" seem to have it all figured out by saying......angle grinder but you cant get that in there.

Or....Blue wrench/gas axe.....but you will foul up your electronics....as i do beleive your abs sensor wires are right there and bolted in.

Or sawzall....same issue. IMpossible to get in there...electronics.....shitshow.

Or nut splitter.......yeah..those are 98% garbage

or dremel........which i found to be lame garbage with no power and 4500 cutting blades and bits later i was just out huge money

I am here to tell you these work flawless and will get them off right now.

$38 IRWIN Bolt Extractor Set, 5-Piece (394001)

https://www.amazon.com/IRWIN-HANSON...rds=vice+grip+extractor&qid=1595025505&sr=8-2

i ripped 5 of the 6 free with a 3/8 inch ratchet and the last one i used a crusty crescent wrench and bam..that worked perfect too. They didnt slip or cause any fuss at all....just right off and mine are 190+k of rust and corrosion. 2 seconds.


Get these. Worth the $18 all day. I took a chance on them and they worked great.

the good news is the new struts come with proper nuts and hardware that wasnt designed by an idiot so next time you wont have this problem.

Great tool. Just passing along a tip that worked out great for me and might help someone else down the line.

 

I've had excellent results with these same Irwin easy outs/extractors as well.
I imagine in the rust belt these are an absolute necessity for doing your own work

 

I have the big set of those quite handy.

How do they work when all 6 studs have broke free and just spin??

I can only guess some people Have huge grinders or Else I have more clearance on the 2000 then later years.

 

Once you break the nuts free......you can spin them off with anything.......

 

Not the nuts the studs break loose before the nuts and then every thing just spins

 

Yeah..the tech has come along way. The extractors i remember growning up where trash......they slipped, broke and were a complete waste of money. I was really surprised by these. This set s cheap too....only $18. Others sets were upwards of 100.

Glad to have these in my set of tools now.

 

oh.....thats a good question. I guess i didnt spin the nuts more than 1/2 turn to break them free. I sure hope the whole stud isnt spinning or its back to pissed off for me......

Ill have to check that

I could swear the studs are "fixed" to the crown of the strut mounting place. Maybe not though....

 

All Tacomas use front coilover shocks, not struts.

https://help.summitracing.com/app/a...erence-between-shocks,-struts,-and-coilovers?

 

A small body saw, also good for cutting bumpers and bed sides: Another option is to disassemble the strut/coilover in-situ (reverse of in-situ assembly shown in a few Youtube videos) with the help of a hydraulic jack. That leaves just the top hat in the strut tower and clearance to use a sawzall.

 

Ok....those....

 

I just use a snap on socket, some of the cheaper ones fit a little loose. But problem bolts get the good stuff. You can unclip and move wires if you want to torch them.

Also the hammerhead impact is a lifesaver! It fits anywhere!

 

yup..if you have access to that stuff great.....but for that kind of money i could had both sides completely done at a shop for less than the tool itself. Id love to have endless money to throw at tools....but sadly that is not the case. I got it done for $18 and about 4 minutes of time. Thing is.....it was a 6 pack of sockets.....so if you divide that out....its done for ~$3 but that is just spitting hairs and arguing the point which wasnt my intent. IT was to help others that might be in the same boat. THat does look like a great impact though. Ill have to check those out.

 

OMG im trying these tomorrow. I have them and just spent two hours heating/cooling/oiling and swearing at those stupid nuts. 14 mm tiny top that you cant get anything on to and a built in washer on the bottom that adds a ton of area for rust to fuse to. Also... who the f@*# desinged the UCA bolts.

 

Have the irwin set and a craftsman set...one from the pawn shop and the other from a garage sale....i think the irwin set goes up to 1". Paid around ten bucks each.
Been reading around this site and come across a fair amount of complaints over investing in tools. I got my first full set of crapsman stuff at 13 and have been collecting since, im in my 40s now. Investing in tools has been one of the smartest things ive done. Dont get me wrong, i dont shit 100 dollar bills either but know when to jump on a deal and where to look for it.. most of my big name stuff came from ebay and ive made some smokin deals at garage sales and pawn shops. Last summer I was able to make sweet deal at an estate sale. Guy was an engineer for the air force and his out of state kids just wanted to off his shit and i was there with a little cash and a flatbed trailer. Walked away for 200 bucks with 3 snapper ratchets, snapper pliers set a bunch of snap and mac drivers and a slough of proto crafty and various others all tucked into an OLD husky rollaway. Every drawer had goodies in it. Then there was my 20 dollar williams ¾ ratchet score with a bunch of rando sockets....am i wrong for just paying the money or should i have schooled the sellers on what they had...i dont FEEL guilty using them