Silkroad's STUCK!? Halp!

[TheSquidd]

Did some searching, and please link me if you've seen this before.


K.

Bought a set of Section/Silkroad RM/A8's like, 8 months ago. Drove it 4x4 for like a week, everything was kosher. Lowered it about an inch, drove for about 2 months, lowered it another inch or two. K. Drove like that for like 5 months. No problems. Everytime didn't make it very tight, only by hand, never had any problems loosening the nuts. Always used the Section supplied tools.

Last month I did 5 lug, and am now running 17x9 and it lifted my car a bit, so I wanted to lower it back down. I tried this about a week ago when it was raining.

There's the spring, the two locking nuts for preload, and then the locking nut right before the spindle etc. for lowering. I cannot, for the life of me, loosen the locking nut on the spindle part. Thought it was because it was freezing outside, maybe the metal had shrunk.

It's about 80 today so I tried again. Still as stuck as ever, on all four coilovers!??? What would make 4 coilovers seize up?



Problem 1. It's insanely tight. Nothing, including vice grips and breaker bars have worked.

Problem 2. The suspension, nuts and tools are all aluminum. Great idea Section. When I try using a breaker bar, it tweaks the tool, and has made an indent on the locking nut.



Does anyone have any ideas? Know where I can take them to get them fixed? Alignment shops? Machine shops? Send them to Silkroad? Fix it myself? Buy new coilovers?

Anyway lemme know!
Thanks!

[Nizzan4u2nv]

You may have already tried this but some kind of penetrating oil (ie, PB blaster).

[TheSquidd]

Yeah I tried WD40, and am going to try some other products tomorrow. I was also thinking of trying it after a long period of driving, so they're a little heated up (expand?). I'm really trying just about anything at this point.

[aznpoopy]

pb blaster in my experience is 10000x better then wd40. but that's typically for rusted bolts. i don't know if it'd work in this situation. :( for $5 its definitely worth a shot.

hmm... how about unbolting it from the spindle and screwing the lower section away from the locking nut. then spray a ton of pb/wd40 on the underside of the nut and see if you can't break it loose by moving the nut down before moving it back up.

[Nizzan4u2nv]

Have you tried removing them and actually loosen the part that connects to the spindle instead of the lock perch?

^^I guess im too slow.

[TheSquidd]

That was exactly what I was thinking of doing. That's gonna be an all day fun a thon project weeee.

[dct223]

whenever the locking colars get stuck on mine.. i just get a hammer and hit the spainer wrench it until it breaks loose???? but yeah try some liquid wrench or wd40 first.

[TheSquidd]

Did that. It just bent the wrench. o_0

[yudalicious]

Did that. It just bent the wrench. o_0
whoa those are on tight... have you tried to inserting the end of the wrench into a metal tube (home depot ftw!)? who cares if it bends the wrench, wrenches are expendable! so are the rings i suppose, but it's easier to replace coilover wrenches.

[dct223]

damn... i ono... u turning the right way??? hahah i ono... never had the collars sieze on me that bad...

[JaeTea]

This may sound stupid but make sure you're turning them the right way. ;)

Mine lock up on me all the time. I used regular spray oil, let it sit for like an hour and banged the wrench with a hammer.

Last resort will be this...

how about unbolting it from the spindle and screwing the lower section away from the locking nut. then spray a ton of pb/wd40 on the underside of the nut and see if you can't break it loose by moving the nut down before moving it back up.

and THAT would suck hard.

What happens is dirt and sand get stuck in the threads and totally fuck up the locking bolt.

[TheSquidd]

Upon further inspection, the washer below the locking collar, is crushed! Somehow, all the collars on all my coils have tightened, like insanely tight.

haha I have been turning it the right way for sure. I even tried the other way just for sheets and giggles. Nothin!

Anyway thanks for all the input guys, I'll keep you posted and keep the ideas coming!

[Irukandji]

I usually just hose off my coilovers before adjusting height because there tends to be loads of dirt, sand, whatever stuck in the threads. After that, I just use a hammer and bang the wrench until its loose. If you're having trouble, try getting more leverage... like putting a 2 foot bar on the end of the wrench.

[slideways2004]

yeah, i hate having crap in my threads. i always clean them with some liquid and a wire brush

[KiDyNomiTe]

Well if you ever get the collars off, you probably wont be able to get the bottom mounts to move either. To get those to move spray PB blaster in every crevice, hole etc. Then have some try to twist by hand with all thier might, while you lightly tap it.

You can attempt this on the collar, but its kind of small and you would only be able to tap it from certain spots when you need to tap around the whole thing...

My vote is buy new coilovers, lol I did... But now I mess with my suspension too much to let it sit and sieze up...