seized coilover

[aznpoopy]

i re-lowered my car over memorial day weekend. ran into some problems.

namely, the rear driver side coilover is seized. by seized, i mean the lower bracket for adjusting shock body length is seized on the thread. i got the perch and both locking collars moving, but i cannot get enough leverage to break the lower bracket loose because there is nothing to hold the coilover body tight while i try to break it loose.

i tried turning the perch and locking collar against each other to spin the body of the coilover, but that only resulted in bent spanner wrenches. i wasted about a can of pb blaster on it.

i gave up and drooped the spring on both rears about 2.5 inches. i'm not too happy about that... nor do i feel particularly safe. the rear end feels a little weird going over certain bumps at speed. feels like the car itself is hesitating. not sure if thats an alignment issue (which is undoubtedly fucked up right now), or a droop issue. i don't think i'm catching enough air to get a loose spring. perhaps the shock is past its operating range? not sure.

they are silkroad rma8's. i'm hoping someone has a clever solution to break these fuckers loose.

[big_schaf]

put a peice of pipe (around 3-4ft long) on to the c/o wrench and it will come off no prob.. you'll prob need someone to hold the wrench on the collar but other wise it should come off pretty easy. also spray it with wd-40 or some other penitrating fluid on it before too

[aznpoopy]

thanks for the input. its not the locking collar thats seized.
its the actual mounting portion that turns to adjust shock body length.

[TheWolf]

penetrating oil.... that's why the tein's have a teflon coating. once you free it apply some antisieze to it.

[aznpoopy]

i sprayed about 3/4 of a can pb blaster onto and into it yesterday. it started eating away at the polish.

after i get home from work imma give it another try. maybe a day's worth of 'penetration' loosened up the rust. hopefully it works.

[aznpoopy]

done. wailed on it with a hammer for about 30 minutes and it came loose. vibs probably loosened up the rust.

coilover looks moderately shittier now. but not much.

[redsuns3838]

oops, just read that you got them loose.

The hammer method usually works pretty well, since its less likely to strip the teeth on the perch/collar.
just try to clean that shit up really well before you re-lower.

[aznpoopy]

haha yeah. gotta buy some antiseize and lube the shit out of it this weekend... thanks for the input man.

[brokeAs240sx]

where were you hitting the coilover to get it to loosen? I'm guessing the bottom bracket somewhere? My friend has the same issue w/ his ksports :).

Also what kind of hammer? just a regular ball peen one? Or a sledge? Or a mallet?

[aznpoopy]

a regular metal hammer for nails and what not
all along the length of the bottom mount section

i said wailing but dont go at it too hard
that shit isn't too strong, my guess

what your aiming for is to shake the rust loose with vibrations
i also sprayed it with an assload of pb blaster, which had about 24 hours to penetrate

good luck to your buddy!