Damaged front upper shock mount

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Kidd-7

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While investigating front squeaks I found on the drivers side; the shock washer / nut on the top that bolts to the shock mount moves quite a bit up & down. Like the mount moves with the car, but the top of the shock moves independently.
How concerned should I be?
1. Driving her like that.
2. Removing the shock to have the mount replaced?
 
Kidd-7 said:
While investigating front squeaks I found on the drivers side; the shock washer / nut on the top that bolts to the shock mount moves quite a bit up & down. Like the mount moves with the car, but the top of the shock moves independently.
How concerned should I be?
1. Driving her like that.
2. Removing the shock to have the mount replaced?
Click to expand...
I had to put a spacer under my shock nut, but it's not "for" an MN12. It did move like you described, so maybe you need to add a washer or spacer? You can check that without even jacking the car up.
 
Same thing happened to mine, I stuck a 1/8”washer with a hole bigger than the sleeve under the stock washer and it’s been fine ever since
 
So can I remove the nut while on the car? I’ve always been scared of those compressed springs.
 
You need to put some weight on the front; I sit on the front, and then remove it. When you stand, the shock comes apart.
 
There is no risk of removing the nut if the car is on the ground, the springs are compressed by the weight, not the nut, at ride height.

Grog6 said:
You need to put some weight on the front; I sit on the front, and then remove it. When you stand, the shock comes apart.
Click to expand...

No, it doesn’t. At ride height the spring is compressed and the shock is roughly at mid travel, there’s no possible way for it to come apart with the nut removed unless you physically jacked the car up.
 
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Alright another stupid question related to the shock nut: how do y’all spin it loose. It’s 19mm and the top of the shock just spins. I got an 8mm wrench on the top of the shock but can’t get any leverage.
 
Kidd-7 said:
Alright another stupid question related to the shock nut: how do y’all spin it loose. It’s 19mm and the top of the shock just spins. I got an 8mm wrench on the top of the shock but can’t get any leverage.
Click to expand...
Hold the top in place with the 8 and use an open end wrench to turn the 19. Alternately if you have an impact that’ll work too
 
Kidd-7 said:
Alright another stupid question related to the shock nut: how do y’all spin it loose. It’s 19mm and the top of the shock just spins. I got an 8mm wrench on the top of the shock but can’t get any leverage.
Click to expand...
i struggled bad with my rear shocks. As XR7 has stated an impact will do you wonders.. getting those threads off before the shock itself has a chance to move. Alternatively find a vice grip and send it if it clears between the shock and upper mount. i didnt have a wrench that would clear it unfortunately
 
The 19mm wrench doesn’t have allot of room to move. I’ll try it again and see if I have a deep enough socket to get on my impact.
 
if you dont have someone to hold the top side of the shock or cant get leverage an impact is your best bet here. I stripped my vice grips leveraging them against the frame of the car trying to wrench off the top nut myself. I was able to get the shocks out and install the new but if i could go back in time i would of just zipped them off with the impact before touching the rusted shocks with anything else.. and plenty of pb
Kidd-7 said:
The 19mm wrench doesn’t have allot of room to move. I’ll try it again and see if I have a deep enough socket to get on my impact.
Click to expand...
 
Also i may be mistaken here i thought you were talking about the rear shocks. Ive honestly never done the fronts. just had quick struts/ shocks installed at an alignment shop
 
XR7-4.6 said:
Same thing happened to mine, I stuck a 1/8”washer with a hole bigger than the sleeve under the stock washer and it’s been fine ever since
Click to expand...
I don't think a washer is going to solve this one. I need to replace the shock mount.
IMG_5206.jpg
 
Do ya’ll think either of these are worth the purchase?

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They way I see it, it would depend on whether you can find a shop who will assemble them for you for a modest price, and whether you anticipate the need to use it enough to offset the price of having someone else put them together for you long-term.
 
Worth it may not have been the best question.

More detailed questions are: is the price reasonable? Will it work for our shocks? And is it safe enough to use?

To our terminator's point this is the only vehicle I own that uses coil overs. I've had the car for about 6 years and this will be the third time replacing the shock mounts. I vaguely remember it costing ~&100 ea last time; that's with me removing the shock and dropping it off to the shop. Plus most shops around here are not open on weekends, at least the ones I deal with and trust.
 
XR7-4.6 said:
There is no risk of removing the nut if the car is on the ground, the springs are compressed by the weight, not the nut, at ride height.



No, it doesn’t. At ride height the spring is compressed and the shock is roughly at mid travel, there’s no possible way for it to come apart with the nut removed unless you physically jacked the car up.
Click to expand...

XR7-4.6 said:
I’m going to try 1000 ohm resistors instead of the 470s to try to dim them back otherwise I’m switching LEDs. I wanted a little brighter than stock, not cartoon nuclear radiation lol
Click to expand...
Hat should do it. It's less than half the original current. You cant go too big; too small can blow it.
The shock thing, it may depend on springs; I got two of the top washers from a jy.
The 33gg springs moves up so the tip of the shock is not thru the mount hole, jjjj springs disassemble. I would expect a v6 car to move more.
 
V8 car, Eiback 1.5 lowering springs.
 
That's so much safer than the compressors I used. That is the correct tool.
 
I’ve used one like that before and that’s a fair price.
 
The one at Jegs has been improved since I bought it a few years ago, I dont recall mine having the safety chain. IMO having the tool for $200 that allows you do it youself is the way to go. The tool probably costs about the same shop would charge if you can even find a place that wants to bother doing it. Plus know everything is going to be done right; if something isn't lined up properly on the assembly you can go back an tweak it youself.
 
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I watched an idiot use compressors like I bought disassemble lazarus's stock shocks, and it was terrifying. He bent a compressor like a bananna. I put the koni's together with sport springs; that's the scariest thing I've done.

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Kidd-7 said:
Do ya’ll think either of these are worth the purchase?

Amazon.com: MOTOOS Strut Spring Compressor,Heavy Vehicle Auto Spring Compressors, 2200 LBS Hand Operate Strut Spring Compressor for Cars Trucks SUVs and 8.27" to 22.44" Height Spring : Automotive

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Click to expand...
I have a spring compressor similar to that I bought off ebay 10 years ago. Works fine. I've done mn12 front springs on it, no issues.
 
I've used the dynamite sticks many times without any issue. They are slow and take much more time to set up so they work properly, but I've never felt unsafe while using them. I bought a used Branick 7200 some time ago and it makes the entire process 10x faster. If you do get a wall mount (or floor mount as it were) style, I would opt for one that grabs onto the top and bottom coils of the spring rather than one that the bottom of the shock/strut spring seat sets on. It saves you from having to compress the spring, remove the upper mount nut, uncompress the spring, remove the shock/strut, insert the new shock/strut, recompress the spring, install the upper mount.
 
Grog6 said:
The shock thing, it may depend on springs; I got two of the top washers from a jy.
The 33gg springs moves up so the tip of the shock is not thru the mount hole, jjjj springs disassemble. I would expect a v6 car to move more.
Click to expand...

The shock won’t move at all, you got them from a junkyard, ergo the car was probably on their wheel stands or missing wheels and tires with the shocks resting on their internal stops. In that scenario yes the shock will separate.

On the tires the shocks are roughly at mid travel, the springs are compressed entirely by the weight of the car. It doesn’t matter if it’s sport springs or LX springs, the nut only holds the shock together at max extension, and they are absolutely not anywhere near max extension in installed on the car with the car on the ground.
 
I have to swap the shocks on lazarus, so I'll get some pix; I think we're on the same page, my description just differs.I've used the sit on the nose and remove bolt method every time but the konis. This is way safer than my compressors. after I release the spring, I yank the bottom bolt, and put it on stands.It all comes out easy then. Going back together, you line up the shock with the hole, and put the weight back on the wheels, and tighten all the bolts.
Dude mentioned not wanting a log truck ride; I'd recommend the gabriel sensatrak shocks. they start firm, but soften in a month or so.
I was hoping tokico would come back.
 
I bought this spring compressor kit a while ago. I've already had to use it 4 times and it's way safer than the two sketch stick style compressors. Could I have gotten a better (safer unit)? Yeah. But TBH, I feel plenty safe with this guy as it is.

 
CDsDontBurn said:
I bought this spring compressor kit a while ago. I've already had to use it 4 times and it's way safer than the two sketch stick style compressors. Could I have gotten a better (safer unit)? Yeah. But TBH, I feel plenty safe with this guy as it is.

Click to expand...
I have the same one, it worked great.
 
Pic are too big to add from the phone, the shock mount is replaced.
Is there a source for the lower shock bolt / nut? 🔩
 
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