Strut removal shortcut? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

ericdude · 05-13-2009, 02:14 PM

As part of the strut removal procedure, the manual says the caliper
should be removed from the brake line (requires bleeding for reattachment).
I realize the line needs to be pulled off the strut (held on by a clip),
but would it hurt to leave the caliper and bracket on the knuckle?

The knuckle will still be held in place by the control arm, tie rod, and axle.
Is the danger that the control arm will drop further than normal, damaging
the brake line? If so, I can simply put a jack under the control arm before
knocking out the strut bolts.

Normally, you could just hang the caliper with wire from the spring, but
obviously in this case that can't be done since the spring is coming out.
If I had a huge magnet with a ring on it, I could use that, but I don't.

toyotaspeed90 · 05-13-2009, 02:22 PM

you may have to remove the brake line anyways because most toyotas have a clip on the strut housing that the line runs through.... the caliper can stay attached to the hub, but you'll have to rebleed the brakes

ericdude · 05-13-2009, 02:37 PM

Yeah, I explicitly mentioned the clip in my original post.

I thought the clip just held the brake line in place against the strut.
Why would the brake lines have to be bled if this clip is removed?

tashirosgt · 05-13-2009, 10:21 PM

If you have an OEM strut, the brake line goes through a bracket on the strut. On the OEM strut, the bracket does not come off with a screw. So you must take disconnect the brake line in order to get it off the strut -unless you hacksaw the bracket off the strut, which is possible. On aftermarket struts, you may be able to get the brake line free of the strut. Some of them have brackets that unscrew or open in some way. If you get the brake line free of the bracket, there is no reason that you need to take the brake line off of any thing else. So you won't need to bleed the brakes.

ericdude · 05-19-2009, 01:58 AM

I'm looking at the replacement struts and they have a solid hole
tang welded on (Monroe shocks), as you said. Most unfortunate!

OK, a few questions:

The strut piston rod is held in place by a clip and I presume it's under
pressure. How much force is required to hold this rod down? Will body
weight do it or is it much larger?
The shocks indicate not to grip the rod with a wrench since it will
scuff the rod and shorten the seal life and hence shock life. There
are flats on the very top of the rod but they are tiny (3/16 inch high).
Are these flats enough to get the 35 ft-lbs of nut torque on the
strut main bolt?

4doorGTS · 05-19-2009, 10:27 AM

When you are removing the band or clip on the new struts you can compress them with your body weight and they won't shoot out under force they move slowly so no worries there.

As far as securing the top nut onto the strut after you are ready to re-assemble I just use a impact gun untill it bottoms out, but if you do not have access to an impact gun the flats on top should hold the torque.

And dealing with the brake line running through the clip on the strut housing there is a very simple way around this if you are lazy like me. Just take a grinder with a cut-off wheel, un-clip the brake line and pull it down some so that the metal portion is through the hole. Now carefully cut two slats wide enough to pull the brake line through and your done. As long as you take away just what is needed to remove the brake line you can still reassemble with the clip and no need to bleed brakes. lmk if you need pictures.

toyotaspeed90 · 05-19-2009, 11:15 AM

^^^ yes, that is the lazy way to do it.....

pull the line out correctly and bleed your brakes.... quite possibly needs it anyways. Always good to bleed your brakes of any condensation buildup and air -- will make for better feeling brakes and can help your hydraulics last longer.

4doorGTS · 05-19-2009, 10:29 PM

There is no right or wrong way to do it, just a matter of how deep you are willing to get into it. If you are in a northern, or costal, climate chances are exposed metal in rusty. Now you can undo the line but then could run into other issues when reinstalling. Did the nut come loose from the brake line? Is the bleeder free? Why turn a simple job into brake lines or wheel cylinders for no reason?

ericdude · 05-22-2009, 03:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4doorGTS

And dealing with the brake line running through the clip on the strut housing there is a very simple way around this if you are lazy like me. Just take a grinder with a cut-off wheel, un-clip the brake line and pull it down some so that the metal portion is through the hole. Now carefully cut two slats wide enough to pull the brake line through and your done. As long as you take away just what is needed to remove the brake line you can still reassemble with the clip and no need to bleed brakes. lmk if you need pictures.

I get that you're cutting a channel on one of the 4 sides of the tab, but
which one? A picture would be much appreciated.

BTW, did you buy the SST for holding the spring base while you tighten
or loosen the strut nut? I thought a pipe wrench might work on the flats,
but it looks like the flats will be hidden inside the spring base. I could
grab the spring base with a pair of locking pliers but that might smash
the Hell of out it.

Valkyrie90AE92 · 05-22-2009, 08:41 AM

I did the cutting method. My brake lines were a bit rusted up, and it seemed far more trouble to be damaging and breaking brake lines than cutting a small channel in which to slide the brake line out. Pre cut them on the new shocks as well, and installation went in smoothly. With the clamps they already have on the brake lines, I would have hoped that they didn't need to "seal" the lines in there the way they did.