1996 850 Strut Washer Upside Down

BigRed · Post by **BigRed** » 07 Jun 2015, 11:06

Shortly before the tranny went I had shop build struts from OEM parts from FCP. I was about to pull those off today and saw that the washer at top of strut is upside down. 1. Is that a problem? 2. If so, can I safely take of the top nut and flip the washer, and re-install same nut while it's on the vehicle?

BigRed · Post by **BigRed** » 07 Jun 2015, 11:31

I kept looking around and found very old post with answer:

V70 Strut Installation

pfeener wrote:Yes, you can take the top nut and rubber washer/bumper off with no problem as long as the car is sitting in it's normal position (not jacked up)...

Question remaining; how tight should top nut be going back together? I can't use the one I'm taking off as a reference, as they put the wash in wrong, so...

Post by **dosbricks** » 07 Jun 2015, 14:18

About as tight as you can get it with a box-end wrench and a big adjustable holding the flats on the top of the strut stem. Alternate would be the special shock-removal tool set which fits this. Be very careful not to twist the entire strut piston and thereby damage the spring seat (leading to early failure).

Post by **cn90** » 07 Jun 2015, 15:04

I'd leave it alone the way it is.

On the other hand, if you want to flip the washer around, do it with the wheels on the ground.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 07 Jun 2015, 15:23

If the spring seat isn't broken and if the cross shaped nut was properly installed you can flip it over with no problem. Just hold the strut at the top on the flats to loosen the nut and then again when your tighten it back down after flipping the castle washer over.

...Lee

BigRed · Post by **BigRed** » 07 Jun 2015, 17:47

Thanks

One more important question, can I use these on my 1998 V70R? I assume they would bolt up no problem, and make it ride a bit higher. But, would it would it adversely affect anything, for example the Nivomats. If they'd be a problem, I'll sell them. They are less 2 year old, and under 5K.