any ghetto way of removing front strut cartridges?

[pwmin]

right now, i have a set of front assemblies from a 96 Grand Prix and im trying to get the struts to screw out, but i dont wanna have to borrow a strut tool for that then return it and turn around and borrow it again when im ready to put them in. i tried some gm penetrant and the old vise and the channel lock method and neither are working. they are the originals so theyre in there pretty good. any other ways to get them out? surprisingly enough, my dads shop does not have the tool. hopefully, i can coax them into getting one. maybe, i should just suck up and buy the damn tool

[J]

right now, i have a set of front assemblies from a 96 Grand Prix and im trying to get the struts to screw out, but i dont wanna have to borrow a strut tool for that then return it and turn around and borrow it again when im ready to put them in. i tried some gm penetrant and the old vise and the channel lock method and neither are working. they are the originals so theyre in there pretty good. any other ways to get them out? surprisingly enough, my dads shop does not have the tool. hopefully, i can coax them into getting one. maybe, i should just suck up and buy the damn tool

they are like $16 online!

[pwmin]

right now, i have a set of front assemblies from a 96 Grand Prix and im trying to get the struts to screw out, but i dont wanna have to borrow a strut tool for that then return it and turn around and borrow it again when im ready to put them in. i tried some gm penetrant and the old vise and the channel lock method and neither are working. they are the originals so theyre in there pretty good. any other ways to get them out? surprisingly enough, my dads shop does not have the tool. hopefully, i can coax them into getting one. maybe, i should just suck up and buy the damn tool

they are like $16 online!

i havent seen any for that cheap. i went to advance to see if they had any cuz i was thinking about buying one, but they didnt have any. i think i borrowed one from vato zone last time, so ill check there.

[White93z34]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/GM-W-Body-Strut-Service-Tool-Set-OTC-Tools_W0QQitemZ120126483075QQihZ002QQcategoryZ43996QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[pwmin]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/GM-W-Body-Strut-Service-Tool-Set-OTC-Tools_W0QQitemZ120126483075QQihZ002QQcategoryZ43996QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

plus shipping maybe

 

 

id rather get the gm tool for 30 shipped. im going to call the dealer tomorrow and see what i can get the tool for at cost

[GutlessSupreme]

seriously I just got the tool from ebay for like $25 to my door and I don't regret it. same one Chris posted.

[White93z34]

i have the same one in the auction i posted, very well built tool.

[Pontiac6KSTEAWD]

Why even buy it at all. Just go to zone, get the loaner toal for 15 bucks. You can return it, or not. They dont charge you more if you keep it..

[DiscoStudd]

You do need the tool because of how the retainer nuts are splayed/splined/whatever you want to call it. There's no way in hell you'll get them out with conventional tools.

 

I rented the kit from Checker and paid for the deposit with my credit card. The guy said that I could keep the kit as long as I wanted (forever, even) and I'd get my deposit refunded when I brought it back...

[mra32]

i havent seen any for that cheap. i went to advance to see if they had any cuz i was thinking about buying one, but they didnt have any. i think i borrowed one from vato zone last time, so ill check there.

 

I'm sorry I cant add anything to your thread, but that ^^ needed to be highlighted. I roffled.

[pwmin]

Why even buy it at all. Just go to zone, get the loaner toal for 15 bucks. You can return it, or not. They dont charge you more if you keep it..

im going to check it out this afternoon probably. if i can keep it as long as i want, then cool.

 

I'm sorry I cant add anything to your thread, but that ^^ needed to be highlighted. I roffled.

i hate going there

[Q-Ball]

just buy it, or maybe someone close to you can loan you the tool from here? Thats what I did. Thanks Jamie

[19Cutlass94]

Buying the tool make its a billion times easier to do. Although I suppose if you had another retaining nut to use, you could always use a chisel and a hammer. and get a small punch that will fit in one of the four holes and a big hammer. But really, just buy the tool

[intern8tion9l]

i love that my older style ones can be taken out with a pipe wrench. i own no gm special tools. although i think i'd like to have the slide hammer for the axles...

[Crazy K]

freaking get the Vato Zone tool... and return it when done. even 5 years later, you could at least get store credit! but don't take that long!!! LOL

[shyguy164]

I replaced my original cartridges in my 88 a few years ago. They had at least 160k miles on them. The gm tool was no help at all. I ended up having my neighbor weld 2 beads on each cartridge about an inch long vertically. That allowed me to use a pipe wrench and a socket wrench to get them out.

[pwmin]

I replaced my original cartridges in my 88 a few years ago. They had at least 160k miles on them. The gm tool was no help at all. I ended up having my neighbor weld 2 beads on each cartridge about an inch long vertically. That allowed me to use a pipe wrench and a socket wrench to get them out.

hmm, thats weird.

 

 

well, i rented the AZ tool today and i thought about keeping it, but it was $80! needless to say, its going back as soon as im done. i tried getting the old struts out with a ratchet, but i couldnt hold the body down, so i took it up to my dads garage and zipped it off with an impact. it came off really easy that way, of course i got the old ones out and it had newer ball joints, so i kiped them and got the old ones off the newer assemblies, so i just have to swap the kybs over, put the ball joints in, and put her back together (paint the calipers and brackets, too, of course). all that for just a little larger rotor