Removing Front Shocks - Top Nut - SHEESH!

[Lumpy]

Manoriffico, is there some kind of secret trick to getting that
top nut off the front shocks?

PBBlaster, Freeze spray, 4 different vice grips, sockets,
wrenches, nut splitter, just a royal PITA to get the
darn thing off.

Rear shocks, 5 min per shock.

Front shocks, 4 hrs per shock, not counting
a run to Autozone for a splitter and a flat nose vice grip.


Lumpy

You were on CHiPs? Did you wear those sexy
tight pants and high boots like Erik Estrada?
No. Swimtrunks.
http://www.LumpyMusic.com

[rlsllc]

I usually burn them off with the torch.

I have snapped them off on many vehicles by putting a 6 point socket on with an extension, and just bending it over until it snaps. They usually won't even go 90* since they are so hard. Not much room to do this on an Astro, though. I'm thinking I've done it, but all the vehicles kind of blur together with time. This does work good on many other vehicles.

I have also put a vice grip (in the coil spring) on the rod so I could turn the nut with out the rod turning.

The nut splitter works, but is awkward and hard to reach.

You were on CHiPs? Did you wear those sexy
tight pants and high boots like Erik Estrada?
No. Swimtrunks.

You've got to stop with the teasers unless you're gonna share some experiences. CHiPs was like my one of my very favorite shows growing up. Kinda star struck here.

[Rebel]

as Roy mentioned,,the ol trusty rusty vicegrips on rod

[Lumpy]

I got them off. Lots of cussin' and knuckle bustin.

Tried with four different style vice grips, I couldn't get any of
them to grip the polished hardened rod. Eventually I was able
to get the nut UP far enough that I could then get a gator
nosed vice grip BENEATH the nut, onto the threaded part
of the top stud. That was able to give me a bit of grip.

Then I'd turn things a half a turn, then turn it back
the other way. Just like you'd do with a thread cutting die.
So instead of trying to spin the nut off, I kept turning it
back and forth, then move it up a bit and turn back and
forth again. That must have cut through the blip blap that
was keeping the nut from coming off.

Man, I wish shock designers would build some kind of
mount arrangement that was easy to get to.

Lumpy

You were the Ken-L-Ration St Bernard?
Yes. My dog's bigger.
www.LumpyMusic.com

[Lumpy]

You've got to stop with the teasers unless you're gonna share some experiences. CHiPs was like my one of my very favorite shows growing up. Kinda star struck here.

Ok CHiPs...
Like a lot of young people in Hollywood, I was a musician, voice-over artist,
comedian, actor. I'd take just about any job. Everybody went to all the
cattle calls (auditions for actors). You didn't even care what the part was
for. You just get in line, eat the free bagels, read the part, and usually
not get the part.

So After playing all night in a jazz club, like lots of us did, I went to one
of the morning cattle calls. You just drive around Hollywood till you see
the line forming on the sidewalk. I get in line, grab a bagel, see a couple
of my pals. "Hey, how's it goin. Get a job?" ""No, had a couple of Yeoman
Anderson's but no soap"". That means you got a job (Yeoman Anderson)
on some show where your character would be killed. The name stems from
Star Trek. You know, whenever they'd go to a new planet, all the most
important guys from the Enterprise would beam down (Capt, doctor,
Spock etc) plus one guy that you've never seen before. That was
Yeoman Anderson. He'd get killed by the alien booger slime. So when
you got one of those parts, you knew it wasn't going to last. To
"get soap" meant you had some kind of lasting part on a soap opera.
Those parts were like nurses, desk clerks, the mail man, other people
that recurr in the show but aren't the main stars. Shows like
"Police Story" had some Yeoman Anderson's, but they had a lot
more "Mail Men". Like the uniform cops that were always around
while the star detectives did their thing. One of the best mail man
parts was "Police Crime Lab Guy". That's the scientist guy in the
lab that would analyze the cigar ashes of the suspect and tell
the detectives how tall the guy was. That part always seemed
to go to the Asian guys.

So anyway, I go to this cattle call, get in line, and notice that nearly
everybody else in line is a sexy black chick with fishnets and high heels.
I ask one of the girls "what are we reading for?" The part was "Black
fem prostitute". So I read the part anyway. White male, big moustache,
Hawaiian shirt and sandles. I didn't get the part.

But as I'm coming off the platform, Rick Rosner (Chips producer) calls
me over and says "Look at that clock on the wall...Your van just
got stolen...Action". I yelled "HEY!". He told me to come that afternoon
to the shooting.

Long story (all of mine seem long) short, I was "Surfer" in two episodes.
My line in both was the same as the audition "HEY!".

I had a ton of parts like that. When I was even younger, I was on
"Where The Action Is" nearly every episode. And some of the
Frankie and Annette movies I was one of the ambient surfers
in the water. I guess I fit the part of "surfer" well.

Lumpy

You played on "The Love Boat"?
Yes. White tux, huge sideburns.

http://www.LumpyMusic.com

[astroturf]

Kewl Story Lumpy. Thanks for sharing. Jim

[rlsllc]

Wow, that sounds so unreal. There is no such action in rural Ohio. Like a whole other world I guess.
The only person from TV I ever met was Cabot Rea, a newscaster on NBC4 in Columbus. He was standing at the exit of a Tim Horton's drive thru asking opinions about something or another. All I could say when he asked me the question was "You're Cabot Rea!", and he said "Okay then...." It's kind of a big deal to (some of) those not used to meeting famous people.

Thanks for sharing, that was cool. Oh, good deal on the shocks, they are almost always a hassle.

[Rebel]

Great story Lumpy,,,,thanks

[astroturf]

Ok CHiPs...
Like a lot of young people in Hollywood, I was a musician, voice-over artist,
comedian, actor. I'd take just about any job. Everybody went to all the
cattle calls (auditions for actors). You didn't even care what the part was
for. You just get in line, eat the free bagels, read the part, and usually
not get the part.

So After playing all night in a jazz club, like lots of us did, I went to one
of the morning cattle calls. You just drive around Hollywood till you see
the line forming on the sidewalk. I get in line, grab a bagel, see a couple
of my pals. "Hey, how's it goin. Get a job?" ""No, had a couple of Yeoman
Anderson's but no soap"". That means you got a job (Yeoman Anderson)
on some show where your character would be killed. The name stems from
Star Trek. You know, whenever they'd go to a new planet, all the most
important guys from the Enterprise would beam down (Capt, doctor,
Spock etc) plus one guy that you've never seen before. That was
Yeoman Anderson. He'd get killed by the alien booger slime. So when
you got one of those parts, you knew it wasn't going to last. To
"get soap" meant you had some kind of lasting part on a soap opera.
Those parts were like nurses, desk clerks, the mail man, other people
that recurr in the show but aren't the main stars. Shows like
"Police Story" had some Yeoman Anderson's, but they had a lot
more "Mail Men". Like the uniform cops that were always around
while the star detectives did their thing. One of the best mail man
parts was "Police Crime Lab Guy". That's the scientist guy in the
lab that would analyze the cigar ashes of the suspect and tell
the detectives how tall the guy was. That part always seemed
to go to the Asian guys.

So anyway, I go to this cattle call, get in line, and notice that nearly
everybody else in line is a sexy black chick with fishnets and high heels.
I ask one of the girls "what are we reading for?" The part was "Black
fem prostitute". So I read the part anyway. White male, big moustache,
Hawaiian shirt and sandles. I didn't get the part.

But as I'm coming off the platform, Rick Rosner (Chips producer) calls
me over and says "Look at that clock on the wall...Your van just
got stolen...Action". I yelled "HEY!". He told me to come that afternoon
to the shooting.

Long story (all of mine seem long) short, I was "Surfer" in two episodes.
My line in both was the same as the audition "HEY!".

I had a ton of parts like that. When I was even younger, I was on
"Where The Action Is" nearly every episode. And some of the
Frankie and Annette movies I was one of the ambient surfers
in the water. I guess I fit the part of "surfer" well.

Lumpy

You played on "The Love Boat"?
Yes. White tux, huge sideburns.

http://www.LumpyMusic.com

Lumpy for such a great story and in anticipation of at least one more... I award you this prize.

http://www.sjdiscounttools.com/lis20400.html

Sorry I could not have given it to you sooner. But, their is always next time. Hope you enjoy it. Jim

[mdmead]

Cool story Lumpy!

I've got nothing, but Marion Ross is a family friend of my wife's family. When my wife was a teen, she went to several tapings of Happy Days and met all of the cast. In fact, she met Robin Williams when he first played Mork on the show.

[crash]

i have the tool but have never used it yet. also, of note, if you plan on tossing the old shocks and installing new ones: simply put the 15mm? deep socket on the nut and a johnson bar (optional) on that and whack it with a large weighted persuader (aka hammer or mini-sledge). it'll snap the top shock bolt with nut and all and .. viola. possibly easier up here in the RUST ZONE!

[Lumpy]

Lumpy...

http://www.sjdiscounttools.com/lis20400.html

Exactamundo. I'm guessing those silver bits fit the rectangular
top of the shock stud and the black thing that looks like
a spark plug socket gets turned by something like open end wrench?

Those silver things are gonna die within the first few attempts
unless they're made from machined steel. But I'd have bought a
set at AutoSlotto if they were there. I'll try just about anything
when the truck's jacked up and untired and the day's getting late.

It is really nice to be able to see spark plugs, now that the
hockey pucks are in. I even checked my air cleaner this morning.
Took about eleven seconds..

Lump

[astroturf]

And it just keeps getting better and better.

[6spd_monte]

You know, whenever they'd go to a new planet, all the most
important guys from the Enterprise would beam down (Capt, doctor,
Spock etc) plus one guy that you've never seen before. That was
Yeoman Anderson. He'd get killed by the alien booger slime.

Oh, you mean Ensign Ricky! Aka the "Red Shirt"