Shortened Housing Issue: HELP

[bigredguy]

So I shortened my strut housings and I went to test them before I painted them to make sure that everything fit and also to make sure what size spacer I needed to make for an iX Bilstein shock.

I shortened my housings 2 inches and everything to the eye looks straight. The shock goes into the housing fine, but when I go to put the gland nut on you can see that its very slightly off, like approximately a millimeter. I tried with my hand to tighten this and It would thread a little bit and pop off.

This is the issue, and if anyone has had this problem or has any suggestions I would be greatly appreciative.

As they are now the gland nuts go in and then get very difficult to tighten halfway down or so, so to start I will be cleaning the threads very well.

Besides just trying to get it to thread in, does anyone have any suggestions other than to cut and reweld it straighter? That is really not what I will want to have to do at this point, for such a small bit off center.

ANY SUGGESTIONS WELCOME. I am trying to get the car back together before I go back to school next week. Thanks

[David325is]

Have you made and installed a spacer yet? It sounds like the shock is protruding too much out of the strut tubing which would suggest the spacer is too large. Or that the cut was made at a slight angle. A picture of the issue will be helpful too.

[Gertech]

Not that it's going to help you much now, but I used a big pipe cutter to cut my housings. Makes a much cleaner and perfectly square cut, unlike other methods like saws-all or cut off wheels. If you end up getting other housings to straighten it out, try this method. Clamping pieces of angle iron to the strut with c-clamps will help you get it straight when you go to weld it back together.

[kronus]

normally when rewelding the housings you need to use either a junk shock or a copper sleeve to keep it straight.

if it isn't straight right now, unfortunately you have no good way to straighten it.. it's metal and will beat you in a fight.

[bigredguy]

thanks for the help so far. Using a junk shock probably would have greatly helped before i did it, but i did use magnets to secure it in place and keep it straight.

as far as cutting goes, I used a horizontal bandsaw to cut it, so the cuts are straight and thats not the issue.

and I have made a spacer, but it does fit and the shock isnt protruding too much.

And I highly doubt a picture would help. everything looks completely straight, and the shock slides in without any issues, but the only bit that is noticeable is when the shock is in and the gland nut is about to be threaded in you can see it is very slightly off center.

Any suggestions as to how to correct it without rewelding?

[bigredguy]

would it be possible to bore out the gland nut ever so slightly so that it can move to the side enough to thread in, and then but a different rubber fitting so that water and dirt doesnt get into the housing?

[kronus]

I suppose you could grind out the internal part of the gland nut so that it fits the shock more loosely, but this will put a side load on the seal (if it's a bilstein) and ruin it prematurely.

[dsm2002]

My shortened struts were the same. I could not engage the thread as well. I took them to a mate with large bear-like hands, stuck them in a vice and I held the struts firm with my office-worker girlie-like hands while he pushed down on the gland nut and screwed it in at the same time. He rotated the gland nut backwards a short while first until he felt the thread click over so he felt where the thread engage. He has a deft firm touch. Best of luck

[bigredguy]

thanks alot. Glad Im not the only one whose had the problem. Like I said its cold as shit and I didnt turn the heat on in the garage yesterday because I didnt intend on doing work, so I only tried for 20 minutes or so. Ill definitely try that again, and if not bore out the gland nut a bit so its not as snug.

[AndrewBird]

Just to clarify, what you mean by off center is when threaded in, the center hole in the gland nut is not in the center in relation to the strut tube? Unless the nut was made incorrectly, this can't happen. Or did you mean something else?

[kronus]

he means the strut didn't get welded back together straight when it got sectioned.

[AndrewBird]

he means the strut didn't get welded back together straight when it got sectioned.

I don't think that is what he is saying based on this post:

thanks for the help so far. Using a junk shock probably would have greatly helped before i did it, but i did use magnets to secure it in place and keep it straight.

as far as cutting goes, I used a horizontal bandsaw to cut it, so the cuts are straight and thats not the issue.

and I have made a spacer, but it does fit and the shock isnt protruding too much.

And I highly doubt a picture would help. everything looks completely straight, and the shock slides in without any issues, but the only bit that is noticeable is when the shock is in and the gland nut is about to be threaded in you can see it is very slightly off center.

Any suggestions as to how to correct it without rewelding?

If they weren't welded straight, the strut wouldn't fit inside the tube. It would bind at the weld joint.

[kronus]

if it's very close to straight and your cut is pretty close to the top, it's possible for the insert to still go in, but the upper portion (which is wider than the insert, because it needs room for the gland nut to thread in) can be off the centerline.

[bigredguy]

yes kronus knows exactly what I mean. They were welded slightly not straight, so when the bilstein gland nut is on the shock it sits very slightly to one side of where it has to be threaded in, hence why it will not thread in well.

[kronus]

I know because the first set I did were like that, but juust close enough to work :(