405 front suspension struts

Hi All,

Having looked under the plastic covers that fit on top of the front
suspension struts i've found something a bit disturbing.
The top-nut on the left strut had turned loose quite a bit. The nut on the
righthand side is also quite loose.
Maybe this is something that just happens (car has done 280000+ km), but it
doens't feel very safe, but probably explains the noise when making corners.
So my plan is to tighten both nuts (if needed), preferably to the correct
torque setting.

Can anyone confirm thats these nuts are called "Suspension strut upper
mounting retaining nuts" and that that should be tightened to55Nm?
(I've been looking at Haynes (ch 10) and found a table with torque wrench
settings, but I don't want to overtighten something.)

Thanks!

Ed

 

Yes that is the ones 55NM 41lbf ft chapter 10 page 10.1 i had to redo
mine about 12 weeks ago as i had a noise coming from the top.the only
problem is you have to use a key in the middle and a spanner on the nut
so how you are going to get the right torque i dont know , just pull
till tight and dont move about ,

 

Years ago, when I were a lad, I got over that problem when putting a new
crown wheel in the diff unit of an old Ford Popular. Used a long spanner
(made from a short one wedged in the end of a length of pipe) and pulled it
via a spring balance that was hooked on two feet along the spanner. The
torque setting was 28 foot/pounds so, as the spring balance was two feet
away from the nut, the correct torque was reached when it read 14 pounds.
Things like torque wrenches weren't that common in those days.

 

Not Torgue wrenches but air guns

 

Even more new fangled gadgets. What happened to the good old nut pliers
and a bit of cotton waste ;o)

 

I haven't had to try it myself, but I'd be at least tempted to tighten
the nut with the spanner & key to roughly half torque - then finish with
a socket & a torque wrench - hoping the stud wouldn't try to turn
further.

Alternatively, you can do it using both a spanner & a socket torque
wrench. Put the spanner on the nut, then a tightened nut & bolt say in
the opposite end of the spanner with the torque wrench also on that nut
& bolt. It can be a bit unwieldy, but it works because the torque is the
same anywhere along the length of the leaver. The same trick is useful
for a limited access problem, if you really care that much about the
torque.

Regards

 

That can't be right. If you use a longer lever, i.e. a spanner and a
lever, then the same amount of pressure at the end of the lever exerts
greater turning power on the nut. E.g. a pull of 20 pounds 12 inches from
the nut is 20 foot/pounds. A pull of 10 pounds 24 inches from the nut
also gives 20 foot pounds. Therefore applying the same torque to the
extended lever will greatly over tighten the nut.

 

Sorry, but it is

Applying a force somewhere along a lever produces a varying torque.

Applying a torque somewhere along a lever always applies the same torque
regardless..

Regards

 

Keith's statement is true, but in the case you suggest, the torque
(measured in Ft lbs, or newton meters) is being measured halfway along
the lever, so gawd knows what the real torque at the nut will be.

However, since the nut is readily accessible for a torque wrench
directly, this is academic.
I would just tighten it up as much as you can using the 7mm allen key,
and 21mm spanner.

 

8<

Thanks to alle who have replied!
I've tightened both nuts with a spanner that i've lengthened to a meter and
applied about 5,5kg's of force.

This seems to do the trick (and as result a lot less noise when cornering
and the steering seems more secure).
Maybe not the easiest way to do this, but it's the result that counts.

Edwin