//// help putting car back together ////

[Andyinchville1]

Hi all,

I am in the process of trying to put my driver side front axle back In but I can't seem to get the strut back into the spindle.

I followed the removal instructions in the you tube video from Steve's Garage on titled " mk 4 cv axle removal and installation" from 1 year ago with 42k views ( I just wanted to be specific with the video so you know which one I was going by).

Anyways , I have two bolts holding the transmission side of the cv axle assembly on and I have the splines in the wheel end and the axel nut on the wheel side on loosely but for the life of me I cannot get the strut back in the spindle fully ....

FWIW - I am using the metal nerd strut spreader tool but even with that we still had to beat on the spindle to get the strut out in the first place .... should it be that hard? ... I had the entire suspension redone 5000 miles ago so there was no real rust on the new struts or for that matter in the area where the strut goes into the spindle .

In thinking about how the spreader tool is to be used, should the spreader tool be put on the top of the slot ? towards the middle of the slot ? or where the bolt goes through to secure the strut?

I suppose another way of doing it might be too start the strut in a little bit move the spreader down Push the strut in a little bit move the spreader down more etc...?

My helper says he's never seen a strut so difficult to put in and even suggested grinding paint off the strut and sanding the inside of the spindle lightly to make it easier to get the strut in .... truthfully I'm kind of against that idea because paint this supposed to be protecting things from rust.

An idea that I had was to possibly take the strut back out of the spindle assembly and use a pry bar to spread the area open wider than the strut spreader spreads it.... I'm not sure that's the best idea either but I suppose that's one way of getting the strut back in easier ...

I am using koni special active struts on the front maybe those are just that much wider than normal?

Anyway hopefully somebody will have some ideas and how to get the strike back in ... personally this is my first front axle job and in theory it's really not hard to do on paper just in execution ...

One thing that does worry me a little bit is we only have two bolts holding the transmission side on semi Loosely I'm hoping grease doesn't want to just run out overnight but it's supposed to be pretty cold out so maybe it'll just stay in....

Anyways thanks in advance for any and all help.

Andrew

 

[WildChild80]

Hi all,

I am in the process of trying to put my driver side front axle back but I can't seem to get the struts back into the spindle.

I followed the removal instructions in the video from Steve's Garage on YouTube titled mk 4 cv axle removal and installation from 1 year ago with 42k views ( I just wanted to be specific with the video so you know which one I was going by).

Anyways I have two bolts holding the transmission side of the CV joint on and I have the splines in and axel nut on the wheel side on loosely but for the life of me I cannot get the strut back in the spindle fully ....

If you don't have the spreader tool you'll have to hammer on the spindle until it seats...

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[Andyinchville1]

Hi

One quick thought came into my head as I was driving home ....

I'm thinking the spindle area where the strut is captured is somewhat similar to a battery terminal on a top post battery ...

I always tell my helpers when working on my vehicles to Snug the top post terminal but don't tighten it so tight that the bolt pulls the ends of the lead terminal together ... that makes sense ... because then more often than not you have to use a screwdriver to spread he lead terminal back apart in order to remove the terminal from the battery and once the lead stretches.... it may not tighten properly again ( of course lead would it be easier to stretch then the cast iron of the spindle assembly) but this may be a good analogy as to why the strut is so difficult to put into the spindle?

I suppose if that's the case then perhaps a pry bar should be used to open the Gap up or is it only recommended to open the Gap up as much as the metal nerd tool allows it to be spread?

 

[Curious Chris]

Hi
One quick thought came into my head as I was driving home ....
I'm thinking the spindle area where the strut is captured is somewhat similar to a battery terminal on a top post battery ...
I always tell my helpers when working on my vehicles to Snug the top post terminal but don't tighten it so tight that the bolt pulls the ends of the lead terminal together ... that makes sense ... because then more often than not you have to use a screwdriver to spread he lead terminal back apart in order to remove the terminal from the battery and once the lead stretches.... it may not tighten properly again ( of course lead would it be easier to stretch then the cast iron of the spindle assembly) but this may be a good analogy as to why the strut is so difficult to put into the spindle?

I suppose if that's the case then perhaps a pry bar should be used to open the Gap up or is it only recommended to open the Gap up as much as the metal nerd tool allows it to be spread?

No what VW did is ream a forging to a very specific straight diameter; the diameter is a line on line fit for the strut. Then they slotted it (where metalnerd spreader goes) . So you use the metalnerd tool to expand the diameter a few thousand inches and it drops right in and when you remove the tool the strut is locked in place. Of course the safety engineer had VW add a bolt just to be sure. Yes when I did a suspension refresh on my dearly departed 2002 it was not easy to get the strut out, but the new strut dropped right in,

 

[Tdijarhead]

Used properly that tool works like a charm. Insert it in the slot and with a 13mm wrench give it a half turn. The strut will come out and go in with your hands, no pounding required.

 

[Wilkins]

I put the tool in the middle of the slot.

Last time I couldn’t get the strut in at first. There was some corrosion buildup on the inside of the spindle, so I put a rotary wire brush and maybe a sanding attachment in there to clean it up. Once cleaned I greased the strut and it went in much better.

I wouldn’t touch the strut, it’s just thin sheet metal. The spindle is cast steel and very hard. I think it would be hard to damage.

 

[Andyinchville1]

Hi

Thanks for the input ....

I suppose what I'll try doing is taking a wire brush and cleaning out the spindle area where the strut fits into in the hopes that a little bit of rust that is there once removed will allow the strut to go in more easily ...

I suppose a little bit of lube may also help but I'm not sure I want to necessarily go that route because the oil would probably attract dirt in the long run ..

Towards the latter part of today we did have some luck using a wooden block and a big tire iron to pry up on the spindle .... that made some fairly good progress but unfortunately we still have about an inch to go.

Another idea I had was to make a flat plate and weld it to the bottom of an air chisel and use that to vibrate the spindle and strut together. .. I suppose that would be as a last resort but hopefully things should go together before that ...

Well I'll cross my fingers and when it gets a little brighter and warmer out I'll try again....

 

[KCTDI]

Before I got Metalnerd's strut spreading tool I used a 1/4" extention in the slot to change struts. If one didn't spread it enough on the bottom I'd put another closer to the top. I got two Metalnerd spreaders just for that reason but one has always done the trick for me. I always spray the inside of the spindle with Kroil before installing the strut "for the next guy".

 

[Metal Man]

I use some lube and a floor jack under the control arm. Slight pressure from the jack and wiggle the strut and go little by little like that. The knuckle can easily cock and not slide on the strut, then you loosen the jack and go again. If it's really not going I suppose I would lightly take a grinder around the strut as a last resort.

 

[WildChild80]

I have had an issue where I actually made a burr on the strut trying to get it in and had to file it off to get it.

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[Andyinchville1]

Hi

We are about to try putting it on again...

One thing I may not have mentioned is we did not disconnect the struts on the top Tower nor did we disconnect the ball joints or tie rod ends...

We did disconnect the sway bar link though ..

Well here we go again thanks for all your help

 

[eddieleephd]

I have always removed the ball joint and avoided dealing with the struts to get CV axles In and out.

It may be the spot that you have the spreader in that's damaged. You can use a slice of can, or something like that to add spread to the spreader if you need to.

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[Cleenlivin]

When I changed the struts I found even with the metal nerd tool I just didn’t have enough spread to get my struts to fully slide in. I wedged a penny between the spreader bit and wall of the spindle which gave me just enough extra spread to allow the struts to seat.

 

[Tdijarhead]

I have found that when I try to get away with doing a job by taking the least amount of other parts loose or remove them it makes a job so much harder. The time saved not taking the ball joints or strut top loose is more than lost by the difficulty of trying to get the strut out or back in the knuckle.

The drivers side complete strut replacement is a 1 hour job by taking the top loose. One sway link bolt out and the 3 ball joint bolts loose.

Here is the metalnerd tool in a spare knuckle I have laying around.



Ready to turn.



Turned and the knuckle spread about 1- 2mm

 

[Andyinchville1]

Hi all,
Well we managed to get everything back together with only one bloody knuckle so I guess I should consider that a victory of sorts... not to mention the $375 a shop wanted to charge us for putting the axles in!
I think ultimately what helped us to get the struts back into the spindles semi easily was putting the tip of the strut into a clean wired brushed spindle opening, using the spreader tool and then simultaneously shaking and applying upward pressure with a floor Jack...
As the strut moved into the spindle, we relocated occasionally relocated the spreader tool to "follow" the ever deeper seating strut .... all the while lightly rapping the spindle while applying floor deck pressure .... vibrating the strut in as it were....
I had wished I had thought about the penny / shim idea to help the spreader tool spread the spindle more but by time I saw it it was already dark and we had just finished...
surprisingly the driver's side was easier to do than the passenger side because of the passenger side CV axle lengths and relatively hidden inner flange bolts ...
I agree with taking things apart more to make the job easier and in order to do the passenger side we did drop the belly pan ... it may have been nice to drop the side engine cover on the passenger side to make feeding the new axle assembly in easier but it was getting dark and the two of us managed to ultimately thread the axle in without doing that.
The reason I had followed that particular YouTube videos instructions not to touch the ball joints or tie rod ends was so I did not have to get the car realigned when everything was said and done...
My helper thought the job might have been a lot easier taking things more apart but I didn't want to disturb the alignment and have to take more time off to get that done...
As a side I thought if we were very precise in reinstalling at least the ball joint could we have gotten away without realigning the car ( I say ball joint only because if we don't adjust the tie rod end by removing a lock nut would that not keep the same setting or are setting that precise that maybe 1/16 of an inch or a 1/32 inch being off when bolting the tie rod and or ball joint throw off the alignment ?
Thanks again....
Andrew
Ps - I am starting a new thread soon seeing what caused the demise of my CV joint in the first place ... did it die of old age or was it killed?