ankurdave

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to replace the rear struts in my 1995 LS400 with KYBs. I was able to remove the existing struts and switch out the shock absorber, mount, and insulators. Unfortunately, I'm having trouble reinstalling the strut assembly - the knuckle at the bottom is tilted at about a 15° angle, so I'm not able to thread the pinch bolt through. None of the existing guides mention this, so I'm pretty confused. Here's a diagram:



When I insert a screwdriver through the knuckle and the strut, I'm able to apply enough force to get it to line up, but I can't do this when putting the actual bolt through since it pushes the screwdriver out of the way.

I tried jacking up the right side of the lower suspension (the No. 2 Lower Suspension Arm), but that didn't tilt the knuckle enough.

I have a couple of ideas for what to try next: it might work to disconnect one of the lower suspension arms so I can tilt the knuckle for long enough to put the bolt in, but I'm not sure what other problems that could cause. It also might work to compress the spring while it's in the wheel well so it has a little more room to tilt, but I don't think that will be enough.

Thanks for any suggestions!

ankurdave

I did some searching and found a post suggesting to raise the suspension to correct the tilt. It does seem to reduce the tilt somewhat when I raise the suspension by a large amount, but then there's not enough space for the uncompressed strut.

I also tried putting just the old shock absorber (without the rest of the strut assembly) back in to see if it was different in some way. It seems that it's not very different aside from having a slightly larger hole for the bolt, allowing it to go in more easily. Like the new one, the old one also needed to be tilted to put the bolt in - but unfortunately the required tilt is too large for the full strut assembly to fit in the strut tower.

I'm feeling pretty discouraged, since I don't think I'll even be able to go back to the old shock absorber since it'll have the same problem. Maybe I should call a mobile mechanic?

bradland

I would try a pry bar first. The carrier assembly has plenty of surface area to grab hold of for leverage. If that doesn't work you can loosen the bolts in blue, loosen but do not remove, and try again. If you do loosen additional bolts take special precaution as some may need to be re torqued under load.

ankurdave

Many thanks for your reply! I was really starting to despair.

I'll try using a prybar. I'm not very hopeful about that though - I tried clamping the knuckle diagonally to try and squash it into shape earlier, but it didn't work. I was able to bend the two sides of the knuckle in and out, but moving them up and down or twisting them seems impossible.

Loosening those bolts seems interesting (and thanks for marking them on the diagram, that's very helpful). Would that allow the left side of the assembly to move further down than the right side?

bradland

The top of the carrier assembly swivels on a ball joint which is right next to the holes your strut bolt needs to go through. The strut rod (48780A) will limit the movement you need, but the control arm (48730A) could flex, as it has a bushing, and allow the carrier assembly to tilt slightly.

bradland

I guess "SWINGS" might be a better way to describe the relationship between the carrier assembly and ball joint. Not swivels...

ankurdave

I see, thanks for the precise explanation. I'll try it and report back.

djamps

Try disconnecting the anti-roll (sway) bar temporarily, should give you some extra wiggle room

dicer

Try to use a jack under the one side to straighten it.

ankurdave

I'd already disconnected the sway bar and tried jacking up the right-side suspension arm (48730A), but just as bradland said, the strut rod seems to be what's preventing the carrier assembly from rotating. I tried to loosen its nut and bolt (90119-14045(2)) today, but it's stuck pretty hard and I came dangerously close to rounding it off using my 19mm open-end wrench. I think I'll have to get an impact wrench to loosen it up.

Losiracer2

Make sure to use some PB blaster or other penetrating lube on the bolts as they've been there for 2 decades, it'll help break them loose.

ankurdave

Haha, I have them drenched in it

ankurdave

It looks like I can borrow a cordless impact wrench from the local tool lending library. That may not be powerful enough, in which case is it reasonable to try heating the bolt with a MAPP torch? I don't think there's a rubber bushing on that joint, so it should be safe.

bradland

I don't want to insult your intelligence but did you try the bolt on the other end of the strut rod? Either end could be un attached...

ankurdave

Thanks, I hadn't tried that! (This is my first time working on cars, as you can probably tell...)