Ohio
Just sharing... spent Saturday replacing my OEM struts with Bilstein B6s and new sway bar links and bushes on one of my other vehicles.
If you've done it before, you know that a decent breaker bar and power wrench makes it easier work. The hardest part is removing the sway link on the front struts - its good practice to replace them with the struts to keep them the same age -- while you are down there approach. I did all 4 links and front and rear bushes.. (100k mile service).
Everything else always comes off easy, spinning off the nuts on the sway link requires a locking wrench or 5mm hex on the inside to keep it from spinning. Mine was toast and just spinning. But I remembered that I had picked up an induction heater... which in a senior moment I had forgotten about. About a 45 seconds of heating with the induction coil made the rusted nut cherry red, and they spin off with the power wrench. No flame from a MAP torch, no risk, all reward. You pretty much boil the grease in the sway link bearing, but you were replacing that anyway.
Awesome tool -- mines a 1600W... not brand shilling here, just sharing cool tech.
I don't have pictures under the car, but from a galvanized pipe I tested it on previously..
If you've done it before, you know that a decent breaker bar and power wrench makes it easier work. The hardest part is removing the sway link on the front struts - its good practice to replace them with the struts to keep them the same age -- while you are down there approach. I did all 4 links and front and rear bushes.. (100k mile service).
Everything else always comes off easy, spinning off the nuts on the sway link requires a locking wrench or 5mm hex on the inside to keep it from spinning. Mine was toast and just spinning. But I remembered that I had picked up an induction heater... which in a senior moment I had forgotten about. About a 45 seconds of heating with the induction coil made the rusted nut cherry red, and they spin off with the power wrench. No flame from a MAP torch, no risk, all reward. You pretty much boil the grease in the sway link bearing, but you were replacing that anyway.
Awesome tool -- mines a 1600W... not brand shilling here, just sharing cool tech.
I don't have pictures under the car, but from a galvanized pipe I tested it on previously..
Ware, East Hertfordshire
UK