Can't get my shocks off my 97 Deville!!

[PAUL T]

I was trying to get the top nut off the shock on my 97 Deville, but the shaft keeps turning and the nut won't break loose. There is no way to grip the shaft to hold it while breaking the nut loose. I was going to try my air ratchet to see if I can break it loose that way. The manual calls for a special tool. Does anyone know what makes it special? There is a hollow end on the shaft but I do not know what fits in it, I tried allen wrenches to no avail. Anybody have this problem?

[barczy01]

What i go is take a grinder and cut a hole in the casing of the shock, pry it away and the shiney ram will be exposed. I usually grab the ram with a big pair of vise grips, warm the nut with mapp gas and the nut comes right off..

[PAUL T]

I considered that option, but was hoping for an easier solution. I really don't want to pay $20 per shock to have them removed by my local garage. Money is tight right now.

[barczy01]

hammer & chisle..

[Cadillac Jim]

I'm not at all sure that the FSM section on removal of the rear shock will help, but here it is, from the 1997 FSM page 3D-4, with minor clarifications.

Special tool J35669, Strut Rod Nut Socket, is called out but not shown in the list of special tools at the end of the chapter. There is one on eBay for $17, though. CLICK HERE for the eBay ad page. It's just a reverse-direction 3/8" drive socket.

Remove or Disconnect

1. Raise vehicle.
   
2. Remove wheel and tire.
   
3. Remove shock absorber electrical connector from rear suspension support.Support lower control arm with screw jack to relieve spring load.
   
4. Rmove shck absorber lower nut and bolt.
   
5. Remove electrical connector from shock.
   
6. Remove upper mounting nut, retainer and insulator using tool J35669.
   
7. Compress shock absorber by hand and remove through upper control arm.
   

I don't see a mention of anything to hold the shaft, and the special tool just holds the nut itself. There's always penetrating oil and a nut buster.

On a Yahoo Answers page I turned up with a search on J35669, they say to use a no. 50 Torx bit to hold the shaft. That may be what you are looking for.

[PAUL T]

I'm not at all sure that the FSM section on removal of the rear shock will help, but here it is, from the 1997 FSM page 3D-4, with minor clarifications.

On a Yahoo Answers page I turned up with a search on J35669, they say to use a no. 50 Torx bit to hold the shaft. That may be what you are looking for.

That is what I was looking for! I knew there was something that went inside the end of the shaft. An allen wrench would not work but I could not see what fit it. Thanks Jim!!

The picture for the tool is a couple chapters over in the 97 manual. It appeared to have an opening in the top to allow something to go into the top of the shaft. I just did not know what that thing was. I will let everyone know if it works if I can find my 50 torx wrench now.

[Cadillac Jim]

I guess GM doesn't consider a Torx bit a special tool. If you have a new shock ready to put on, you would see the Torx hole in the shaft, I suppose. You will need the Torx bit to tighten the nut when you install a rear shock, too.

[PAUL T]

I guess GM doesn't consider a Torx bit a special tool. If you have a new shock ready to put on, you would see the Torx hole in the shaft, I suppose. You will need the Torx bit to tighten the nut when you install a rear shock, too.

New shock does not have a socket in the top so torquing it to spec. concerns me too.

[KHE]

Usually what happens id the torx recess in the shock rod traps moisture and when you attempt to use a bit to hold the shaft, the torx bit will ream out the torx feature in the shock rod. I used a die grinder to cut the nut so I could chisel the other half of the nut off. The Monroes I installed had a large nut flange where the shock rod enters the body of the shock which was a much better idea in my opinion.

[PAUL T]

Usually what happens id the torx recess in the shock rod traps moisture and when you attempt to use a bit to hold the shaft, the torx bit will ream out the torx feature in the shock rod. I used a die grinder to cut the nut so I could chisel the other half of the nut off. The Monroes I installed had a large nut flange where the shock rod enters the body of the shock which was a much better idea in my opinion.

My new shock has that nut also but I am not sure if it is accessible after assembly. I like how they leave out the little details in the instructions in the manual. For a minute I thought I was reading out of a Chltons or Haynes manual.

[Cadillac Jim]

That's what I recall from back when I saw some rear shocks for another car - hex flats (sometimes just two flats) on the end of the shaft for a wrench. If there is nothing there on your new shocks, look at the literature that comes with the shock, or go on the manufacturer's web page and look for their solution.

[Cadillac Jim]

Usually what happens id the torx recess in the shock rod traps moisture and when you attempt to use a bit to hold the shaft, the torx bit will ream out the torx feature in the shock rod. I used a die grinder to cut the nut so I could chisel the other half of the nut off. The Monroes I installed had a large nut flange where the shock rod enters the body of the shock which was a much better idea in my opinion.

My new shock has that nut also but I am not sure if it is accessible after assembly. I like how they leave out the little details in the instructions in the manual. For a minute I thought I was reading out of a Chltons or Haynes manual.

I knew mechanics that would go to the "acetylene wrench" for things like that. My solution was a nut buster, which drives a wedge into the sides of a nut, splitting it. Here's a two-piece "nut splitter" set on Amazon for $12:

http://www.amazon.co...=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8

The ones I used had a very short stem, unlike these, and they could get into tighter spaces. You should be able to get these at any good tool supplier.

EDIT: Here's the nuclear solution, a $260 set with a hydraulic actuator, for a pro at a muffler shop in Utica:

http://www.amazon.com/Tools-Hydraulic-Nut-Splitter/dp/B0042G6R0U/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=136301386

[PAUL T]

The weather won't cooperate so I am taking it to my local tire shop that does this work. I guess $40 in not going to break me up to have a better ride. I will let you know how they get them off.

[PAUL T]

UPDATE:

I installed the Monroe shock #90009 passive shocks on my 97 Deville. They did pick up the rear but it just leveled the car. I would have like them to have raised it a little more but the car looks level. It does not drag on every little rise in the road now.

[MAC]

I was trying to get the top nut off the shock on my 97 Deville, but the shaft keeps turning and the nut won't break loose. There is no way to grip the shaft to hold it while breaking the nut loose. I was going to try my air ratchet to see if I can break it loose that way. The manual calls for a special tool. Does anyone know what makes it special? There is a hollow end on the shaft but I do not know what fits in it, I tried allen wrenches to no avail. Anybody have this problem?

Well, you can drop the strut and pull it off, and compress the spring with the strut off. Then use a griper pliers with a couple of layers of cardboard around the strut shaft to protect it. then loosen the nut. Make sure you secure the compressors correctly. Do not remove the nut with the strut pointing at you in case somethign goes wrong. Otherwise, if I remember correctly, you may be able to break the nut loose when there is torque on the strut. You just break it loose only. Obviously you cannot remove it until you have the spring compressed.

[joeb]

I was at rock auto looking at rear shocks for my car. Fe1 were 600 and fe3 were 1000! Whoa.

[Cadillac Jim]

Get the Monroes.

[joeb]

True. But it does make you wonder who will buy these oem shocks for 17 yr old cars? If I don't buy them, who will. Is there a market for $600 shocks? Someday, there will literally be no 96 caddies on the road.

[Cadillac Jim]

Anyone who has a 17-year-old car that wants it to be like it was made and plans to drive the car for something like 50,000 miles or more is well-advised to buy the OEM shocks. The market is small, but that's why it is still there at all.

The $600 price tag sounds like the old price of AC/Delco shocks to me. Monroe OEM shocks are identical so far as I can tell and sell for a fraction of the price - and always did. But for the last year or so I have noticed that AC/Delco OEM electronic suspension parts are available at low close-out prices, forcing Monroe to lower their prices too. I don't know where one would see a $600 price tag for rear shocks these days, even electronic ones for the FE3 suspension. I didn't pay those prices last year when I bought AC/Delco from Rock Auto.

[joeb]

Odd pricing. Passive shock is $98. 95 shock is $985. 96 shock is 533. 97 shock is 632. Delco stuff. Monroe elec stuff is 344. Or so. Seems everyone online charges whatever they want. Or perhaps what they paid? If they bought it in 04 or 99 or whenever and it just sat on shelf.

[Cadillac Jim]

I just looked at shocks for the 1996 Seville on RockAuto and the $1080.89 shock is the AC/Delco shock for the FE1 "Soft Ride" suspension! The FE3 AC/Delco shock is $587.79. They list two Monroes, a cheap one for replacement when the non-electronic conversion kit (think Arnott) and another for the FE1. The Monroe rear shock for the FE3 suspension isn't listed on Rock Auto for the 1996 Seville. You will need the Monroe 30141 for the FE3 suspension - and you will need a conversion kit for it to fit your car. That part number is used on the Rock Auto site but for the stated price, $25, it may just be the conversion kit without the shock. I would call Rock Auto and ask if they actually have the Monroe FE3 shock (automatic rear leveling system, and electronic suspension).

Where they got the $1000+ price for an FE1 shock is beyond me. It's always a good ideal to shop around.