Putting new upper front shock bushings in. Anyone got an idea how to get the darn upper front shock nut loose when it's seized? Not enough room to heat it and heating is not much of an option either since , eventually one starts to burn the rubber in the upper bushing. I'm reluctant to grip hard on the chromed upper shock shaft. I've soaked it in 'Break Free' with no luck so far either. Got the darned assembly on the bench but so far, no luck.

 

Have you tried putting the flatted tip in a bench vise? You'll still need to soak in penetrant and wait though. Hammering the side of the nut with a punch helps to break the bond and let the penetrant wick into the joint.

If you are prepared to sacrifice the nut you can use a nut splitter, cut the nut partially, or spin it with a sharp chisel. Spinning it might save the nut because you only need to get it started.

 

Thanks Plums. I'll give that a try. Hard to get a wrench on the nut though since it's recessed. Regardless, the vice is better than Vicegrips. I may have to cut the nut with a Dremel if that doesn't work.

Any other ideas folks? Keep em coming. Thanks.

 

OK, got it. Thanks to Plum. FWIW, I couldn't get the vice on the flat piece on the end of the bolt and get a wrench on too until it occurred to me to drill out the rivets holding the rubber mount together. By pulling off the top plate and the smaller rubber doughnut on top, I then had room for a wrench. Worked excellent.

 

excellent ... this round's on you