# 89T rear shocks...Part 2...can't get one out



## 89T (Aug 13, 2004)

Got one rear shock out with no trouble. Removed top nut and bottom bolt with no trouble on 2nd shock, but cannot get it to drop down. Been beating on the top with an aluminum drift and medium hammer, but it won't come out.

I think the rubber seal on top of old shock is what's holding it in. Hammer is dangerously close to the rear window seal/ledge....hate to get a bfh and hit the car body.

These are original "ride control" shocks.

Any removal tips??

Thx, Bob


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

You took the large single nut off? What about the 3 smaller bolts. 1 on one side and 2 on the other. The large single nut is not important , unless the design was changed........


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## 0341TODD (Nov 15, 2003)

yeah, there is more then one mounting point on the car for the shock man. You should have exactly what Balliztik said for a shock mount- as far as I know you cant just undo the center mount and pull the shock as an assembly


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## 89T (Aug 13, 2004)

Replacement shocks have a single nut (no 3 point mounting plate) so I thought the shock dropped out when the single nut was removed. It did just that on pass side...but won't budge on the drivers side.

I don't understand why the single nut is unimportant....it holds the shock in 

Bob


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

89T said:


> Replacement shocks have a single nut (no 3 point mounting plate) so I thought the shock dropped out when the single nut was removed. It did just that on pass side...but won't budge on the drivers side.
> 
> I don't understand why the single nut is unimportant....it holds the shock in
> 
> Bob


 Right , but the one's that came stock on the car had those 3 bolts also , and it's easier to remove using those 3. For instance , the large center bolts on both of mine in the back were corroded , so I could not remove the shock at all that way. Since your primary concern is to simply remove the shocks , and the new one's come with their own mounting hardware , how you remove the old one's shouldn't be an issue.


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## 89T (Aug 13, 2004)

The Bilsteins had no "special" mounting hardware other than the big nut on the end and a sleeve that fits inside the sleeve that is inside the original mounting bracket.

What I've found is that the threads of the end of the original shocks are corroded within their mounting sleeve...which is encased in rubber. This rubber/sleeve gizmo is called a "Rear Stabalizing Bracket" by Nissan. A bit of a vibration damper in my opinion. I expected the shock to drop out (as it should if corrosion didn't prevent it) when the single big nut was removed from the end of the shock. ON the pass side it did drop out after I tapped it a bit with a drift...however the metal sleeve and a bit of rubber surrounding it also came out...the rubber must have been almost totally separated as I didn't hit it very hard. Not seeing the inside of the 3 hole bracket I didn't realize the piece that came out had actually failed...I reinstalled it over the spacer that came with the Bilstein and bolted it up.

Planned to repeat the process on the drivers side however, it would not drop out...even after "pounding". What I know now is that the rubber was fully intact, but that the ID of the sleeve was fully corroded and stuck on the shock thread. When I removed the 3 hole bracket assembly I realized what was taking place.

So I now have 2 of these rear stabalizing brackets on order ($17/each) and the shock replacement is suspended until I get them.

You mention that replacement shocks have their own mounting hardware. The Bilsteins didn't....what brand did you purchase that did??

Bob


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

89T said:


> You mention that replacement shocks have their own mounting hardware. The Bilsteins didn't....what brand did you purchase that did??
> 
> Bob


Pretty sure the Tokicos do , but the ones I have now are simply newer (87) stock ones , which came with everything. Like I said before , removal was being your primary concern. You can always seperate all the pieces you need afterwards. 
Also , have you installed the Bilsteins yet? I actually went to their website , but the set I found they say does not replace the shocks on the adjustable suspension cars , which confused me a bit , since they list replacements for the turbo's , which I thought were all adjustable ( with the exception of the SS model ) Maybe it's just their wording which is confusing.


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## 89T (Aug 13, 2004)

Of course if the Bilsteins had come with mounting bracket I would have removed the 3 bolts and replaced whatever was required. However, they did not come with anything other than a sleeve that fit's inside the stock stabalizer bracket and a big nut. 

And because the shock should drop out when the big nut is removed I had no expectation of some replacement mounting hardware being needed.

No the Bilsteins are not adjustable...


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## Marc Z31 (Jul 25, 2004)

uh... you have to re-use the mounting hardware from the shock assembaly.

The new shocks don't just hold on by one bolt! There are 3 small ones. The big one just holds the shock to the mounting bracket. I installed tokico illuminas on an 89 turbo a few weeks ago. All aftermarket shocks mount the same as the factory ones.


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## Zen31ZR (Mar 24, 2004)

89T said:


> Of course if the Bilsteins had come with mounting bracket I would have removed the 3 bolts and replaced whatever was required. However, they did not come with anything other than a sleeve that fit's inside the stock stabalizer bracket and a big nut.
> 
> And because the shock should drop out when the big nut is removed I had no expectation of some replacement mounting hardware being needed.
> 
> No the Bilsteins are not adjustable...


 Nope , didn't say that they were. However the wording on the Bilstein site seems to say that the ones for the turbos do not fit on the cars that had the adjustable suspension. It's enough to make you go nuts...........


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