Shock absorber replacement nightmare
I was humbled today by a normally simple maintenance job on my 1994 33’ Holiday Rambler. So far I haven’t even been able to remove nut #1 on the front passenger side shock absorber. I’ve done nearly all my own car repairs for the last 50 years and never thought I’d have a problem doing such a normally simple chore as replacing shock absorbers. I’m plagued by two issues:
(1) compared to cars and pickups everything is super-sized
(2) the RV spent many years in the rust belt and most of the nuts and bolts have a good deal of corrosion.
So far I’m still fighting with nut #1, which is the bottom, easily accessible nut that attaches the bottom of the shock to the axle. I’ve heated it with a butane torch, put penetrating oil on it, and then repeated several times. Next using my 1/2” drive breaker bar and 3’ long cheater I attempted to break the nut loose, to no avail. I also tried using a torque multiplier wrench, still no joy. Tomorrow I’m running up to my storage space in Austin and fetching back a small oxyacetylene torch I own (unfortunately not a cutting torch) to really heat it. I’m also going to purchase the first 3/4" drive breaker bar and sockets I’ve ever owned in 50 years. I’m not sure what I’ll do if this fails. I realize that a truck repair outfit would torch off the offending nut, that is if their Godzilla sized air impact wrench couldn’t break it lose. Unfortunately, I don’t have the luxury of such tools. Does anyone have any suggestions about what to do next? My real fear is, how do I get the nuts and bolts off that aren’t as accessible. I can’t afford the Godzilla sized air impact wrench I appear to need, however I do have a 20 gallon 100psi air compressor.
Also, a while back someone asked about replacing shocks, I humbly stand corrected and apologize for saying it was a straightforward and easy task. I was half right anyhow, straightforwards yes, easy… without the right tools no. And just because you have the right tools for your car or pickup doesn't mean they're the right tools for your class A MH.
Steve
(1) compared to cars and pickups everything is super-sized
(2) the RV spent many years in the rust belt and most of the nuts and bolts have a good deal of corrosion.
So far I’m still fighting with nut #1, which is the bottom, easily accessible nut that attaches the bottom of the shock to the axle. I’ve heated it with a butane torch, put penetrating oil on it, and then repeated several times. Next using my 1/2” drive breaker bar and 3’ long cheater I attempted to break the nut loose, to no avail. I also tried using a torque multiplier wrench, still no joy. Tomorrow I’m running up to my storage space in Austin and fetching back a small oxyacetylene torch I own (unfortunately not a cutting torch) to really heat it. I’m also going to purchase the first 3/4" drive breaker bar and sockets I’ve ever owned in 50 years. I’m not sure what I’ll do if this fails. I realize that a truck repair outfit would torch off the offending nut, that is if their Godzilla sized air impact wrench couldn’t break it lose. Unfortunately, I don’t have the luxury of such tools. Does anyone have any suggestions about what to do next? My real fear is, how do I get the nuts and bolts off that aren’t as accessible. I can’t afford the Godzilla sized air impact wrench I appear to need, however I do have a 20 gallon 100psi air compressor.
Also, a while back someone asked about replacing shocks, I humbly stand corrected and apologize for saying it was a straightforward and easy task. I was half right anyhow, straightforwards yes, easy… without the right tools no. And just because you have the right tools for your car or pickup doesn't mean they're the right tools for your class A MH.
Steve
