I tried to remove the 4 nuts (2 small, 2 large) that support each side of the OEM strut bar, and they are proving to be extremely difficult. It's gotten to the point where I believe one of the nuts is stripping.

I am planning to get spare nuts just in case I need to break them. Does anyone know if I can get these nuts from places like Home Depot? I know I can get them at the dealership, but that's a pretty far drive for me compared to Home Depot.

 

You can get anything at home depot I go there more than I go to the autostore for my car lol

 

Jin, try some PB Blaster on the nuts first. It's always worked for me. And just put a little more *** into it and they will come off...

 

Thanks Jos, I'll check them out tonight. I just wanted to be sure these weren't specialty nuts or something.

I8U - I tried. Lots and lots of PB blaster, tapping, gentle turns to set things in... and they still won't move. I literally sheared off two 3/8" to 1/4" socket drive extension bits trying to get them off.

 

are you using a breaker bar? or just the normal socket wrench?

 

Try a breaker bar or a 1/2" drive socket...3/8 and 1/4 are a little wimpy in these situations.

 

Try tightening the nuts down first. Not a whole lot, just like 1/16 of a turn, just enough to get them to budge, then loosen them. That little trick works wonders on stubborn bolts and nuts.

Also, if you round the corners of the nut off, trying putting a smaller socket on it to get them loose (the next size down)


If all else fails, heat the nuts up with a propane torch then spray with pb blaster.

 

Thanks for the advice, I gotta check the size of the nuts tonight when I get home to see if I can get a 1/2" socket to fit. I had to use the 1/4" drive because that's the only socket that fit the nut was a 1/4" fit.

I have a breaker bar, but with the 1/4" drive shearing using just a normal socket wrench, the breaker bar wouldn't have done much better. So either I find a 1/2" socket that fits the nut, or I find some indestructible 1/4" drive.

My last resort is the blowtorch, since that means I need to take it to the mechanic who has one.

@Tiresmoker - I tried the tightening trick, no luck =\

 

almost stripped mine last night, until i noticed it wasnt fully settled in cuz of the dirt buildup, i used some wd40 to clean n lube it, came off like nothing haha

 

Try a six point socket and a 1/2 inch drive breaker bar. Shouldn't be that stuck. And the PB blaster is a good idea too.

 

Sorry Easy, I'm slightly confused. All my sockets are 6 point sockets, did you mean something else?

I'll try spraying it with wd-40 to clean it out as well, I've been applying PB blaster every night. I went to home depot last night to find tools and the replacement nuts, and they sent me to Sears lol. I guess I'll go to Sears when I have time.

 

http://www.torchbrazing.com/torch-br...-torch-kit.jpg

About $30 A great little tool to have. Heat it up and your good to go. These are the other items you'll want to get:

http://www.permatex.com/brand_gel_twist.htm

Get both red and blue (a few bucks each)

http://www.expeditionexchange.com/ro...eize%20006.jpg $5

A majority of Mazda hardware is the same size. Using new OEM hardware with a threadlocker is the smart way to go. You can do just about everything to the car with a: 8mm, 10, 12, 14, 17, 19 and 21mm open-end wrench and socket set. The 14 and 17 get the biggest workout and the socket elves come and night and hike these from your tool box. Buy extra.

 

Thanks Eric, I'm going to purchase the antiseize definitely. How does threadlock work? Does it work in conjunction with antiseize, or is there no need?

And definitely thanks for the torch kit, I never knew there were small kit versions of blowtorches.

 

I would avoid the red thread locker it takes a really brutal impact gun or 480 degrees of heat to break it. It's pretty ruthless stuff, so unless you don't plan on taking in off again just stick with the blue. Honestly you shouldn't really need any those nuts won't back off, mine never have. I would just use a small amount of anti seize.

Have you tried autozone or checker or pep boys, they have a lot of replacement hardware. As far as getting them off like everyone said you just need to get the 1/2" breaker and it should be a breeze.

 

Well, I have a 1/2" breaker, but as I said before, the only sockets that fit the nut is a 1/4" socket. With that being said, I found a high impact 3/8" to 1/4" adapter, so I'll getting that.

I already purchased the torch kit, so we'll see if a combination of a stronger adapter, a week's application of pb blaster, and heat will remove it no problem lol.

 

Antiseize is ideal for those bolts/nuts that can freeze up. Exhaust hardware that reaches 1,000 F+ are great candidates. Exhaust manifold bolts (header bolts) are a must. We like to use Anti-S on the bolts that hold the brake calipers on. Just a little. Paint it on a fair portion of the threads, run it in and out and your good to go.

Blue thread locker. Put this on anything you don't want to come loose: the nuts on top of the front and rear upper shock mounts. Put these on the bolts for the swaybar mounting brackets. We put red on the front upper control arm bolts after we rebuild them with delrin bushings and have confirmed they can move very, very freely. Often these things get overtorqued and the front suspension does not freely move up and down.

Red thread locker-----get a really small tube of this. Red is for things you'll probably never, ever take off again. Every once in a while you'll find a use for it.

A medium size torque wrench (we end up with Craftsman tools and engrave our names on them to avoid them walking away) is a great tool to have along with an RX-8 repair manual. This comes in helpful for the torque specs.

 

Thanks for the information, I'll be working on sways and shocks in the spring so I can stock up now.

I have a simple torque wrench for now, I believe it covers the range of torque needed in the RX-8 (0-150).

Currently I am waiting for the torch kit to come in; two of the nuts appears to be taking PB blaster very well (it soaks in between), while two doesn't seem to be soaking in very much. It doesn't help that the strut bar nuts are at an angle, so it can't soak perfectly. But here's to hoping a combination of everything will unsettle them with ease!