Okay a Very dumb question I am sure. How do I torque the upper strut nut down to 50 lbs? I only have seen the torque ratchets no torque wrenches. And if I dont have a wrench on the upper end of the strut, the entire rod turns.

I am sure I have missed something obvious. Also, on the lower nuts, how, without air tools do you get them to torque down to 195lbs? I only weight 180, so standing on a breaker bar wouldnt help.

Thanks!

BTW This is a 1984 Firebird, v6 2.8L

 

1) when i did mine i didn't actualy torque them, dead on to 50lbs. same issue, you had, i guess you could say we guessed. maybe its only 48lbs, but hey.

2) get a bar that is more than 1ft long at 1.5ft you weight enought to torque to 270lb/ft

 

You need a crowsfoot adapter and a short extension. That way you can tighten the outer nut, but still hold the center stud with another wrench.

You need to use a short extension to "lift" the torque wrench up away from the crowsfoot, otherwise you won't have enough room to work in.

From craftsman.com's site:

 

They make box wrench extensions for torque wrenches. This is used where a ratchet wouldn't fit. However it requires you to do a calculation based on the length of the extension to determine what torque indicated on the torque wrench would equal 50 at the nut. I just make sure the lock nuts are good and make them as tight as i can by hand. my tokico's have a 10mm hex above the threads. i put a socket or wrench on that and use a large wrench on the strut nut. Then i groan really loud.