I've searched, read the threads, and attempted multiple approaches.

I've broken a crescent wrench, a 10mm wrench, and a socket.

Tried a 3 foot cheater bar.

I've shot everything up with WD-40 a couple of times and allowed it to sit overnight.

I tried an impact gun with a pair of vice grips on the shaft of the strut.

This top nut will not come off! All I'm doing is breaking tools and rounding off the flats on the top of the strut. There is no hex hole in these struts.

Anybody have any ideas? I'm not looking at replacing the bearing plates yet, so I need to get these off somehow.

 

If I loosen the strut plate bolts, is the hole large enough to lift the entire strut out through the top? I could probably then use a hacksaw or something between the nut and the bearing, there is a small gap...

 

i took a pair off yesterday. the hole didn't look big enough but mine came right off. use a ziz wheel and cut the nut in half. then chisel off the 2 halves.

 

Yes, the whole strut assembly will come up through the hole. That's how I had to do mine.

 

Appreciate the info. I just ran into another problem attempting to remove the strut plate. On one of the 3 mounting studs, the nut spins freely on the stud. The stud doesn't spin, only the nut, as if there are no threads grabbing the nut! What a headache...

 

pick up some nut splitters and bust all those friggen things off.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/3-PIE...motiveQ5fTools

you may have to get new strut retainers if the one stud is stripped

 

I think that's what I'm going to have to do. That means that only 2 of the 3 mounts for the strut plate were properly torqued... No Bueno!

 

Update:

I purchased a nut splitter. The sharp penetrating end broke off while tightening it. This thing is getting me P.O,'d.

I'm working on drilling through both sides of it and just beating the snot out of it until it splits.

 

I just drilled the strut out of the nut if that makes sense. like drilling the bolt part that the nut threads on to and when you get it pretty thin i just used a pair of channel locks to wiggle the nut off.

 

That's pretty much what I had to do ATX, just got the new strut mounted in. What a PITA! Hopefully the other side isn't as difficult.

 

I used a pair of vice grips to hold the shaft of the strut and used an impact gun on the nut and EVENTUALLY got it to give. It wasn't quite as bad as the the passenger side was.