J'S LTD 4RNR

I don't want to beat a dead horse here but I am having an annoying squeak that I have isolated to my front strut mounts. It has been talked about here before that the strut stem can rub against the metal of the mount I believe if the top center nut is not tightened down enough. About a year ago Swede discussed taking off the center nut and putting washers underneath to compress the bushings so that they are not rubbing against metal. I would inspect those retainers and bushings to see if they are worn out.

Do you have to use a spring compressor to remove that top nut?

BennyTRD

That would be the best way to insure that everything is as tight as it should be.

GSGALLANT

Yes spring compressors or a press are required. I don't think the weight of the vehicle is enough. When you remove the top nut, without using spring compressors, I think the spring will expand more, than you'll have a hell of a time getting the nut tightened back on to where it should be. The best way to do it is to remove the whole coil-over shock assembly, use a press (and home made adapters) to compress the spring, then use an impact gun to spin that top nut off. And just so we keep the terminology correct, 4Runners (3rd gen and up) don't have struts, they have coil-over shocks with double wishbone suspension. The older 4Runners have torsion bars and shocks. Vehicles that have struts don't have upper A-arms.

BennyTRD

Hmm...learn something new everyday.