Lubing my Strut!!

[demag]

Although the front suspension is actually working now it still seems to be a bit sticky in certain positions. I read that it is possible to lube the strut through the hole at the top. The only holes I can see are on the side of the strut at the top with a rubber bung in about 10mm diameter. Are those the ones?

Thanks.

[docchevron]

There are two methids for lubing the strut.
You have to be a bit careful about what you throw down the holes in the top.
The hole in the top is in the side of the strut mount accessed from under the bonnet.
There are holes opposite eachother on each strut top mount, one will be blanked by the locater (which looks like a bung but is actually part of the bellows) and the other should be an open hole.

However putting oil down said hole could lead to brake contamination which is not so good.
You're better off lifting the bellows off the strut from inside the wheelarch, and applying a small amount of grease (CV grease is ideal) to the piston.

To lube the innards of the strut then pull the strut return pipes off and stick them in a jar of LHM, then work the suspensoin up and down 30 times or so.

[MULLEY]

I've tried getting the bellows off, found it impossible, welded on, or is there any special technique?

[Way2go]

I've tried getting the bellows off, found it impossible, welded on, or is there any special technique?

They only sit on top of the strut, can usually be lifted easily when the cars on high.

If excess oil has been previously poured down through the holes perhaps this has mixed with brake dust to form that hard cement, like you get on the brake pad tracks, at the gaiter collar?

[DLM]

I've tried getting the bellows off, found it impossible, welded on, or is there any special technique?

The upper fixing of the bellows is irrelevant for nearly all purposes: you just don't need to detach it. The lower end of the bellows (which I'll call the gaiter from now on) is merely clipped-on - and this what you need to slide off: you can then do the grease strut lube as described by the Doc.

The lower end of the gaiter pushes and clips over the top of the main outer tube of the strut - i.e. what you see with the wheel off, fixed to the hub carrier at the bottom of the tube, and to the gaiter at the top.

By carefully pushing the bottom of the gaiter upwards and over the lip of the outer strut tube, the shiny metallic inner piston-rod of the strut is revealed. As the Doc says, not much grease is required to lube here - it's an external lube as opposed to the internal lube (the lhm-sucking procedure).

[Way2go]

The upper fixing of the bellows is irrelevant for nearly all purposes: you just don't need to detach it.

Were you trying to do it this way & pull it down then Mulley?

[MULLEY]

I tried pushing in the locator bung & then pulling the gaiter part (underneath the wheel arch) down.

The bit i dont quite understand is, where abouts is its clipped on?? That might explain why no amount of pulling would remove it.

[Way2go]

The bit i dont quite understand is, where abouts is its clipped on?? That might explain why no amount of pulling would remove it.

Ah! You need to lift it at the lower point of the gaiter not pull it down at the higher point.

The top of the strut cylinder is at the bottom of the gaiter. Inside the gaiter is a thinner piston rod. You don't have to lift the bonnet, this is accessible in the wheel arch with the suspension on high.

[MULLEY]

Had a look at a spare strut today & now i've worked it out, i'll have a go with the noisey one on my car tomorrow. Thanks for everyone's help on this.

There isnt much room to get some grease in the gap that the gaiter leaves around the shaft, would a grease gun be ideal for squirting some grease up it?

[Jaba]

would a grease gun be ideal for squirting some grease up it?

No, you need to smear thin grease, oil or silicone onto the shaft all around so that it can then get down into the strut past the oil seal on the top. And then repeat it every now and then.
What happens is the thrust bearing at the top of the strut just under the oil seal dries out. So you need to get some more lubrication onto it.
Filling a removed and flushed out strut with LHM and leaving it upside down for 24hrs might be one way and the above is another.

None of this cures that stiff jerky syndrome that affects them all eventually. This is due to internal wear of parts that are continually lubed with LHM.

[MULLEY]

Cheers for the advice Jaba.