I have a question I hope someone could help me with. I have a 2004 f150 lariat 4x4 80k miles and it has stock wheels/tires and a leveling kit installed. I just bought some new bilstein 5100 shocks and struts for it. I have am having trouble removing the three upper nuts to get the strut out. All three bolts are rusted and the bolts keeps turning with the nut. I did get one nut off but the other two no luck. I have tried short burst with a impact and I have also tried a wrench and no luck. What am I going to have to do to get the nuts off the bolts? I just bought the truck 3 months ago and the leveling kit was already installed. The rear shocks went on great with no problems at all. Any help/ideas would be great.
Thanks

 

Try pb blaster it's like wd-40 but better

 

I tried a rust cutter but it was right before I tried the nut. I have been working with it for 3 hrs and I give up for the night so I coated the bolt very good with the rust cutter and I am going to try it again tommorrow. Worst case how bad would it be if I cut the nuts off with a die grinder if the rust cutter dont work? I have tried a heat gun, Impact gun, wrench, I am running out of options.

 

Heat guns not hot enough. Do you have a dremel or similar rotary tool? If so, take a small cut off wheel and try to split the nut in two by cutting on each side without damaging the stud. Might be tough given the tight space. I had to cut the nut off my leaf spring bolts when installing my AAL, but I was installing new bolts anyways so I just cut the bolt and nut down the center. If you have to resort to cutting the top bolts off, you could technically remove all three and put new ones in and just tighten the spacer on good, or buy new coilover which would suck.

 

The aftermarket spacers certainly have Loctite (and who knows what else) on them...and rust, ouch! I'd cut all three bolts off and replace...but I tend to get pissed and give up early. You should probably continue to lubricate and agitate...they'll probably break loose soon.

 

Probably won't in reality, no offense. I've been down this road A LOT living in NE with salt roads and on the ocean with salt air. If the bolts are doing a death spin and seized with the nut, time to cut.

 

I was ready to cut the bolts of several times tonight but I keep hoping the rust cutter would work but it hasn't yet. I soaked it down very good with rust cutter and when I get off work tomorrow if the bolt want break free I might have to cut it off. What would I have to replace if I cut the bolts off. Just the bolts or some part of the metal? I have a air die grinder and a dremel tool.

 

No you could cut just the bolts off.

 

To the OP's first post...the only stud (or bolt as you called it) that should spin when you try to remove the nut is the one that is in the center for the strut. The other 3 that you have to remove to take the strut off the truck should not spin. I don't know what kind of leveling spacer you have installed, but I had a HBS on mine and I don't know how those would have been able to spin without the spacer being ruined. They were welded in place on my spacer so maybe there's another kind of spacer that allows those to spin with the nut, but it sounds like you need to cut them off to get it out and put new spacers in.

 

I let the rust cutter sit all night and I tried it today but no luck the bolts still spin. I borrowed a nut buster and I will try it today. I spoke with ford today and they said it sounds like who ever put the leveling kit in changed the bolts out because there rusted up so bad. But the dealer told me worse case cut the bolts off and I would have to put a new cap on and it has the new bolts with it. He said it would be around 30 or 40 each side.