You may have seen the option for a strut spreader when looking through our website or purchasing coilovers and wondered what on earth it could be used for. Well we promise that we offer it for good reason. First, let’s have a look at what the strut spreader looks like…
Don’t be deceived from the picture; the tool is quite small. While it is small, it’s going to make a world of difference when installing your suspension. On some vehicles, the vehicle manufacturer did not design the strut to be mounted with the common nut and bolt setup to hold the strut to the hub. Instead they incorporate a pinch mount hub that will hold the strut by tension. There will still be a bolt that runs through the hub to tighten the hub but this hardware does not go through the strut whatsoever. The problem arises when you remove the bolt that pinches the hub…the hub is still under tension. You won’t simply be able to slide the shock out once the bolt is removed.
The strut spreader works effectively due to its size and shape. In each pinch mount, there will be a slotted opening on the backside of the hub. With the strut spreader’s small oval size, you’re able to slide it into the slotted opening with the oval facing up and down. When the strut spreader is turned with a wrench the oval part rotates so that the oval is facing side to side and spreading the hub ever so slightly to allow the strut enough room to be freed from the hub and removed from the vehicle. You can see how this is done in the video below.
Now you may be thinking: well I could just do that with a chisel or a screwdriver without having to buy the tool. While you might eventually be able to do so, we promise you it’s not worth the time and effort. Several of us on our own vehicles have done the install on a pinch hub without the tool and it can take hours to remove the front struts doing it that way. With the strut spreader tool the job can be done in under a minute. Keep in mind that the factory struts as well as the coilovers will have alignment tabs on the strut bodies that slide into this slotted opening. So, wedging a chisel in there won’t be that easy as it will surely block the strut’s alignment tab from being able to be removed or installed. Trust us, if your vehicle has a front pinch mount and the tool is offered, get it! It will save you a lot of time and headache.
Like always, if you have specific questions please let us know, 801-365-1440.
