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upper rear shock bolt not tightening down

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Location
Minnesota
#1
went to install new rear shocks today. All went well on the first side. The second side was going smoothly until I started torquing the upper bolts. One of them got to about 8 ft/lbs, and wouldn't tighten further. I was able to loosen it and then tighten it to that point again, so maybe the threads aren't stripped?

Anyhow, I'm not sure what my next step should be. 8 ft/lbs ain't the 18 spec'd. Any insights?
 


haste

1000 Post Club
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#2
I had the same problem with my driver side rear bolt. My new bolt wanted to go crooked but the bolt itself didn't show any thread damage. I ran the old bolt through the original hole three times with no issues other than it going crooked. I shoved a half cut washer on the side that wasn't flush with the shock mount.

In your case, the captive nut on the inside of the car will probably need to be cut out. I suggest running another new bolt and nylon lock nut/washer combo to hold the upper shock.
 


OP
faust
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Location
Minnesota
Thread Starter #3
pulled the rear interior aside enough to see what's on the other side, and the captive nut sure appears solidly attached to the body. So I'm guessing I stripped it. Surprised that happened, as I took the time to clean up the bolt, and did everything by hand.
 


OP
faust
Messages
137
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141
Location
Minnesota
Thread Starter #4
In your case, the captive nut on the inside of the car will probably need to be cut out. I suggest running another new bolt and nylon lock nut/washer combo to hold the upper shock.
Nuts!
 


haste

1000 Post Club
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#5
pulled the rear interior aside enough to see what's on the other side, and the captive nut sure appears solidly attached to the body. So I'm guessing I stripped it. Surprised that happened, as I took the time to clean up the bolt, and did everything by hand.
I was surprised myself. Everything came apart easily and the original bolt looked fine. I took an extra hour trying to get things right but decided in the end to just "pad" the extra space for the crooked bolt. Luckily, I was able to torque it to spec.
 


OP
faust
Messages
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Location
Minnesota
Thread Starter #6
Update: turned out to not be as bad as I'd worried.

A fellow autoxer suggested just getting a longer bolt, and throwing another nut on top of the captive nut. This was on the assumption that the captive nut's threads were probably shot.

First I got the stripped thread out and took a look at the captive nut best I could. There's a good video on https://www.etrailer.com/Custom-Fit-Vehicle-Wiring/Ford/Fiesta/2015/C56191.html?VehicleID=201518684 for how to get enough of the hatch interior out of the way. The threads on the captive nut actually looked pretty good, though there was some of Ford's threadlocker still jammed in there, guessing that's what caused the problem in the first place.

So, off to Ace to get a $1.70 flanged bolt, $1 nut, and an m8 tap. Cleaned out the captive nut's threads with the tap, and there was very little resistance. Figured it was worth seeing if I could torque the new bolt to spec, and it worked! Already had the extra nut and the interior apart, so I tightened that guy down on top of the captive nut.

I may or may not have left the FiST's hatch open when closing the garage door to go to the hardware store, and ripped off the rear wiper in the process, but that's another story.
 


OP
faust
Messages
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Location
Minnesota
Thread Starter #7
and now that I've driven it some more, I see that I've introduced a squeak somehow. Sure seems to be coming from the back of the car. I don't hear anything when I bounce it by pushing down on the trunk, but it happens consistently just driving around.
 


OP
faust
Messages
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Location
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Thread Starter #8
One more shock removal & reinstall, and no more squeak! Looks like I didn't have the shock quite centered in the upper mount, and the nut on top was rubbing against the wheel well. In this case, having gone to the trouble of taking out enough interior to see the upper side of the wheel well was a benefit.

So that all was a PITA, but just driving around with the b6s is already worth it. No more big clunks from the rear every time I drive over a twig, and the additional compression damping seems to keep the car more level on turns. Crazy how much rebound Ford put on the stock shocks on the pre '16 cars.
 




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