Advice in prep for 2011 F-150 front strut replacement

Automotive
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I ordered rear shocks and front struts (with integrated coil springs) for my 2011 F150 XLT (145" WB; RWD) from Rock Auto. I’ve done quite a bit of auto repair over the years but no significant suspension work. Following youtube and reading the Ford service manual on the repair has me worried that I might be in a little over my head. Mostly just in terms of getting old, high torque bolts unstuck on the suspension. I’m mostly thinking about the lower shock bolt torque, which is 406 lb-ft. Will we have a long enough breaker bar for me to get this loose?

Anyone with experience on these Fords have words of encouragement or advice? Especially any advice on how to keep from knocking it off the lift or jack stands while I jump up and down on a breaker bar :clown_face:?

Should I purchase new nuts; Ford service manual says to replace them but YouTube says they can go back on with blue 242 loctite?

2

If it has spent its full life down here, based on my 2005, I would say it shouldn’t be too difficult. The aluminum A arm that it goes through doesn’t really corrode. The Loctite should also be fine.

The worst part is figuring out how to get it torqued back up while at ride height.

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3

Only Ford truck I’ve ever done suspension on is a 90s F-350 so can’t speak to the specifics, but either one of the air or battery impact guns should be able to spin that bolt right off. Unless the truck is from the mid-west or Northeast, then I’d suggest prayer and a torch.

If the nuts are nylocs, you can probably get away with reusing them. I mean, unless they’re so worn you can spin them on by hand.

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4

Ok. I failed on my first attempt. I managed to get everything loose to expose the lower shock bolt but that bolt would not budge. I tried two different air impact wrenches; the craftsman and the one with the red shell. I also tried the 18” breaker bar but was just flexing the bar. Any other tips besides letting someone else figure out how to get 400-450 ft-lb to get that bolt off?

5

We should have a Milwaukee 18 volt impact, it should be rated for 1400 ft lbs. I have one as well, I broke a pinion nut loose with it with no backup. Keep the extensions off if you can. They tend to absorb the impact force. Same thing goes for your standard Allen sockets.

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Thanks Tim. I’ll give the Milwaukee a try.

I plan to buy a 30mm or 1 3/16” impact socket also. Only having a 1 1/4” is the other reason I didn’t go with the cheater bar approach.

We seem to be missing a 21” deep impact socket so I might pick up one of those if I can find one locally.

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If what Tim suggested doesn’t work then I would buy 3/4 inch breaker bar and torque wrench. You’re at the limits of what 1/2 inch tools can do.

https://www.harborfreight.com/34-in-drive-professional-36-in-breaker-bar-63854.html

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We have a torque mutiplier lying about, do we not?

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Yes. I found it while I was cleaning up. That would be ideal the next time someone does front struts on these F150s. They would need to buy a 30mm socket that matches the output drive. I think it looked like 3/4” but might be 1”.