David & I are putting new struts on his 99. Last night we installed the right front & had no problem until it was time to torque the nut on top of the strut. The nut is the self locking type that has the last thread deformed. Once the nut gets to that deformed thread then the the nut stops tightening & the piston rod starts turning. We used the impact wrench & the nut went down about another 1/4". There is an allen hex in the end of the strut so I guess we could hold the nut with a box end wrench & put an allen bit on the torque wrench. I'm not sure if the allen bit (1/4" or 6mm) would be stong enough to torque to 44 ft lbs. Is there another way to stop the piston rod from turning so we know the nut is properly tightened?

BTW - Monroe has a nice rebate going on struts until 10/27/07. The rebate is for $60.00 for 4 struts, $40.00 for 2 shocks & 2 struts & $20 for 4 shocks. Good on Refex, Sensa-Trac, Rancho & Gas Magnums.

I ended up buy a strut tool set at PepBoys, but prior to that, I used an allen wrench, with a good sized pipe on it to give some leverage. I also found that trying to get a good torque setting by turning the shaft, instead of the nut, was virtually impossible...so, I just cranked the nut down pretty well.

Does the tool set have something to stop the rod from turning?

Yeah. It has a large socket that has a hole in the center of it. Then a long hex piece that slips inside that socket that has various ends on it to fit different struts. OK - took a bit, but here'* a similar set.
http://www.autopart.com/TOOLS/TOOLSMAIN/tool/T_A450.htm

I thought it might be a strap type wrench to hold the rod. Thanks Dick.

Glad to help out, Mike. I've tried various incarnations of a strap wrench to hold it in the past, but was never able to get quite the grip that I needed.

So, let me get this straight. This is a thread about Strut Nuts, right? I knew it right away when I saw who had posted in it :P

Mike, I know better than to ask this question, but since you mentioned Reflex...
What did you get? SensaTracs?

Dick, how does the price on that kit you linked to compare to what you paid at Pep Boys? That looks like a decent set.

Boy...how many nuts does it take to figure this one out? (Good thing we are gearheads instead of nut jobs)

Mike..I'm sorry to hear your pain. I've heard the tools work and take great effort. Personally...I am happy to help swap any non-N* motor with my mechanic buddy in trade for money and a free strut swap. I've heard too many horror stories about changing struts.