I was rushing through an oil and filter change on my 2014 Chrysler Town & Country. My wife and I were about to head out for a weekend getaway, and I figured I had just enough time to knock it out. This was my fifth Chrysler minivan and my third 3.6L engine—so naturally, I was confident. Too confident.

Oil drained. Filter out. I leaned in to wipe some spilled oil from the back of the housing…and instantly took a geyser of oil straight to the face.

Turns out the key fob—with remote start—was in my pocket. When I leaned into the engine bay, I pressed the button. As always, the engine fired right up.

Fortunately, I had already drained the oil pan, so there was only the undrained oil in the pump and galleries. Following a significant amount of sputtering and spitting, I managed to stop the engine and attempted to regain my dignity.

Lesson learned: roll the window down and leave the blasted key in the car.

And yes—the weekend getaway went great.

Greg in Pennsylvania

While recently driving my oldest daughter's 2005 Ford Mustang, I noticed intermittent rattling sounds coming from the car's (vs. my) rear. I suspected the noise was coming from the shock absorbers' fasteners. When I helped her install new shocks years ago, my guidance may have been a little too laissez-faire. All the upper and lower shock absorber nuts/bolts were now loose which means they probably were not torqued down properly.

To stop the noise, I first looked up the shock absorber torque specifications (85 ft-lbs lower, 30 ft-lbs upper) in the Mustang's repair manual (found under "Literature" at RockAuto.com). Tightening the lower bolts on the shock absorbers went quickly, I just had to get out a torque wrench that can handle 85 ft-lbs and put the correct size socket on the torque wrench ratchet. (The car was already sitting on the ground with a normal ride height.)

2005 Mustang Upper Shock Absorber Nut & Shock Absorber Nut Tool

Properly tightening the upper nut on a shock absorber typically requires more thought and tools because the nut is threaded onto the shock's piston shaft. The top of the shaft must be held in place or it will just spin when the nut is turned. Locking pliers are sometimes used to hold the top of the shaft. A better option is to use a specialized shock absorber nut tool to keep the shaft from turning.

The next challenge is how to use a regular torque wrench to tighten the nut. The tool holding the shock's piston shaft makes it impossible to get even a deep socket onto the nut. My preferred solution is to snap a crow foot wrench onto the torque wrench ratchet instead of a socket. The shock's piston shaft and nut pass through the crow foot, and the problem is solved. (Owning a set of crow foot wrenches comes in handy for other fasteners with long shafts or in hard-to-reach locations.)

The torque setting on a torque wrench is based on the distance from the socket to a spot on the handle. If the crow foot is put on so it lengthens the torque wrench (parallel with the torque wrench) then the tool becomes a longer lever that applies more torque than the setting on the wrench. For example, the torque wrench may be set to 30 ft-lbs but the crows foot sticking straight out the end of the wrench may actually be applying closer to 35 ft-lbs.

Crow Foot Perpendicular (90°) to the Torque Wrench

To avoid applying more torque than the wrench setting, put the crow foot on so it is perpendicular (90°) to the torque wrench. This will avoid changing the overall length of the torque wrench and maintain the accuracy of the torque setting.

My daughter missed an opportunity to tinker on her beloved Mustang, but she will appreciate its quieter suspension. All the tools mentioned above are found in the "Tools & Universal Parts" tab at RockAuto.com under the "Garage Equipment" and "Suspension" categories

Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com

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