The elusive thin-walled 13mm socket

[DOOLMTR]

When my coilovers arrive I plan to leave the FUCA in place and just remove the three 13mm nuts. I was wondering how difficult it is to start the nuts back onto the studs through those small holes during installation. Is this an issue, or is there a tip that would help make it easier?

It was super easy for me. Keep the 3 nuts on the cowel with the 13mm skinny socket next to them. Get the lower fork as far back as you can then hold your breathe and use one hand to press the UCA up and get the top hat into place. Then take a breather and use one hand to lift it into position and thread the nut with the other hand.

 

[Joset1198]

I used this, fits perfectly. You don't have to grind down a socket.
Amazon.com: SABLUE 9pcs Lot of 5-13mm Hex Power Nut Driver Drill Bit Set Socket Bit Chuck Adapter Metric Socket Strong Sleeve for Wrench Screw, Made by Chrome Vanadium Steel, Electric Hand Drill (B02) : Tools & Home Improvement

I bought these and they didn’t work the 13mm did not fit and the 12mm fit but still not right size. Tesla should sell these already with the car since clearly there is no easy tool for these bolts.

 

[Joset1198]

The 13mm in this set worked for me: (moderator note: removed amazon affiliate link which is not allowed)

These didn’t work on my 2021 model 3. Don’t know if the wholes are smaller but bought these on Amazon and the 13mm didn’t work for me.

 

[Occhis]

Did the REDWOOD GT install last week. No matter how I tried I couldn’t get the strut out, or back in, with the FUCA in place. Even disconnecting the knuckle/ball joint didn’t help. So I took the 3 nuts off first using the thin socket that Redwood sent at no charge (worked perfectly), marked and removed the 4 FUCA bolts, then lowered everything down into the wheel well. Lifted the FUCA off and removed them from the wheel well separately. To reinstall I did the reverse - with coil over in one hand and the FUCA in the other, put both in wheel well and loosely attached the 3 nuts before swinging the whole thing into place and threading the 4 FUCA bolts then torqued the 3 nuts, then FUCA bolts. Sounds a bit unconventional but worked for me. Just need to mark the position of the 4 FUCA bolts with marker pen before beginning disassembly. I’ll get an alignment after everything settles, but the alignment seems to have stayed pretty close to what it was originally. Drives straight as a string on the highway. No vibration, no pulling. This is an awesome kit.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

BTW it only takes 20 seconds to move the upper control arm completely out of the way. Just crack the two bolts, lift it up, then slightly cinch one of the bolts to hold it in place. It goes way up into the fender and then you have all the room in the world to get shocks in/out. And of course you have to loosen/tighten those bolts anyway if changing the ride height so it's no extra effort.

P.S. I used a really cheap junky old 1/4" drive socket and it fit thru the holes just fine.

 

[earthwormjim]

And of course you have to loosen/tighten those bolts anyway if changing the ride height so it's no extra effort.

Why do you have to loosen the bolts when changing the right height?

 

[gearchruncher]

I’ll get an alignment after everything settles, but the alignment seems to have stayed pretty close to what it was originally. Drives straight as a string on the highway. No vibration, no pulling.

FYI, This does not mean your alignment is OK. If you change ride height identically on both sides, you will get the same toe change on both sides. This means the car will still go straight. It doesn't mean you don't have massive toe in or out.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

The upper control arm pivots on rubber bushings that twist as it deflects. So just like the lower control arm and any other suspension part that twists on a rubber bushing like that, it should be nominally positioned near the usual ride height so that the rubber isn't under constant stress.

 

[gearchruncher]

The upper control arm pivots on rubber bushings that twist as it deflects. So just like the lower control arm and any other suspension part that twists on a rubber bushing like that, it should be nominally positioned near the usual ride height so that the rubber isn't under constant stress.

I had not noticed this in the manual myself until @Gauss Guzzler mentioned it, but the Model 3 service manual specifically mentions tightening the FUCA at the correct ride height. They even have a special tool to do it at Tesla that allows them to tighten at the right height before you install the assembly in the car.

That being said, this doesn't apply if you have aftermarket control arms that have bearings at the FUCA mount (like MPP for example).

 

[earthwormjim]

I had not noticed this in the manual myself until @Gauss Guzzler mentioned it, but the Model 3 service manual specifically mentions tightening the FUCA at the correct ride height. They even have a special tool to do it at Tesla that allows them to tighten at the right height before you install the assembly in the car.

That being said, this doesn't apply if you have aftermarket control arms that have bearings at the FUCA mount (like MPP for example).

Do you know what the torque specs are for these? Is there a shop manual available? I always had a Bently book for my BMWs.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

Nah, you can't get a torque wrench on them anyway. Just make them as tight as they were before.
Use the old double wrench trick.

 

[earthwormjim]

Ah okay, fair enough. Do you think blue threadlocker is worthwhile and a mark to see if the bolt has moved?

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

The UCA bolts are trivial to loosen/tighten but you'd have to remove more stuff to actually get them all the way out and put loctite on them.
Wheels haven't fallen off my car yet.

 

[gearchruncher]

Do you know what the torque specs are for these? Is there a shop manual available? I always had a Bently book for my BMWs.

Torque is 50Nm. As was said, you have to torque these off the vehicle, which is why Tesla has a special tool to set the height of the arm relative to the mount. You could just measure the height when on car and then re-do off car and tighten there.

Torque for upper strut bolts is 23Nm. Big bolt mounts to body are 62Nm. Small bolts are 35Nm. Sway links 98Nm. Tie rod ball joint 180Nm. Knuckle to FUCA is 56Nm.

You can buy service info from Tesla for only $31 an hour or $100 a day from here. Welcome to the world of everything as a "service":

Service and diagnostic information for independent businesses and individuals involved in the professional maintenance and repair of Tesla vehicles.

service.tesla.com

 

[Occhis]

FYI, This does not mean your alignment is OK. If you change ride height identically on both sides, you will get the same toe change on both sides. This means the car will still go straight. It doesn't mean you don't have massive toe in or out.

Yeah, I realize that and will be getting it aligned, as noted. Put about 200 miles on, and seems to have settled as much as it’s going to. Want to make a final decision on ride height. Spoke with Redwood about this today.

 

[canasion35]

Anybody find a cheap 13mm socket that fits?

 

[Lindenwood]

I just lowered my car, and if I could do it all over again I would have just removed the UCA carriage from the start rather than mess with the 3 top hat bolts at all.

 

[tm1v2]

I had a thin walled socket and ended up not even using it. Removed the whole UCA carriage instead and that worked out fine.

Don't sweat getting a thin wallet socket. Maybe it could save a little time but you don't need it.

 

[Gauss Guzzler]

I just used a 1/4” drive shallow socket from one of those really cheap no-name sets. It fit fine and was deep enough to work, yet shallow enough to wiggle slightly beneath the chassis as needed for the nuts that weren’t quite aligned with the holes.

It’s a super easy one-handed job to swap the shock this way. No heavy parts to manage or tricky alignments to deal with.

 

[Occhis]

Much easier just to remove entire UCA/damper/spring as a unit, as mentioned.