Cant Remove Factory Bump Stop on 2001 Toyota Tundra to Install Timbren Helper Springs

Question:

Thanks again for your excellent customer service! I talked to and ordered from a total of 4 people: all were knowledgeable, courteous and a pleasure to deal with. You certainly earned you stellar reputation! The rears took us 1 1/4 hour start to finish......Pieca de Tortta! The fronts were a different story altogether. Question: how do you remove the original bump stops? The two of us could not find a tool to back the nut of. Took the truck down to my local 76 station. The top 2 mechanics...who have each been there 20+ years for good reasons....could not find any tool to loosen the nut. Were stumped and between the 4 of us have 120+ years in automotive, marine and building/installing Jet Engines.....but we felt like idiots not being able to figure this out! Toyota must have a special tool just for this job....are you aware of any such tool? I know any info goes back 16 years....but I havent made a payment in 12 years, at 190K it drives and looks new and will never sell it! Thank you in advance for your time and any ideas you might come up with.

asked by: Fred C

Expert Reply:

Apparently this was a known issue because Timbren put a couple of notes in the instructions regarding the use of penetrating oil to remove the fasteners for the OEM hardware and, if the factory nut is damaged, to use the supplied fastener. This indicates that this is a common issue on these trucks.

More than likely the OEM nut is damaged and doesn't necessarily require a special tool but will require cutting away the nut to remove the bump stop. If that is not something you are ready to try then check out a socket called a Gator Grip or another called Magic Socket. It will conform to non-standard (damaged) nuts so they can be removed.

expert reply by: Michael H