I'm holding the strut shaft with a 10mm wrench but it's not that snug and is slipping and I do not want to round off the shaft. I have the front of the car on stands and I've lifted up on the control arm with my jack as indicated in Bentley. Is there a better way to take force off of the nut so it will turn more easily? Please help with advice/encouragement/success stories etc.
Thanks,
Tom
1986 245DL

With the car back on the ground, I used a 10" crescent wrench to hold the 10 mm flats - it fit a little more snugly and gave me some torque. Then, I knocked the IPD tool with my rubber mallet and got the strut nuts to budge. Having all the weight back on the front wheels definitely helped as did the bigger, snugger wrench. I can definitely see that the lisle tool (from perusing online) could be more useful than the IPD tool since it provides a means to hold the 10 mm double D flats. Thanks for all the help!
Tom
'86 245 DL - soon to have new strut mounts.

Definitely go the impact wrench route for loosening the nut. It will take your friendly mechanic a minute or so to do this. Just make sure that they don't spin the nut right off - I actually used my hand tool to slightly snug it up before the drive home so it didn't spin off during the drive.

I did a post of my strut replacement experience, which you may find helpful:
Strut Replacement for Novices

I had air tools when I did it but I would definitely go to a local shop and have them loosen it with an inpact wrench. Then take it home and finish the job.
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Simon 80 240 300k 17 years. 'White Lightning'

Bruce is correct about the IPD tool being flimsy. I'd add the pic of the one I bought to this post but I think people are tired of seeing it.
Anyway, a lot of struts for the 240 are inadequate when it comes to immobilizing the damper rod. I don't know who originally thought a couple of flats that close together would be sufficient. You could slip a length of small diameter pipe over the other end of the 10mm wrench. But it will probably slip off anyway, especially if you have already rounded it a little bit. You might just want to hold the damn thing with a big pair of Vise Grips. If it does hold you should be prepared for the IPD tool to bend unless they're making them from harder material than the one I bought.
The quickest, easiest way to remove a stubborn top nut is with an air wrench. It should hammer the thing loose to the point where you really can use hand tools to get it the rest of the way.
Depending on what type of strut inserts you install the IPD tool may or may not come in handy. If they have a hex socket instead of those damn flats you should use a hex bit on the torque wrench and the IPD tool to hold the nut. Set the torque wrench to 15 ft. lb. and turn counter it clockwise.
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'80 DL 2 dr

From what I've seen of the IPD tool, it's too flimsy—especially if the nut was put on with an impact wrench. The torque spec in the Bentley manual is only 15 ft. lb. So an impact wrench installation is overkill, IMO.

The new self-locking nut (which turns with the strut shaft) has no reason to get loose. I wouldn't worry even with a reused nut.

I use a Lisle brand "Universal Strut Nut Remover" #63400. It's works on the same principle as the IPD tool but is much stronger. I've used it with a big pipe wrench plus a piece of pipe on the handle—it's that strong.

I've had mine several years. Don't recall the price (maybe $25 - $30?). It should be available in Pep Boys or Autozone....

Try a Froogle search for Lisle 63400. I think it's worth having, even for one job, considering the money saved by DIY. It's a "must" if you plan to do it again.
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Bruce Young
'93 940-NA (current) — 240s (one V8) — 140s — 122s — since '63.