I’m in the process of trying to remove my strut rods on the front of my 1968 Cougar. I have had no luck with my air impact since the threads are rusted. I have been able to slightly move one of the nuts with a breaker bar with a cheater pipe on it, however I don’t want to possibly break the rod. I have tried to clean up the threads with a wire brush and have been spraying the threads with a good quality spray lubricant. I was thinking about running a die over the threads, however I don’t have a large enough die. Anybody know what the size of the threads on the rod is?
IIRC? 11/32 18tpi
You most likely will need another rod. Years of “adjustments” & weather take their toll.
Repops not to expensive & are really good (not concours).
see the post
http://www.classiccougarcommunity.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=12719&sid=a05653c77aad53c600624e8bcc2b026c
Thanks Cougar Bill!
Good friend here had to cut one of his to get it off. He’s now running my original ones. 
FWIW there was a big discussion about strut rods breaking some time ago. IIRC the upshot was not to use urethane bushings as they don’t flex. And if yours are rusty crusty to have them magna fluxed before using them. They break - you die.
Lordy, I feel fortunate all over again to have bought a babied Northwest U.S. Cougar. A hit each with a cordless impact to crack them loose, and both sides just walked off beautifully. Sorry to hear of your misery!
Success! Got them removed by soaking the threads over several days with aerokroil and slowly removing the nuts. However the driver side strut rod has a slight bend to it. Think I could straighten it?
Probably not. Unless you have access to a lot of heat, and then you’ll change the temper of the metal. I wouldn’t even attempt it due to that fact.
Agree. Not worth the risk. A really cheap part. Get a good straight used one or a new pair.
I figured as much. Thanks guys!