My front inserts are stuck. The struts dont seem to be bent so not sure what's going on. Has anyone heard of this happening?

Also does anyone know what a pair a V6 struts would be worth. Going to try and force them out so need a backup plan. How do V6 struts differ from escort and 4cyl capri?

Also strange but one side is 5mm shorter than the other[?]

MK2 and 3 capri strut housings are 5mm shorter than MK1 I assume this is because there was a metric to Imperial change around that time

Have you tried soaking petrol inside them?

Steve mine are still out if you need to do a comparision.

Look on your compliance plate; under front axle does it have a c or an s? According to my research so far the s stands for standard suspension and the c stands for country?. One of the differences looks like a raise of 5 to 7 mm for cars that were sent to country dealers. When people seek out a replacement strut they need to be aware of the difference otherwise it is easy to end up with a mismatched pair.
It is not too difficult to run the grinder around the weld that fixes the spring land to the strut tube and reweld in a position that matches the other strut. You can then choose whether you want the country height or the standard height.

About the inserts being stuck Im assuming that the nut holding it in has been removed. Did an amount of oil pour out when you turned the strut upside down? If not then probably the insert has overheated and done something nasty to itself wedging in the tube.
You could try bolting a plate to the top of the shocker shaft giving an area big enough to hit hard with a mechanics hammer. (several times).

Struts should be worth 150+ each from wrecker and 100+ each from private seller.
V6 and 4 cyl capri struts are the same.
The difference between capri and mk1 escort struts is capri is more heavy duty and the spindle is set about 50mm higher up the strut on the capri so when used in the mk1 esky gives about 50mm lower ride height and can use capri brakes etc.

http://classic-ford.org/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=18173

The above thread will show the relevant part numbers for both country and standard height suspension. Note that 1969 Capris all had the country ride height before the lower standard height was introduced in 1970.

Cheers

Jamie

Thanks everyone, some great info there. Mine is an S but I thought the ride height change was done by the springs so maybe the 5mm is something else. The previous owner might have changed a strut when he crashed it but I doubt he would have got mk2 or 3 as not many around over here 20 years ago. Or maybe is a factory thing to compensate for road camber, driver weight? Maybe just a factory tolerance.

No oil came out (shouldnt be any in there?), and they are straight, but each strut has a metal collar in it, about 2 inches in on one and 4 inches on the other. No idea what they are for but am thinking they are rusted in.

I've made a jig so just have to get my porta pack working to see if I can pull them out - big hammer didn't work.

The idea is to fill the air gap between the insert and the strut with oil to provide a heat path from the shock to outside. Otherwise the shock overheats and fades.