The pants had threaded holes in them, and the screws felt tight, but looks like the rough ground loosened them.  There isnt much clearance that I remember to get screws inside it, but if so, by putting bolts from the inside, epoxy the heads so they dont move, and then a nut on the inside of the strut, would that work?  The screws were rather short and small too.  If I remember I will get a picture of the parts I still have posted, pictures are worth a thousand words as they say.