With the car on a jack and jack-stands, and the wheels and tires removed, work can begin removing the old struts from the vehicle. In this segment, removal of only one strut is explained. The procedure is usually the same for the other side of the vehicle.
Safety Alert: Always wear eye protection, and follow proper safety precautions, when working under a vehicle or working with power tools.
Safety Alert: Be sure to use jack stands and a jack that are rated for the weight of your vehicle, and follow proper safety procedures when jacking a vehicle.
Safety Alert: Coil springs are held under tension, and could cause injury if released too quickly or improperly. Use a coil-spring compressor, use caution and follow safety recommendations when removing and releasing coil springs.
Once the wheels and tires have been removed, begin taking apart the strut assembly at the top. Begin by removing the dust cap.
The strut is held in place at the top with bolts. (In our case, there were three bolts per strut.) Before removing bolts it's a good idea to mark one of them, and mark the location of the adjacent hole, so that the new strut can be installed in the same orientation as the old one.
Use a socket to remove the securing bolts. Once the bolts are removed, the strut should drop down slightly.
The next part to be removed is the stabilizer-bar link which is held in place by a bolt, nut and bushing. This will need to be removed so that the assembly can drop down further. You may need to spray the bolt with penetrating oil to help loosen it before it can be removed.
Use a socket to remove the nut. Use of power tools or an air-ratchet is not recommended for removing this nut. It could snap under pressure.
Once the nut and bushing have been removed, inspect the rubber bushing for signs of cracks or wear. Ours was in good shape, so it was retained for reinstallation with the new strut.
Tip: It's a good idea to take a digital photograph of the strut assembly at this point to make sure that the new strut is installed the same way.
Next, remove the nuts that hold the caliper brake-hose in position. Inspect the brake hose for signs of cracks or wear. If the brake hose is damaged, it may need to be replaced as well.
Remove the bolt at the bottom of the assembly. This bolt may be secured tightly. If you find that you need to tap the bolt in order to loosen it, leave the nut in place and tap the nut rather than the bolt. In that way, the bolt is less likely to become damaged. This large bolt will be reinstalled later.
With the bolt removed the strut can be loosened, but it's still not ready to be removed. The next step is to loosen and remvoe the bolts and nuts at the top of the control arm. A socket with a long extension and swivel may be required to access these bolts.
Once the control-arm nuts have been removed from the bolts, carefully pry the assembly loose from below. Use care not to force the assembly out, as you could cause damage to the bolts and connections.
With the control-arm loosened, the old strut can be lifted out. Use caution when removing the strut to avoid damage to the brake lines.
TRANSFER OF PARTS
With the old strut assembly removed, it can be inspected to identify related parts that can be reused in conjunction with the replacement strut (figure A).
Important: Always read and follow the manufacturer's directions and precautions that come with your kit or replacement parts.
Safety Alert: Always wear eye protection, and follow proper safety precautions, when working under a vehicle or working with power tools.
Safety Alert: Coil springs are held under tension, and could cause injury if released too quickly or improperly. Use a coil-spring compressor, use caution and follow safety recommendations when removing and releasing coil springs.
Removing the coil-spring from the old strut assembly requires a special tool, since the spring is held under high tension in the assembly. Improperly releasing the coil spring could cause damage or injury. To safely release the spring, a spring-compressor is attached to the spring. The first half of the compressor is attached to the spring using U-bolts. The second half attaches in the same way.
Important: When you install your spring compressor, be sure that the threaded rods are aligned straight and parallel to the strut. This will decrease the possibility of the U-bolts coming loose.
Once the compressor has been installed and is securely in place, the top spring-mount can be safely removed.
The top spring-mount is held in place by a single center-nut. Use an Allen wrench to hold the shaft stationary as the nut is turned using a box-end wrench.
Once the nut and washer have been removed, the top spring-mount and rubber insulator can be removed. Inspect the mount and insulator for wear. If they are in good condition, they can be reused. If the old insulator is damaged or worn out, you'll likely need to buy a new one since most strut kits don't include a replacement insulator. Failure to replace a worn-out insulator could negatively impact the ride of
your vehicle.
Next, remove the clinch-bolt to finish taking the old strut-assembly apart.
With the clinch-bolt removed, you may need to pry the sections of the bracket apart.
The shaft can then be placed on the new strut cartridge. An alignment tab and notch indicate how the bracket fits onto the cartridge.
Position the bracket on the new cartridge, and reinstall the clinch bolt.
The new strut assembly incorporates a bump-stop figure J) that prevents the vehicle from bottoming out when it hits a large bump.
Install the dust-shield, washer and rubber bushing over the bump-stop.
The old coil-spring slides over the new strut. At the bottom of the strut cartridge there is a collar with an indentation. The indentation serves to ensure that the pigtail end of the spring is aligned properly.
With the spring in place and properly aligned, the top plate and rubber washer can be reinstalled.
A new nut secures the top plate on the strut assembly. Use one wrench to hold the shaft stationary and a box-wrench to turn and tighten the nut to secure the plate.
Double-check to ensure that the spring is positioned properly, resting against the indentation in the collar.
With the top plate secured, and the spring positioned properly, the spring-compressor can now be safely loosened and removed.
These steps are repeated on the other side of the vehicle to replace the other front strut.
INSTALLATION
With the necessary parts transferred from the old strut to the new one, the final phase in the struts-replacement project is the installation of the new struts on the vehicle.
Safety Alert: Always wear eye protection, and follow proper safety precautions, when working with power tools.
Safety Alert: Be sure to use jack stands and a jack that are rated for the weight of your vehicle, and follow proper safety procedures when jacking a vehicle.
Check the alignment mark made earlier on one of the studs that secures the strut to ensure that you are aligning the strut assembly properly for installation. Reference the marked stud against the corresponding mark you made earlier on the body where the studs are installed.
In our case, the plate needed to be turned slightly to allow the studs to fit into the holes properly. A pry-bar was used to carefully turn the stud-plate slightly to adjust the alignment of the studs.
Once the stud-alignment is complete, position the strut assembly from inside the wheel-well and move it into position so that the studs extend up through the holes in the proper alignment.
Place the lock-washers and nuts on the three studs, but don't tighten them down fully just yet.
Next, reinstall the upper control-arm. Position it from inside the wheel-well, so that the studs extend upward through their corresponding holes.
From the top, position and tighten down the nuts to snug the strut assembly up to the body. You'll need an extender and swivel in conjunction with the ratchet-wrench to access and tighten these nuts.
Tip: The rear nut may be difficult to reach. In order to install the nut, use electrical tape in the socket to hold the nut secure as you put the nut into position and tighten it down.
Re-attach the brake-hose to the strut. It may be helpful to refer to photographs you took earlier -- before disassembly -- to make certain that you are attaching the hose properly.
Two bolts in front hold the hose to the spindle. Install the bolts, but don't tighten them down fully just yet. Rotate the spindle slightly to give better access to the rear clips.
Safety Alert: This is a good opportunity to inspect all of the parts in this area -- such as the spindle and brake line. If you detect any cracks or damage, replace the affected parts as a safety measure.
The next part installed is the lower bracket-bolt. If it is slightly rusted, clean the threads with a wire brush before reinstalling. Using a fluted bolt (tapered at the end) may help to prevent the bolt from seizing in the hole.
Once the threads are clean, place the bolt through the hole and tighten the nut down partially using a hand-wrench. Then, use a torque-wrench to tighten the bolt to the proper torque specifications.
Next, torque-tighten the clinch-bolt to the proper torque-specs.
Reinstall the stabilizer and bushing. (Replace the bushing with a new one if it was determined earlier that it was worn out or damaged.)
Back up top, tighten the three bolts to tighten down the upper spring plate. Torque-tighten the plate to the proper specs.
Finally, replace the dust-cap to finish the installation.
Before replacing the tire and wheel, conduct a final check to ensure that the new parts are properly installed and stable. Rotate the assembly from lock to lock to ensure proper movement of the assembly.
Reinstall the tire and wheel.
Important: Following a struts replacement, it's a good idea to have the wheels aligned -- or at least have the wheel-alignment on the vehicle checked.
Suspension