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STRUT replacing? Easy?

Kelemvor

Kelemvor

Lifer
Anyone know anything about replacing the struts in your car? One of my Coil Springs snapped yesterday and since I'm closing in on 100k miles I figure I'll just replace the struts too.

It doesn't look too hard from the information I've gotten but information can be deceiving until you actually start the job.

Full Story Here

'99 Grand Am, front struts.
 
not hard, rent spring compressors from autozone for free, rent two sets whiles you're at it as the 2nd might come in handy. air compressor and impact wrench are your friends.

hm...also while you're at it, you might look into replacing the strut mounts and bearings....if you spring is old enough to snap, other stuff might be due to fail soon.
 
Originally posted by: Maximus96
not hard, rent spring compressors from autozone for free, rent two sets whiles you're at it as the 2nd might come in handy. air compressor and impact wrench are your friends.

hm...also while you're at it, you might look into replacing the strut mounts and bearings....if you spring is old enough to snap, other stuff might be due to fail soon.
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Yeah, I don't have any air tools unfortunately so it'll be elbow grease for me. I'm getting the compressor thing from the place I get the struts and they said I can buy it, use it, return it with no problems.

And I'm debating replacing the mounts and such. It's about $70 per wheel more to do that and I'm not sure if they need it or not. Not relaly even sure how to tell if they need it or not anyway. *sigh*

Such a pain. heh.

Looks like about $180 per wheel for the strut/spring/mount combo and then an alignment when I'm done. $400 or so total. SHould be fun.
 
Use a paint marker or small can of "touch-up" paint and mark the threads of tie-rod ends, caster/camber adjusting bolts, and other steering/suspension components. That way when you re-assemble them, you can get your alignment back pretty close so it will drive fairly decent on your trip to get the alignment done professionally.
 
Originally posted by: ScoobMaster
Use a paint marker or small can of "touch-up" paint and mark the threads of tie-rod ends, caster/camber adjusting bolts, and other steering/suspension components. That way when you re-assemble them, you can get your alignment back pretty close so it will drive fairly decent on your trip to get the alignment done professionally.
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Never thought of that. I'll have to give it a try.

Thanks
 
My maxima had 120k miles on it when I replaced the suspension end of last Oct. among other things I replaced the struts and springs. Working the spring compressor by hand will take very long time?it was a piece of cake with the impact wrench. I replaced the strut mounts, bearings, boots and reused the old spring insulators. You might not need to replace the mounts?I did anyways but it was just a piece of hard rubber and metal plate?
 
I've not done struts myself, but without airtools those bolts might be pretty difficult to get off. Might get a can of PB Blaster or whatever its called, to loosen up the bolts. When I did the rear sway bar on my 97 Legacy GT (much fewer bolts & simpler install, but still) I just sprayed the bolts I'd need to be getting at the night before and they came off easy pie the next day when I changed it. GL
 
you might want to replace the bump stops, some car has them.. usually by 100k they're all rotten away.. not 100% necessary..

I would start at the break of day light.. since some times it'll take longer and you may need to buy or rent additional tools.. (running to store), leave time for soaking nuts & bolt with wd40 and other stuff..
 
Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
Originally posted by: ScoobMaster
Use a paint marker or small can of "touch-up" paint and mark the threads of tie-rod ends, caster/camber adjusting bolts, and other steering/suspension components. That way when you re-assemble them, you can get your alignment back pretty close so it will drive fairly decent on your trip to get the alignment done professionally.
Click to expand...

Never thought of that. I'll have to give it a try.

Thanks
Click to expand...


do you even need to remove your tie-rod ends? i guess yours may be different but once i remove the two bolts on the bottom the of the strut the entire knuckle is off and can be twisted out of the way.
 
Without air tools plan on a lot of knuckle bashing and swearing. Invest in 1ft, 2ft, and 3ft pipes to use as leverage. Make sure they will fit around your rachet.
 
the bottom 2 bolts are on pretty tight...do you have a torque wrench? rent one if don't, comes in handy when you're putting the new stuff back on.

i read monroes are crap, but i don't know...i bought adjustables when i replaced mine. it costed me about $600 for struts+lowering springs.
 
Well, here's what it boils down to.

Struts themselves are probably fine. I'm assuming the mounting piece at the top are also probably fine. Spring broke and since it all has to come apart, I jsut figure I'll replace everything that needs to be (or should be).

So I can get the above linked item for $180 per wheel and that's that.

Or I can get struts for around $70 each, Springs for around $45 each. That's $115 per tire. But probably a bit more work to put on because of the spring compression stuff, but I'd need that tool to get the old ones off anyway.

I keep waffling back and forth so I'm going to waituntil tomorrow and decide which way to go.
 
Very easy job. No need to remove tie rod ends, just two bolts at the bottom and 3 at the top. Peice of cake. Air tools are not necessary but I would recommend spring compressors or you could end up hurting yourself, depending how loaded up the springs are.

On another note, how the hell does a spring just snap? Were they illegally cut? Seems extremely unlikely.
 
If your car is like most other FWD cars you're going to have a really hard time getting the big nut off the top of the strut without an air impact wrench. Getting the fully assembled strut would save you a lot of time.
 
Originally posted by: Falcon39
Very easy job. No need to remove tie rod ends, just two bolts at the bottom and 3 at the top. Peice of cake. Air tools are not necessary but I would recommend spring compressors or you could end up hurting yourself, depending how loaded up the springs are.

On another note, how the hell does a spring just snap? Were they illegally cut? Seems extremely unlikely.
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See the link in the OP for some pictures. Basically at the bottom of the spring where it rests on the shelf on the strut, it snapped right where it starts going from around the base to going up the spring. I put my car in reverse after work, and when I took my foot off the break to start backing up, it just went POP.
 
I hate to rain on your parade, but although others here have had an easy time of strut replacement, I have had mixed results.

The bottom two bolts where the strut attaches to the steering knuckle are sometimes splined to create an interference fit. They can be EXTREMELY difficult to get out and especially without damaging them to where they can't be reused. If you live in an area of the country that salts the roads in winter, corrosion will make it even more difficult.

Someone's going to jump in saying that's what WD-40, penetrating oil or whatever is for, but no amount of penetrating oil is going to make an interference fit "looser".

Your best advice so far is to start early in the morning as was said.

Yours may be a breeze and I hope it is. Just be aware.

Edit: Just reread your original post. GM cars typically used splined bolts.
 
Well luckily I work lose to home, wife works from home, and we have two cars so if it take a couple evenings it shouldn't be too bad.
 
Please, please be careful when using the spring compressor. If it's not on right, it could fly off and do some serious damage to someone, being you.
 
Originally posted by: boomerang
You might get a kick out of this.
Click to expand...

thats great! i read about people using floor jacks to compress their lowering springs because with the added coils there's no room for a spring compressor...
 
I did the entire suspension (ball joints, inner + outer tie rods, front struts and strut mounts, rear shocks, and all 4 coil springs) in the parking lot at work over the summer using hand tools. It would have been a one day job for all of it if I had the proper tools to begin with - namely, a 2-3 ft pipe to slip over my breaker bar to get those strut nuts off. They are on there TIGHT. Plus, mine were held in with 18 years worth of Michigan rust. Even after I put the pipe over my breaker bar, I had to jump on the 2 foot pipe to get those nuts to budge.

I didn't need a spring compressor for my car, but yours may be different. I was able to put a jack under the control arm, undo the ball joint, and SLOWLY lower the jack - the springs fell right out of the pockets. I also had a very thick chain looped through the coils and the control arm and secured with a padlock (placed before undoing the ball joint)- so if it decided to shoot out, the chain would catch it. Very good idea if you do it this way.

Oh, BTW - if your car has almost 100k on the original shocks + struts - trust me, they're no good. 😛 Shocks / struts typically have a 40 - 60k mile lifespan. While you're in there, it would be a good idea to replace them.

Strut mounts should probably be done as well - mine have a bearing in them that rotates as the wheels are steered, and this goes bad over time (causing a nasty groan / creak when the wheels are turned). Again, yours may be a different design.

Also be a good idea to look at your ball joints, tie rods, etc. while you're at it. All of that stuff pretty much had to come apart on my car to do the job, so I replaced it all while I was at it.

Have fun 🙂
 
I'd say it is doable but not easy or dangerious. You rent a tool, you buy the shock/strut, you remove the old ones and put in the new ones. Save you lots of money but you better be spending some time on it and be prepared for rust out bolts and snapped tools (happen to me).

Make sure you do it on a day that you can buy parts from dealer just in case, and have a spare car to get parts if something snap.
 
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