im gonna get the part tomorrow and me and my dad are gonna try removing the current one and putting on the new one, just wondering if any of you had any tips or if theres any thing to look out for while doing it...
Two words: impact wrench. I wouldn't bother trying it without one.
1. Jack up the front, support it on jackstands under the frame rails.
2. Put a jack under the lower control arm and lift it just enough to release the tension from the strut.
3. Use an impact wrench to remove the retaining nut on the top of the strut.
4. Use an impact wrench to remove the nut that holds the bracket for the ABS line (if so equipped).
5. Use an impact wrench to remove the nuts for the bolts on the bottom of the strut.
6. Remove bolts, then compress strut by hand and remove from car.
I would not replace just one, by the way, you should do both sides at the same time. And while the strut is out, do not release tension on the lower control arm unless you have a chain around the spring. If it comes loose, it could come out with a terrific amount of force, and anything in its way would be hurt badly.
Absolutely. I had one bolt on mine that wouldn't come off with the impact. I hammered on it and hammered on it, but no. A 4 1/2" grinder got it off, though. I have a feeling that the one strut had been replaced at some time, and am guessing that some jack-ass mechanic just railed the nut on with a impact way too tight. The other strut (most likely OEM) came off easily with the impact.
In hindsight, I wish that I'd tried a nutsplitter, first. But, I don't have one, or have ever used one... got a cutoff wheel, though. It ended up being a big pain. After I got the head all the way cut and ground off, the bolt would not come out of the hole 'backwards' due to the bolt's sholder. I had to hammer it in as much as it would go, and then take a sawzall and cut the bolt on the nut side, bottom up, without any shoe support. Not fun.
BUT, I would not let my horror story stop you from doing this. Chances are, that your's will be fine. You know how it goes...someone's got a bad story about whatever you are working on, and if you let that stop you, you'll never fix anything!
The strut to spindle nuts are torqued to 141-191 lb-ft.
ABS sensor bracket: 17-23 lb-ft.
Top strut nut: 55-92 lb-ft.
An impact is really the only way to go on the stock struts. The spindle to strut bolts are tight as hell but it's the upper strut perch nut that's the real pain. The shaft keeps spinning and won't let the nut spin off. Some aftermarket struts (like my Bilsteins) don't have this problem as they usually have a recessed hex head in the center that you can stick an allen wrench in to hold it while you back the nut off.
Impact Gun for sure! ... I tried it without one and when I got to the top strut bolt I couldn't get it off. I tried and tried. It is hard to keep that center spindel in the strut secure enough to nudge the bolt. Long story short I ended up having to go to ford and get it impacted. Did it to both, tightened them up enough to drive home and start all over again. I wasted like 2.5 hours over that s&*t.
thanks for the help guys, we ended up just getting it takin in to a mechanic anyways tho
we thot the strut and spring were together so we thot we needed an air pressure thing, w/e you call it (im fresh with car stuff ) so just paid 25$ to get it put in...
and i did think about getting the other one replaced also, but the mechanic says it seams almost brand new so he didnt think it'd make a difference either way...