i have hotchkis cc plates on my car. if i was to remove one, what would need to be done? can i just mark it and unbolt it no problems? or will the strut shoot me in the face?
You need support the a-arm with a jack and unbolt the strut nut from the top of the CC plate. Slowly lower the jack until the strut is fully extended. After that, it's safe to remove the CC plates. If you have springs and not coil overs, be careful how much you lower the a-arm to ensure the spring doesn't pop out.
why cant i do it without extending the strut? i didnt think the strut is pressurized like that? i was hoping to do this in my driveway with the car on the ground. i am just replacing one of the aluminum plates.
The strut isn't loaded like it would be in a coil over setup, but it still has upward pressure. It's not good to loosen or tighten the strut nut when it has any pressure on it. When the suspension is loaded, you also have lateral loads on the CC plates. I always tend to err on the side of safety when dealing with suspension pieces. Any loaded suspension part is a lot stronger than you are.