When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Fronts on these cars are a piece of cake. Rears are a pain, bottom much worse than tops. Getting old strut out and to a lesser extent new one in. Might have been easier had I loosened the end links for the sway bar but I have PDCC and didn’t know if it was safe to loose or not. In the end got it done but def not that fun.
I don’t remember the size of the nut but it’s on RL so search around. It’s larger than 22mm if I remember right. Also, a crowbar is your friend. I had to use one to gently re-align that lower mounting point once the new strut was in. I was off by 1/4” and it was impossible to align any other way. Once I figured that out it was simple.
You are determined, good. As mentioned a pry bar will help as will a block of wood and mallet to help caress the strut saddle back on to the carrier. Two people are better than one if you can find a willing victim, er helper. Enjoy the ride and if you find yourself at any point wanting to smash something, set down the tool and step away try again another day.
Depending on the drop you want, once you get the spring off be sure to adjust your spring perches in the rear as it will lower the rear that much more. It will be extremely difficult to do this with the suspension back on the car.
Quick update: Soaked the offending bolts last night with generous amounts of PB Blaster, picked up a 1/2in breaker bar, 27mm socket, and 1/2in to 3/8in socket adapter. This morning, soaked the offending bolts again - will give it another try this afternoon after some meetings - hoping everything goes much smoother :-)
@polobai Yep! I remember the thread back in Jan, and will be very mindful to adjust the perches prior to reinstalling.... as much as I'm enjoying the father son adventure... I dont think I'm ready to re-do the rear suspension anytime soon lol
Installed VTH H&R springs on my car lastnight, Took myself about 5 hours as i had to DIY Schwaben Strut Nut Sockets --- Used an old SparkPlug Socket and 19mm with a grinder and cut into half of them. No shops were open so this worked great but probably wouldn't suggest it if you don't know what you're doing.
The actual Shock bolt if you have an impact is super easy to get off. The Fronts took me about an hour. Rears took awhile cause with only 1 person trying to force all the bolts back in gets a little tricky but with an extra jack to help it went smoothly!
It would probably work for that nut in particular but I would suggest a Milwaukee or Dewalt (unless you have a connect for Snap On/Matco, etc). They are pricey though.
This is the one I was thinking of getting - would this do the trick?
Save your money unless you plan on using an impact a lot. Though it is one of the most used items in my garage because you can use it for the lugs, removing things quicker etc.
Three Things you need for removal of items.
Cordless 1/2" Impact
Breaker Bar - cause sometimes the impact doesn't work or you can't fit it in the spot cause it's large!
Impact Sockets - HarborFreight is the place to go for these
I have a Dewalt Impact. Picked it up on offerup for a great price, There's always a lot of used impacts quality brands on craigslist, fb marketplace, offerup. They last forever as well. Batteries just go bad over time.
I have had mine for around 10 years with no issues besides throwing away old batteries that don't hold charge!
yea...not going to happen on the car. You have to remove the strut assembly completely from the car and then compress the springs using a spring compressor. You can rent the spring compressor from an auto parts store for free (refundable deposit). You will also need a strut socket tool like the schwaben unit. Please be careful with the spring compressor-it can be extremely dangerous.
05-04-2020, 04:40 PM
try again another day.
