Replace rear struts

[steve mount]

Is there any tricks in changeing rear struts or is it just a pain to get to every thing. Any speacil tools needed. 90 L plus Thank you Steve

[getnpsi]

PB blaster soaking prior to wrenching helps a lot. Remember to tap the breaker bar or use an impact...not a constant level of torque or you will break off fasteners left and right. Hand tools are all you need to take it all out as a whole. To replace them you should use a spring compressor. The top and bottom is all pretty straightforward to get to although every festiva and aspire i have dealt with didn't have intact interiors. If you have nice interior in the rear id be careful removing it to get access.

[FestivaPower5583]

I Just Did My Rear Shocks In My 90 L. If You Haven't Already, Remove The Rear Plastic Side Panels To Gain Access To The Tops Of Your Shocks. After That It's A Piece Of Cake. One Nut Up Top Holds It In, And One Bolt On The Bottom Of Each Shock. No Special Tools Required. I Recommend Soaking The Lower Shock Bolts With Some PB Blaster, As They Are Known To Come Out A Bit Tough. I Used An Impact Gun And They Were No Problem Though. Good Luck!!!

[sc72]

Is there any tricks in changeing rear struts or is it just a pain to get to every thing. Any speacil tools needed. 90 L plus Thank you Steve

Hello Steve, soak a couple times with a heat riser penatrant or PB Blaster, then hit it with a map gas torch or equivalent, next use an impact wrench, when you put it back together use a liberal amount of anti sieze. if you need some help i'm in Pella.

[muleskinner]

Tried to replace the rear struts on Blue. Rounded one bolt head at the bottom, this was after soaking it with PB blaster. Then we were able to move the bolts on both sides at the bottom and they wouldn't back out. It wound up breaking the welds on the nuts on the back side. The bolts are stuck in the round sleeve of the shock.
Not sure what to do now?!?
My only guess is to torch the bolts out and replace with new bolts and nuts.
Any suggestions???

[TominMO]

PB blaster soaking prior to wrenching helps a lot. Remember to tap the breaker bar or use an impact...not a constant level of torque or you will break off fasteners left and right. Hand tools are all you need to take it all out as a whole. To replace them you should use a spring compressor. The top and bottom is all pretty straightforward to get to although every festiva and aspire i have dealt with didn't have intact interiors. If you have nice interior in the rear id be careful removing it to get access.

You DO NOT need a spring compressor for the rear struts.

[william]

Tried to replace the rear struts on Blue. Rounded one bolt head at the bottom, this was after soaking it with PB blaster. Then we were able to move the bolts on both sides at the bottom and they wouldn't back out. It wound up breaking the welds on the nuts on the back side. The bolts are stuck in the round sleeve of the shock.
Not sure what to do now?!?
My only guess is to torch the bolts out and replace with new bolts and nuts.
Any suggestions???

Use a sazal and cut on both sides of the bolt. On each side of the lower strut mount. Then remove strut. Find a new bolt and nut then using a wrench place the new nut on the inside of the rear beam.
It's kinda trick by your self to get it all lined up.
If I see that the bolt is froze to the sleeve I'll cut the bolt to save the welded in nut.

[muleskinner]

Use a sazal and cut on both sides of the bolt. On each side of the lower strut mount. Then remove strut. Find a new bolt and nut then using a wrench place the new nut on the inside of the rear beam.
It's kinda trick by your self to get it all lined up.
If I see that the bolt is froze to the sleeve I'll cut the bolt to save the welded in nut.

Thanks!!

[WmWatt]

I use a small wire brush and a broken hack saw blade to clean up around old fasteners. When applying penetrating oils I put a socket over the nut or bolt head and whack it with a hammer to try and break the fastener free before applying torque with whatever tool I'm using. If the fastner doesn't turn with reasonable amount of torque I like to apply more penetrant and whack over time rather than risk breaking off the fastner if it's in a postiion where it cant be driven out if the head or nut breaks off. Small fastners are a pain because it doesn't take much torque to brake them.

[Hecka]

My problem wasn't the bottom bolt. It came off fairly easily. The top nut, however, is turning the rest of the tube in the strut. I've tried using pliers to hold the tube while I tried to loosen the nut, but that didn't work and I started rounding the top flat piece of the threaded part. Do I need some sort of special tool to keep it in place while I loosen the top nut??? Can I use spring compressors to take pressure off the strut so that possibly it may be easier to remove the nut??

[rmoltis]

My problem wasn't the bottom bolt. It came off fairly easily. The top nut, however, is turning the rest of the tube in the strut. I've tried using pliers to hold the tube while I tried to loosen the nut, but that didn't work and I started rounding the top flat piece of the threaded part. Do I need some sort of special tool to keep it in place while I loosen the top nut??? Can I use spring compressors to take pressure off the strut so that possibly it may be easier to remove the nut??

An impact driver helps a lot here.

I personally used a Dewalt handheld 20v impact driver with a socket driver to remove.

Then proceeded to torque the fastener down with the same driver later
It worked great.



And the key to the bottom bolts is to replace them every now and then before they get bad and rusty.
I plan to keep an eye on them from year to year.

[Hecka]

Thanks for the advice! I'll see if I can borrow my friend's impact wrench. Those things are a bit pricey for me at the moment, even when looking on craigslist.

[1990new]

You should be able to clamp a pair of vice grip pliers on the shaft between the springs.
Just tear off the dust cover if it's still in place..

[rmoltis]

You should be able to clamp a pair of vice grip pliers on the shaft between the springs.
Just tear off the dust cover if it's still in place..

I agree with this one too.
One small change is to use some rubber between the vice grip teeth.
It will add grip to the shafts coupled with the clamping force of the vice grip while not scarring the polished surface.
If they are old and in need of replacements, then just use the teeth directly on the surface .
Then throw away struts when done