[97purple_trep]

OK, My car is up on jack stands right now, and I can't figure out how to loosen / tighten the nuts at the top of the front struts. The back ones weren't hard, jus took a big allen wrench and a hex wrench, but the fronts are backwards, theres a male type allen, instead of a female allen, in the top of the strut. b4 I started the work, i went around to a few local parts stores w/ my chiltons manual to find the special too they list, but I decided to try and do without...

Is that special too a necessaty [sp] ??

I might just take the front spring and strut assemblys, along with the new ones, to a local shop that does strut work, and ask them to do it, if u have the tool its like a 15 min job, waddu think?

well hope someone responds by morning......

 

[buschman]

Originally posted by 97purple_trep:
OK, My car is up on jack stands right now, and I can't figure out how to loosen / tighten the nuts at the top of the front struts. The back ones weren't hard, jus took a big allen wrench and a hex wrench, but the fronts are backwards, theres a male type allen, instead of a female allen, in the top of the strut. b4 I started the work, i went around to a few local parts stores w/ my chiltons manual to find the special too they list, but I decided to try and do without...

Is that special too a necessaty [sp] ??

I might just take the front spring and strut assemblys, along with the new ones, to a local shop that does strut work, and ask them to do it, if u have the tool its like a 15 min job, waddu think?

well hope someone responds by morning......

Hmm granted I did the work over two years ago. But I don't remember needing any special tool to get them loose. If you have a digital camera, can you post a picture?

As far as I remember there are 3(maybe 4) bolts on the top of the strut tower(easily accessed from the engine compartment) and two big bolts that connect it to the A-Arm(behind the wheel). What special bolts are you referring to?

Don't worry aboyut that bolt in the middle(possibly covered by a black plastic cover), that adjusts your rebound. You don't need to touch that to remove the unit. Crap let me go down to my trep and look and see if it refreshes my memory.

Buschman

 

[buschman]

OK I took a look and I know what you mean by male allen now. If I remember correctly you don't need to mess with that to get the strut out. That's the bolt that holds the top of the strut on. Once you have it out, you use your spring compressor to take the pressure off that top plate. Once the pressure is off the bolt is much easier to turn. On my trep it is just a standard 1"-3/4" bolt on a screw with that funny male allen head you were talking about. The allen head is on there cause the whole screw will spin when you try to remove that bolt(rust and built up pressure and all). Once you have the strut out, get a good socket wrench for the male allen screw and then remove that bolt. Just don't forget the spring compressor. You do not what to remove that bolt while the spring is loaded behind it.

As a matter of fact I remember having trouble getting either the front or the back(I think it was the back) struts out from under the fenders. So we put the spring compressors on inside the strut tower and just pulled hard and they cleared it.

Remember those struts have had the whole weight of the car to support and X thousnad miles. They are probably rusting a little bit and they don't just slide right out like one that came off the showroom floor.

Remember that when dealing with struts you need to have a hammer handy

I hope this helps.

B U S C H M A N

I'm gonna get you spelling my name right if it's the last thing I ndo

 

[97purple_trep]

buschman, i tried to get it right. really i did. well, my problem is that i cant get a wrench around the nut while at the same time a socket on the nut. This is due to the fact that the upper strut tower mount is in the way [the thing that connects to the car]. The whole in the middle of that isnt big enough/ is too tall to fit a wrench over that nut, and i cant see a way to put 2 sockets on that... what WAS interesting is that the nut is spark plugged sized and those sockets have a hex on the top, but still no space for a socket in the middle. Im pretty lost, but If u said u diddnt need a special tool then I'll try it again.

I dont think that if I take the old and new struts and springs to a shop, theyd charge too much for changing them [ Out of the car, im just talking about getting the mounts and new springs on the new struts]

Well, well see...

 

[buschman]

OK you know how a regular wrench has one open end and one end thats closed. The closed side is usually angled 45 degrees or so and is 12 point where as the open side is a straight 6 point. OK find the approriate wrench so that you can slip the closed end over the bolt and use a socket wrench to spin the male allen screw shaft. That's the way I did it if I recall correctly.


But if I heard you correctly you were able to get the strut out from under the car right? You need to do that first before trying to take the spring off.

Buschman

 

[97purple_trep]

well everythings done now... I did end up taking the [new and old] springs and struts to the auto shop, had to drive my parents olds intrigue, its such an old person car.

Well anywya, I got them on and it's all ok, and whats really funny is that the allignment is BETTER than it was before, like it's seriously perfect, I can let go of the stering wheel on the freeway, and it will go straight for like a 1/4 mile or something, and the stering wheel is straight... b4 it drifted and the stering wheel was turned like 5 degrees... any one know if I really need to take it in for allignment still?

Oh, and not to mention that it handles better, doesnt bounce around, and drives like a sports car. the Eibach springs definately make a difference.

 

[buschman]

I'm glad everything worked out for you. What did they charge you to do that?

Buschman

 

[97purple_trep]

I paid them $40 to do that, they said they charge $98/hour labor, and it took them like 30 min or more to do it, so I was ok w/ that.

Hey, so what do u think bout the alignment?

 

[buschman]

Originally posted by 97purple_trep:

Hey, so what do u think bout the alignment?

How fast have you taken it? if you've gotten up over 100 and it still feels stable I'd say you're in the clear. If not take it in. If you can visably notice your wheels toed in or with the wrong camber it will affect yur performance, handling, and tire wear. But if you aren't using low prfile tires and everything feels right I'd say let it go and see how it acts. It's not like a bad alignment is gonna ruin your car, it just won't hanble as well as it should.

The only thing I can warn you guys about is the problems I have had. The only problem i've run into with lowering it is the tranny lines. They run pretty low to the nground and after about a year and a half I scrapped one of them down to where it was leaking. That was an easy fix, but you need to be aware. If your tranny ever refuses to engauge this would be the first thing I'd check.

Buschman

 

[97purple_trep]

thanx a bunch for the advice, I have taken it up around 100, mabey only 95, and she is stable and strong. So, Im currently saving up for new rims and tires, and I'll have it alligned after that. However, im gonna keep a close eye on the tires and if they start to wear odd or too much, then I'll definately take it in.

 

[buschman]

Ow yeah and don't forget to vote