How to change struts or coil overs?

Deep6

Registered User
Hi guys,

My sister has commisioned me to change the 4 struts in her 176,000 miles Buick Regal LS. Yeah yeah, I know it's a N/A 3.8L (but one buttery smooth one for 176,000miles, sure puts my 88K mile 3.8L to shame in the BuTtA' dept)

At any rate, for x-mas the wifey bought me a 1/2" medium duty impact wrench, that kicks major butt. This last weekend it was warm finally here in the N.E. and I fixed a rattle in my friends meineke installed OEM catback on his 93' 3.1L Pontiac Grand Prix

My sis' says she's gonna buy me the MacPherson strut compressors (spring compressors) to be used with my impact gun. This will be payment for doing the 4 struts.

Now, I'm not a dumb dumb, but I want to make sure I'm doing everything right and safe considering that I'll have something like 600lbs of compressed spring force that could potentially slip out of the compressor arms and hit me in the face and crush my jaw, impact my skull and snap my neck off.

I've removed MacPherson struts from cars before, undo top 3 bolts, undo 2 knuckle bolts (that are usually rusted on) and pound out tie rod end with sledge hammer. But I've just taken the whole assy to a shop to have the thing compressed and re-mouinted for a fee of course.

I should think that the process is pretty straight foward, remove assy from car, compress the spring about an inch or so, turn giant bolt at the top of the cap, pull cap off, slip old cartridge out, put new cartridge in, bolt cap back down, align spring and uncompress and installation is the reverse of removal....right?

Is there any special step that I need to heed, or any other special tool I'll need, or any advice or tips from someone who's "been there, done that". If I am successful here, you all be seeing "Eibach springs and Tokicko (or Koni) shocks" in my sig in a few months as then the labor would be free........


Thanks for any help.
 
Don't buy the spring compressor. Get a Haynes manual for that car. They will probably explain how to remove the struts from the car with the aide of a floor jack. After struts are out of the car take them down to a CarX or some place that has a professional wall mounted spring compessor. PAY them to install the springs on your new struts. Hand the bill to your Sis. Then have her buy you some other tool for your labor.

Somethings are too dangerous to do with the wrong equipment.

On my nephew's SC I paid the local CarX $75 to install Ford ARC front struts. I brought in the car and the struts and they just charged me labor. I know the manager so he probably gave me a deal. Just call around and see if anybody would swap the springs for you.

Jerry
 
plus you will need an alignment after you replace the struts. i'm a mechanic part time for NTB and the wall mounted strut spring compressor is the way to go. you also should consider replacing the strut mounts while you are doing the struts.
 
That is what I used to do...

Hmmmm. Not exactly the advice I was looking for. I used to do just that, take the assy. to a car shop with a wall mounted compressor and have them do it for a fee. But in reality if I make my sister pay for that, then it isn't worth it for her to even have me do the struts for her and thus I loose out on the tool.

I wanted the tool because I wanted to be able to change out my own springs and shocks out of my own car, so that way I could save money when I purchased the upgrades.

Well, I think what I'll do is work in an open area and always position the spring east-west, rather than North-south, where if it did come loose that it would fly along the ground, and not up in the air and into my face or body....
 
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