Changing strut for a complete one

[kjl1987]

Changing my front drivers strut for a complete second hand one, fairly easy to change? Is there a how to?

thanks

 

[chris1888-197]

There is a how to on how to change front coil springs bud, it shows you how to take the strut off. I changed my coil springs to cooksport ones in work on Thursday was not to bad to do i just lowered the subframe to get the struts off. Just make sure your pinch bolts on the hub carriers holding the struts on are free / not seized. Plenty of wd40 on them.

 

[montana]

Easy , no, they are a pain in the ass. I gave up on mine and got the garage to do it at MOT time , the pinch bolt was unbelievably tight , even with the nut removed, there was no chance of getting it out by hand. That and the fact you have to create enough room to lift the strut upwards out of the cup makes it more of a PITA. There are a couple of how too, each one showing a different method. Having said that , that was my experience , everyone's will be different.

 

[chris1888-197]

[MENTION=52200]montana[/MENTION] is spot on! It was a bit of a pain in the ass! I gave the pinch bolt a slight heat with the nut off to get it to move, knowing the hub carrier is alloy so need to seriously be careful. I got it off. You could prob get the strut off without dropping the subframe but I just did it this way as I had it on a ramp in work. I lowered my 172 in about an hour lol, this took about 3 hours to lower the 197. But worth it in the end as it sits well and my osf spring is no longer snapped lol.

 

[R27#239]

It is doable. The I did the Lowe ball joint on one side. 6 months later revomed the otherside to change the damper and the pinch bolt was seized.
Had to put the upright in a vice, heat the bolt and work it back and forth to work it out.