• The site migration is complete! Hopefully everything transferred properly from the multiple decades old software we were using before. If you notice any issues please let me know, thanks! Also, I'm still working on things like chatbox, etc so hopefully those will be working in the next week or two.

horrible time replacing strut mounts.. HELP

L

Linebacker

New member
Well this whole day has been one big long piss off...

First, Removing the strut assembly went okay until i had to remove the bottom two bolts at the knuckle behind the rotor. One of the bolts just would not pop out... so i turned it once to pop it not knowing about those special threads in there. The threads are a bit messed up now, Not totally messed up i would say at about 80% of what they were. Is this going to be a huge issue?

The second issue has been getting the spring to compress enough for me to put the new strut mount on, It just wont go down enough. I rented the tool from part source and its not long enough to reach from the bottom of the spring to the top, Is this why it wont compress fully? I seriously tried it for 3 hours... constantly moving the spring compressors to new spots to try in get it to compress fully. Im always at least an inch from being able to thread the bolt.

Third issue is from constantly trying to compress the spring, The spring compressors have scratched the hell out of the spring... Is this going to cause them to rust and be an issue sooner than later?

Forth issue is something that occurred to me after i was packing my tools away for the day. Is there a specific way the upper strut mount has to sit on the spring? i noticed there is two holes near the actual bolt holes, are these suppose to be a guide for something?

So at the end of the day my car is sitting on jack stands with the strut out. Im clueless on how to reassemble the strut with the new mount. And i wont even be able to work on it again till mid next week :mad:


Vehicle info

2005 grand prix gtp comp-g
150000kms
 


1. By threads do you mean splined? If so I wouldn't worry to much about it. Just add a little blue locktight to the bolts/nuts when you reassemble.

2. You might wanna just call a local shop and see what they would charge just to reassemble. Shoulld be able to get it done fairly cheap.

3. Yes anywhere there is bare metal it will rust. Would have rusted sooner or later anyway. I wouldn't worry.

4. Yes if it is on the rear you need to be pretty specific on its oreientation. The bottom won't rotate to line up with the wheel spindle. Look at the other side for a reference. You can usualy tell where the springs sat on the mounts just by the dirt and scuff marks.
 
take your struts and mounts to your local front end shop and ask them to swap them for you, thats how i did mine, the best 20 bucks i ever spent, nice and safe that way. with out air tools its a battle to do, yes it can be done but why get hurt over 20 or 30 bucks. plus they wont be f-ing up your springs any further.
 
Are you doing the front struts?

One of the biggest mistakes that people make is not loosening the sway bar bushings and/or not lifting the entire front end of the car.
The sway bar will pull up on the lower control arm and keep tension on the strut bolts, making them very difficult to remove and reinstall.

Those are not threads in the struts for the bolts. The bolts have splines on them to grip the inside of the struts. These facilitate in keeping the bolt tight when tightening the nut. It's purely a manufacturing assembly line thing so I wouldn't worry about it. If the bolt grips the strut at all - you're good.

If you're able to grip the spring one turn from both ends and the tool won't compress the spring enough then you might have the wrong tool. Like the other guys said, it may behoove you to take the strut, spring, and mount to a professional. I've done tons of these with my cheap arse compressor and never had a problem. In fact, I can get another inch or so of compression and I'm able to get the shaft bolt started.
 
Yes these are front strut mounts im trying to replace. Thanks for the replies, So its good to know i wont need a new knuckle, with the spring compressor i rented its only long enough to grip 3 of the coils in the spring, the spring has about 4 coils to it if that makes sense, so although i can compress the 3 coils pretty good the top or the bottom coil always ends up being the biggest issue in getting the mount back on.

My plan right now is i have a friend coming who has an actual key to a shop he works at, so if he cant compress the spring with what i rented he can do it at the shop with a press. Only thing im not sure about it how the strut mount is oriented when its put back together, can it go anyway?

The one time i was able to actually get the bolt to thread and but the strut back together i noticed the spring was sitting half on the plastic on the mount and half on the metal plate. Also when i tried to see if it would even line up, it was not even close, I placed the strut in the knuckle to see if it would line up with the top 3 bolt holes in the tower and it was about 3 inches off to the left. So is there a specific way to putting them on?
 


Video helped alot thanks. I was able to rent a larger type of spring compressor that was able to compress it easily without slipping, Install took about 1 hour for both sides after that. So jobs done now, just one question left.

I replaced the control arms about 3 weeks ago which came with new ball joints as well. After which i got an alignment, Obviously if i had known that the strut mounts had to be done as well i would have waited. Will i need another alignment done now? the car drives like it did before. It pulls slightly to the left if you let go of the wheel long enough but its always done that.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top