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Strut removal and installation

TheOtherNick

TheOtherNick

The mod from over yonder
The following is a how to for strut removal and installation for 97-2003 grand prix.
Step one: (if you do not have an impact) loosen lug nuts 19mm

Step two: raise and support corner you are doing the job on
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Step Three: Remove wheel and tire
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Step four: Remove sway bar end link (18mm nut) 15mm head on back of stud to hold it.
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Step five: Remove lower strut nuts 21mm (13/16)
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Step six: Pound out strut bolts. (leave nut on end at first to not damage threads) You will need a hard hammer to do this the rubber one shows up better in the picture
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Step seven: open trunk and find strut plate nuts
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Step eight: pull carpet down (it just hooks around the studs)
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Step nine: Pull off rubber strut caps
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Step ten: Remove strut top plate nuts (15mm) Ratchet wrench works great.

Step eleven: Slide strut back off rear knuckle and remove. You will need to twist it some to get it to slide out. Will get more pics tomorrow. Need to find some new top plate washers.
 


Rear install sorry for no pics camera was on the fritz.

Step one: Slide bottom of strut down inbetween the lateral arms.

Step two: twist and wiggle the strut up past the inner fender.

Step three: (2 people here helps a lot) Get one stud on the mounting plate up threw the hole and start nut.

Step four: Continue tightening the first nut to pull the other studs up. (May have to twist the strut around a bit) Leave them loose once all nuts are started.

Step five: Align knuckle and lower strut holes, then pound the strut bolts back to the hell them came from.

Step six: tighten lower strut nuts (they go really tight)

Step seven: put the sway bar end link back in the hole and tighten it (it goes fairly tight)

Step eight: Tighten top strut mount nuts (go about as tight as you can with the wrench) Then put on the rubber boots and put carpet back up.

Step nine: Put tire back on and snug lug nuts

Step ten: Lower vechicle

Step elven: Torque lug nuts to 100ft lbs. In a star pattern.
 
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Front strut Removal

Step one: Raise and support vehicle using pinch weld like for the rear.

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Step two: Remove wheel and tire

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Step Three: Remove lower strut bolts and nuts. The bolts will need to be pounded out like the rear. Watch your hand while doing this the knuckle will jump up a bit when they are both out.

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Step four: remove strut top plate nuts.

DRIVER SIDE
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PASSENGER SIDE
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Step 5: I could not get pics of me doing this because both my hands where full while doing it. A friend is very helpful. You will need to push down on the steering knuckle and control arm. While pushing down slide the strut over the tie rod and drop it out. You can pop the tie rod off the knuckle if you want to make it easier. I left it because the nylon nuts like to stick half way down.
 
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Install the front in reverse order.

When you are sliding the new strut up get the top studs threw the holes in the body and start one to hold the strut

Then push the knuckle down and line up the lower part of the strut on the knuckle. A punch works great to line up the holes.

Hammer the strut bolts back in and tighten up the nuts

Then tighten up the top plate nuts.

Reinstall tire.

If your car drives straight after doing your struts I would not worry about an alignment. If you have any pulls then I would. You can save money on camber bolts by grinding the top hole in the bottom of the strut to widen it out a bolt width on each side of the whole. That will allow for enough movement to adjust the camber.

Hope this write up helps you guys get more done on your own and save ya money. Feel free to pm me any ?s or post up in this thread. THanks NICK
 
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is it the same for the front; i.e. is there sway bar end links on the front and is there anything else to take off the front strut before removing?
 
alritey :) thank you i would really appreciate it because i will be doing my fronts in a week or two hopefully.

and not that i'm complaining but if you want to make those pics bigger on the next write up, i'd bet they'll be ballaaaa!
 


nice write up. Luckily for me I have all the impact tools etc. If only I had an alignment machine..... My car actually drives straight but hey I went to alignment school (hunter engineering )
 
Yes you should be fine to drive and get an alignment. Just remember that if your vehicle needs an alignment it should be done sooner than later. Tires get expensive pretty fast.
 


01GTP said:
Not if the rear is still in, which 90% of the time it is.
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This is true also. But I was stating that they do require it if the camber is out of spec enough. I've seen it go both ways though. You won't know they are off that much until the car is on the alignment rack anyways (unless you can see some serious camber issues) and the tech gets everything dialed in. I used to leave them alone if the numbers were in the green and not off by much... which in that case I'd just charge them a regular front end alignment fee instead of the four wheel.
 
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