Strut replacement idiot's guide?, Haynes a little vague....for a newbie! Options

[tadink]

Hey all -

I'm going to be replacing front and rear shocks / struts - and after looking at the Haynes manual, I'm wondering if someone has posted "the idiot's guide" for doing this?

In particular, the photo in Haynes shows a special tool-looking gadget holding the locking plate in place while loosening the nut (figure 7.5, page 101). Is that thing the dude is holding in his left hand an integral part of this procedure?

Also - for a strut insert, is this a 'strut off the car' procedure? I read a recent post where someone talked about this taking like 38 minute per side, taking the whole strut assembly off the car seems like it would take a LOT longer than that!

Please help the ignorant -

thx

td

[tradisrad]

Did you get new spring fro the rear also?

You can change the fronts w/o removing the strut from the car; you need to take care that you don't bend/damage the brake line. There is a special tool like the pic in the haynes manual, but I think a lot of folks use a pipe wrench or big channel locks. It's a bit difficulty to swing the strut out and get it apart. Watch your paint.

The rears need to come off of the car. If you don't have spring compressors you can put the base of the shock in a bucket and place a rim over the top and have an assistant press down on the rim while you remove the nut. Be careful. If you have 140lb springs or the like you probably wont need to compress the spring.

Where in SF are you?