how do you put on the front struts? they retract to quickly to attach the washer+nut and are never able to get high enough to attach the washer and nut. anyone have any ideas?

Put a jack under the ball joint and lift the a-arm that way.

tried it, it just lifted the car up....

Then something is in a bind.

The a-arm should move upwards with the shock detached on the top.
You're working against the torsion bars but with the floor-jack, it usually moves easily ...

Andy

what do you think is wrong then? what could be in a bind if we have it all setup right?

Get yourself a long 6mm bolt. Gotta be 6" or more. A piece of all thread rod works ............

Put it through the home in the strut mount and thread it into the top of the strut insert (shock absorber). Pull up on it and guide the shaft through the hole. Might need a pair of vise grips to help you do this. If it's all thread, use 2 or 3 nuts (or more) to provide a place to grip the rod. I've done a lot of 'em that way, it works.

The Cap'n

Here's my play-by-play for you visual learners--I just did this a couple of days ago with my Boge strut inserts. I used a 6mm 1.00 pitch bolt 80mm long ($0.79)and a floor jack. Works like a champ!

1) Thread bolt into center of strut

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Click to view attachment

2) Use the floor-jack to raise the strut and wiggle/pull it through with some muscle (I found vice grips helped)

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Click to view attachment

3) The nut slips right over the top!

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4) Tighten it down and unbolt!

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