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

[r_towle]

For the fronts, Jack up the car.
Place on jack stands.
Remove any anti sway drop link from the a-arm.
Remove torsion bar adjuster at rear of torsion bar... (its an 11mm bolt...remove that and pull the adjust towards the rear)
Remove the top bolt on the strut.
from the wheel well, pull the strut down hard and pull it out of the wheel well to the outside of the fender.
Remove the dust shield.
Remove the upper strut insert nut.
Remove the strut insert.
Installation is the reverse of the removal.

For the rear.
Jack it up, on stands.
Remove the upper and lower bolts on the rear shock and spring assembly.
Remove the shock.
Set it on the floor and pleace the tire over the top of the unit so you can lean down on the tire to remove the pressure on the spring.
Remove the nut.
These are 100 lb springs and I would assume that you weigh more than 100 lbs...so its simple and easy to do this.

Rich