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

[Dave_Darling]

I don't bother unhooking the sway-bar or even touching the ride height adjustment screw. You get plenty enough travel with those hooked up, IME. At least, you do if both wheels are up in the air; the sway-bar won't prevent both wheels from going to full droop at that point.

--DD

[shuie]

here is an old Pelican tech article that was a huge help for me when I did this on one of my old cars.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/9...rut_removal.htm