Me and a friend think we are going to try replacing my broken upper strut mount. At this point I know that will involve removing the wheel, then removing all the fancy suspension stuff behind the wheel to get to the mount .

Are there any good references that I could look at that would be similar to what I am doing? To be honest I have no idea what I am doing, and will have to be carried by my friends mechanical skills.

Also, do you think I would be better off paying a professional to do this?

EDIT: Going to pay a professional, thank you for all the advice!

 

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This is what happens when you remove the upper strut mount wrong. Please be careful.

 

Its pretty straightforward. Once the wheel is off, unbolt the endlink where it is attached to the strut and unclip the brake line and abs sensor. Remove the pinch bolt at the bottom of the strut and the 3 nuts on top in the engine bay. Then just pull down on the rotor to get the bottom of the strut out and the whole assembly should come right out.

Then its just a matter of undoing the top bolt on the strut and swapping the bushing. You'll need a strut socket and spring compressor for this if you don't have one.

 

Getting the strut out is fairly straight forward. Be careful as to not drop the strut.

After it is out, you will need a Spring compression tool. If you don't have one of these or are not going to purchase one, I wouldn't attempt this job. I have seen that nut go through a concrete wall when a spring compression tool clamped in a vice came loose. Probably one of the most scary things (next to a 5 ft. Acetylene tank falling over) I have ever seen/heard.

If you or your friend have never done this, I would recommend finding someone who has to either show you how to do it right, or to do it for you.

 

Depends on your friends mechanical skills and your ability to follow directions. this article by pelican (who is an epically awesome website for projects like this) explains how to remove and replace the shocks. Fortunately most of the process is the same, except the whole replacing the shocks thing. pull yours, replace upper strut mount, put back together, viola.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...eplacement.htm

you are welcome

 

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/...d.php?t=375948

Not trying to scare you. I'd be the first person to tell you that you can figure it out with a little effort, but Strut/Spring disassemble is not a newbie job. As someone pointed out in that thread, springs store a lot of kinetic energy and have a tendency to go Boing! at the wrong time.

From ^^^ Pelican Parts Article "Also, while compressing the spring, be sure that you wear safety goggles: these springs are under a lot of pressure, and it is possible that the spring compressor may slip off suddenly."

 

I see you're saying you're going to pay a pro - but for any others that may read this - I think it is very doable if you're mechanically inclined. I have never replaced a strut or done any kind of suspension work...but thanks to great resources like this forum and excellent videos posted on YouTube, it gave the confidence to do it. It's just a matter of having to buy a few tools and doing some preliminary research.

I picked up spring compressors at Harbor Freight for $15...and also an electric impact wrench that I believe was around $30...and a torque wrench that was around $20. It's good to have the Bentley manual for reference and torque specifications but you can find all that info online and likely here in the forum if needed.

This is a great video showing how to do this specific job (strut mount replacement):

Some things I did differently here than what is shown in the video:

1. There is no need to remove the mud guard.
2. For removing the connecting rod on the back of the struct, you can fit a 17mm wrench on the other side instead of using an allen wrench.
3. Instead of using vice grips on a socket to secure the strut back, I used a 13/16" spark plug socket that allowed me to put a wrench on it (it is notched to allow it)...and ran an allen wrench through the spark plug socket to tighten. The electric impact wrench is helpful to remove the nut off the strut, but you do not want to use an impact wrench to put it back on.

Finally - know if the strut mount has failed...the source of the problem is likely that the strut needs replaced. And you may have mushroomed strut towers. Another great video on this subject here:

 

Also on this note - and another great video to watch to learn on the subject - you really don't have to use spring compressors on the Mini springs...but I did anyway. Can see here how it goes with Mini springs without (this should automatically start at 11:20):

 

Thanks for the Video post max. It is an informative video absolutely. The reason I always advise against it is because a) You don't always know the skill level of the person doing the repairs and b) You don't know what they will encounter during the repair.

I don't know if Spenru has aftermarket parts installed, but if that spring were a stiffer suspension on non-stock springs, then he might be in for a bit of a surprise.

With repairs like these I always err on the side of caution. I think I would ALWAYS put spring compressors on unless I knew exactly what I was expecting.

Still.... thumbs up for the video.

 

great links everyone, thanks for sharing