Looks like I'll be doing front strut bushings / bearings myself - Any tips?

[TomPierce]

Looks like I'll be doing front strut bushings and bearings myself - I have some questions - and any tips would be appreciated. I have the service manuals and I've reviewed the procedures - does not look too difficult.

I need to buy a spring compressor - any advice / favorites?

Does anyone know the size/threads of the "strut assembly to steering knuckle retaining bolts and nuts" - Vendors here want $30 for another TTY set and I'd just as soon replace all the TTY crap with real bolts (same question for the the "strut assembly to body retaining nut" up on top)

A couple of the messages I've read say how important it is to re-align everything before reassembly -

DMS posted "The biggest issue is getting the strut, to coil, to mount all aligned together. This is an absolute essentiual process. I have posted a tech sheet somewhere on this forum on the process front and rear. If you have any questions, just ask"

I searched for this tech sheet and did not find it - does anyone know where this is?

Thanks for all the help guys - I'll take lotsa pictures and post when I'm done.

[SpeedRacerX]

The only things I can add from hearing my buddy AL, MONTY, do this recently with another guy is that the whole front took about 1 hour. You could probably rent a spring compressor if you don't feel like buying one. I hope you bought new bearings to seat into the new bushings because it looked like (from seeing a few now) that they are tough to get out of the bushings.

I remember the tech info you are mentioning but I can't remember where it is. Sorry.

[dandragonrage]

this worked awesomely for me: http://www.harborfreight.com/single-...sor-43753.html

Go to Sears and get an offset box wrench, one side 13/16 and the other side 15/16 (24mm also works for the 15/16 side - about .2mm different, the 15/16 was a tighter fit. 21mm works for the 13/16 side, about .4mm off, the 13/16 was a tighter fit). It cost me about $20. Those were the only non-standard things I needed. I used the metric stuff for the bottom (sockets-had the metric sockets already, and they are pretty much just as good a fit as the SAE stuff) and the offset wrench for the top of the strut.

About the bolts, see here: http://forum.grrrr8.net/showthread.php?t=25698 - but GM does, in some applications, say that you can reuse the stock bolts with threadlocker. Not sure if that is the case for our car or not. That's what I did, though, and the fit is perfectly fine. Nothing looked elongated to me - the control arm bolts and nuts looked very elongated (especially the nuts - the holes were oval), and the strut to spindle bolts did not. I replaced the control arm nuts and bolts but not the strut to spindle.

[TomPierce]

GM does, in some applications, say that you can reuse the stock bolts with threadlocker. Not sure if that is the case for our car or not.

First off, thanks for the links!

Going by the service manual, the strut to spindle bolts are specifically called out as 'one time use' parts which should be discarded. "Important: The strut assembly to steering knuckle retaining bolts (3) nuts (1) and washers (2) are single use parts. They must be discarded after removal." The other clue is the torque specs which are "Tighten the nuts a first pass to 85 N.m (63 lb ft). Tighten the nuts a second pass to 100 N.m (74 lb ft). Tighten the nuts an additional 90 degrees." Just to be on the worry free side, I'm going to replace these bolts.

I agree that there are other bolts which are called out as 'bolts with encapsulated threadlocker" which can be reused as desired.

[Eidolon]

How'd this end up working for you? Was it hard to get the struts back in the car as they were, properly aligned? Also, what did you end up doing for the bolts?

I figure I may go ahead and reuse the stock bolts and then swap them out at some point for a stronger unit from Fastenal or Spohn. I purchased the BMR replacement bushings, and their instructions say to simply torque them down to 130 lb-ft. No replacement is mentioned.

[TomPierce]

I bought new bolts/nuts just on the off chance that I would need them - I really didn't need them, but I went ahead and used the new nuts/bolts anyway. The set that I bought included the nut for the top of the strut as well, and that one I really did need.

I'm saving the old nuts and bolts - I don't see any reason you cant reuse them (I added some blue threadlock just to be on the safe side.)

I went ahead and got it aligned even though if you are careful you can get it back in the same place pretty easily. It is my DD but I occasionally do cross country trips, so an alignment will pay for itself in saved tires.

For torque, the bolt package says 80 n/m and then 100 n/m and then 90 degrees. What that translates to is "as tight as you can get them with a 1/2" torque wrench without getting completely insane or using additional implements". 130 ft/lbs sounds about right.

[Eidolon]

It is, of course, more difficult than I thought it'd be. Then again, the way I learn is by biting off more than I can chew and learning how to FIXIT!

Problem the first, I accidentally pushed the bump stop down the strut piston shaft just a bit. Looking at the diagram in the service manual, though, this seems to be OK and expected. And really, so long as the strut mount bushing is installed properly, it'll hold things in place to allow the bump stop to slide back up the shaft when the suspension loads.

Second, the bolt on top that holds the bushing in place is practically impossible to get to 75 lb-ft as the service manual requests because the strut piston shaft spins! As such, I can't get it to hold still long enough to torque it down. I got it as tight as I could with opposing hand wrenches.

Finally, I think I've gotten the spring back into its original alignment. The end of the top of the spring should be seated in the lip that's formed into the metal plate on top, and the bottom part of the spring I just tried to sit back into its own witness marks in the dusty boot. Hopefully that description makes sense.

Pictures! First, my stock mount. Not too bad actually. Still can't hurt to replace it with a polyurethane unit.


The strut assembly put back together. Everything look OK at a glance?


Also, I am very VERY glad that I didn't try this before I got some air tools. The impact wrench made removing the strut from the vehicle a cinch, and the air ratchet wrench has been a godsend for torquing down the spring compressors and for putting the nut back onto the strut piston shaft.

... Of course, I still don't have the strut back into the vehicle, and this is just the first side.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I don't have ANY new bolts or nuts. I may need to order some nuts to retain the piston shaft, because the stock nuts are soft things. For the spindle-to-strut bolts and nuts, I'll use some loctite and torque them to 130 lb-ft.

[Monty]

I used the same bolts and top strut nut. Didn't use any loctite there wasn't any on the bolts when we took them off. The top strut nut is a locknut. The 2 indentations should be towards the bottom.

The toughest part was pushing the rotor and caliper assembly up against the adjustment bolt while we tighened up the 2 bottom strut bolts. If you don't do this you will need an alignment.

[Eidolon]

I used the same bolts and top strut nut. Didn't use any loctite there wasn't any on the bolts when we took them off. The top strut nut is a locknut. The 2 indentations should be towards the bottom.

I might have to double check these, then, as I didn't know they had an orientation to them. I went ahead and used some blue loctite on the strut-to-spindle bolts to be safe, though. I figured it couldn't hurt.

The toughest part was pushing the rotor and caliper assembly up against the adjustment bolt while we tighened up the 2 bottom strut bolts. If you don't do this you will need an alignment.

I didn't do this on the passenger side, as it seemed to snug up. The driver side was loose, and I did have to push it into place as I tightened the nuts.

I think I can otherwise declare this a success. I got the driver's side done MUCH more quickly after having done the passenger side. I took it for a test drive afterward. There was one point in a corner where it felt like the car stumbled for a bit - dunno what it was, and I'm not sure how else to describe it - but it only did it once. It may've been that darn bump stop on the right side seating itself. We'll see if it happens again.

Unfortunately, the pop on the left side when the suspension rapidly unloads is still present. I can evince it quite regularly by turning hard to the right, then coming back hard to the left and inducing body lean to the right.

Anyhoo, driver-side strut cap before...


After.


If the ride height is changed, I don't perceive the difference.

Thanks for this thread and for the help, guys.

[dandragonrage]

the air ratchet wrench has been a godsend for torquing down the spring compressors

That sounds dangerous to me. I'd recommend doing that by hand with a wrench or ratchet. Spring compressors are never the safest tools and I would exercise as much caution as possible.

Stabilizer bar links, perhaps? Also, your car has been raised by the difference in the size of the gap, which is not much.