Guide : Front strut replacement for AE92

[Grega]

This is an easy job, but, take care as you need to use spring compressors. If these things go off the have the ability to kill. I hate the bloody things but, they're a necessary evil.
So be warned. Do not look down at the spring while it is compressed, keep well away where you can of the bloody things, please.

Level of difficulty : Low.
Level of danger : Defcon 1

Tools required :
10mm, 12mm, 14mm, 17mm, 19mm and 21mm sockets
19mm ring spanner
Piece of rubber hose 1 inch long by about 8mm wide
Bullnose pliers
Rattle gun or, decent socket wrench
New strut
Spring compressors
Oil tray
Jack
Car Stand

1. Jack up car and secure with car stand. Start by removing the front wheel.


2. Remove the bolt from the back of the caliper (its 14mm) holding the brake line to the caliper. Put oil tray under to catch oil.

3. Use bullnose pliers to yank out the clip.


4. Feed brake line thru strut and Slide 1 inch piece of rubber hose into banjo bolt to stop it leaking.


(There is another way to do this, and, thats cut into the holder on the strut housing and bend it down so you can slide the brake line out. You don't need to bleed brakes after doing it that way. Not keen on that method personally)

5. Undo bolts (19mm) holding bottom of strut to upright. 2 of

Leverage sometimes required


6. MARK one of the threads and mark the strut tower so that when you put the tower bearing back in place, you put it in, facing the same way. Important. Now undo the 3 x 12mm bolts supporting the bottom of the strut as you go. Sounds like u need to be a contortionist, its really quite easy


7. Pull strut out of car, place on ground.

Now, from experience, compressing this spring is a bugger of a job. Do it with the spring still captive in the existing strut - this makes it HEAPS easier, believe me. I tried it two ways. The other way I couldn't get it to compress enough to get the spring back in!!!!!

8. Attach spirng compressors to spring and compress so that spring is loose.


9. Undo the 19mm bolt at the top of the strut

10. Remove tower bearing plate and top spring seat, dust cover, rubber insulator and bump stop. Remove spring (CAREFUL) and the rubber seat it sits in (lower of strut)

11. Place rubber seat in new strut, and, place spring onto strut.

[Grega]

12. Replace bump stop, dust cover, rubber insulator and top spring seat, followed by tower bearing and secure with 19mm nut. NB - the AE92 has an arrow marked OUT - that faces outward FYI on the top spring seat. Don't worry too much about the centre of the strut spinning when you tighten the nut. Get to that in a minute.

See the arrow :


13. Tighten the 19mm strut nut up tight.

14. Replace strut in car, do up all bolts tight including the brake hose and put wheel back on car, lower car. NB : Tip - put the top of the strut in first, get the tower bearing aligned right and get a nut on that, then get the other two at the top, then do the two 19mm bolts to the upright.

15. The top nut (19mm) will still be loose on the strut. The reason of this is because the top spring seat has two flats in the centre which need to align on the strut. You can't do this (without a hydraulic press to my knowledge) so with the strut installed, sit on the front of the car (with the bonnet up) and do up the 19mm strut. The whole shebang compresses and the strut centre will rotate and lock into place. Then tension up the nut and you're done.


Check for leaks, then onto the next one.

Hope this helps