Your experience replacing the rear struts...words of wisdom?

[SyberTiger]

I think it's been at least two years since the oil leaked out of my rear struts. There was an annoying squeak every time I went over the smallest bump but sometime in the last two years the squeak went away...LOL!

I'm going to replace the rear struts with quick struts. Specifically, the Monroe 171322 which I picked up on Amazon for a total delivered cost of $177.75 for two quick struts. I understand there is a $30 rebate by Monroe this month...hopefully it's good for Amazon purchases but I know for eBay/auction sites they will not honor the rebate. If allowable then basically it was $74 per quick strut which seems to be a descent price.

I also ordered a set of rear suspension stabilizer bar link kits as I assume the old bushings are probably worn out.

I read a number of threads on here and came to the conclusion that the fore mentioned parts are all I need to do this job although I've read where some recommended swiveling ratchet box wrenches to make the job move along quicker. I'll pick up a set at Harbor Freight on the cheap.

Other than the typical socket and wrench set and perhaps a breaker bar and crow bar is there anything else you'd recommend? I've got PB Blaster and torque wrenches too. Speaking of which, does anyone have the torque specs on all the nuts/bolts I'll be messing with? I watched the 1Aauto video which mentions some general torque numbers. On the wheel well flexible shields the video shows him destroying the 6 plastic clips by cutting them off. I'm curious to know if you were able to reuse yours or should I plan on buying new ones at Autozone.

Also, in the video, he has a car lift which I do not have. I have a hydraulic floor jack but was curious to know if you jacked the vehicle up and put it on jack stands so that you could use the hydraulic jack later to jack up the entire suspension to tighten up the stabilizer links.

Any other words of wisdom?

 

[odinjunior]

Pretty much followed the Video. I put it on jack stands. I don't remember pulling off the flexible shields but it was done a year ago. Also I reused everything except the struts.

 

[IPcamper]

Just did the rear struts on my explorer due to a broken spring.
I put the rear up on a jack stand, and use the floor jack under the lower control arm. If you are careful, you can remove the plastic clips and reuse them.
The order I used was to remove the wheel well shield, then remove the strut's top 3 bolts ( use pb blaster or such and a good box wrench ), then remove the tow link from the mount behind the differential ( this lets you swing it aside from the strut for more clearance), remove the sway bar link to the lower control arm, then the lower strut bolt, and finally the lower knuckle to control arm bolt. After that, lower the floor jack to let the control arm drop. You can loosen the other bolts on the lower control arm to let it drop easier, or you can just push it down. Once it is low enough, the strut will come right out. Once you set the new strut in place, you can use the floor jack to lift the lower control arm up and hold things in place while you re-attach every thing. Be sure to check with your manual ( Ford, Haynes, Chilton, etc... ) for the proper torque on the bolts!

I tend to work slow, so it took me about 2 hours per side.

 

[lincolnshibuya]

I used jack stands and didn't remember getting the inner fender wheel shield out, I guess it was accessible using an offset ratchet. Didn't loosen the control arms, I just use a long piece of 2x4 to push down the control arm and the coil over will just slide out. Didn't remember taking out the tie rod joints either, I did remove the brake caliper and sway bar end links out of the way. I then use the floor jack to load up the suspension before tightening everything (or use a tape measure to measure the proper ride height) this way you'll not destroy the bushing.. torqued everything by feel (really tight... a torque wrench is really optional)

if you haven't replaced your sway bar end links and it's still original expect to grind it out than fight with it.

 

[ROBinGa]

Agree above about sway bar end links if they are original plan on buying new ones and replacing. Yes the jack stands then your floor jack to move suspension is the way to go. I followed the videos and it went well. I did remove the clips for splash shields in wheel well and I have found the ones you can buy at Lowe’s in their Hillman Parts drawers are much less expensive than auto parts stores and they have ones for GM, Ford, Chrysler, etc... Take one along as sample and match it. I highly suggest a swiveled head 13mm ratchet wrench for the 3 top nuts on strut - makes it so easy with ratcheting action instead of a 1/16 of a turn with regular wrench in tight space.

 

[mbrando1994]

I think it's been at least two years since the oil leaked out of my rear struts. There was an annoying squeak every time I went over the smallest bump but sometime in the last two years the squeak went away...LOL!

I'm going to replace the rear struts with quick struts. Specifically, the Monroe 171322 which I picked up on Amazon for a total delivered cost of $177.75 for two quick struts. I understand there is a $30 rebate by Monroe this month...hopefully it's good for Amazon purchases but I know for eBay/auction sites they will not honor the rebate. If allowable then basically it was $74 per quick strut which seems to be a descent price.

I also ordered a set of rear suspension stabilizer bar link kits as I assume the old bushings are probably worn out.

I read a number of threads on here and came to the conclusion that the fore mentioned parts are all I need to do this job although I've read where some recommended ratcheting box wrenches to make the job move along quicker. I'll pick up a set at Harbor Freight on the cheap.

Other than the typical socket and wrench set and perhaps a breaker bar and crow bar is there anything else you'd recommend? I've got PB Blaster and torque wrenches too. Speaking of which, does anyone have the torque specs on all the nuts/bolts I'll be messing with? I watched the 1Aauto video which mentions some general torque numbers. On the wheel well flexible shields the video shows him destroying the 6 plastic clips by cutting them off. I'm curious to know if you were able to reuse yours or should I plan on buying new ones at Autozone.

Also, in the video, he has a car lift which I do not have. I have a hydraulic floor jack but was curious to know if you jacked the vehicle up and put it on jack stands so that you could use the hydraulic jack later to jack up the entire suspension to tighten up the stabilizer links.

Any other words of wisdom?

Do not get a cheap set of ratcheting wrenches at HF, I did and basically broke it in half trying to do this job. Ended up having my friends father volunteer to cut the thing in half (wouldn't recommend it). Ratcheting wrenches will make this job a snap, just make sure you rent, or invest in a good set. When I did mine, I jacked it up, placed two stands in the rear, and then used that same jack to jack the suspension. Placing the jack back under the frame when not in use. I'd imagine the clips are reusable if they're taken off with the proper tool carefully.

If you have to separate ball joints/toe links, heat them up (not the rubber part), and hit what they go through with a sledge. I wouldn't use a pickle fork unless you're replacing them. Also learned that from this job.

 

[TechGuru]

Personally I'd go with KYB or Rancho or Motorcraft over Monroe or Gabriel...

 

[odinjunior]

I put the Rancho's on my '02. Really gave it a nice stance.. It never sees anything other than pavement.

 

[SyberTiger]

Thanks everyone for your input. As far as the torque specification, here they are:

 

[SyberTiger]

Hmm, 184 ft-lbs torque on the bolt that goes into the bottom of the strut/lower arm. My torque wrench only goes to 150 ft-lbs. I wonder how much more wrench turn of the bolt/nut past 150 ft-lbs is equal to 184 ft-lbs....LOL!

 

[apenland01]

Auto zone has the 250 lb torque wrench for free rental. I had to use it on the axle nuts and my strut job a couple of years ago. My Craftsman only went to 150 and my cheap Harbor Freight one went to 80.

 

[SyberTiger]

I thought I'd finish the thread I started by reporting back on the job. Thanks to everyone who chimed in with their words of wisdom.

Like others have said, it's roughly a 3 hour job to change out both rear struts and the stabilizer links. It's a fairly easy job, not a knuckle buster, no blood, no hurt back...very easy. Of course as I say this I should say I have a Florida garaged vehicle therefore no rust on any of the bolts.

I completely removed the splash shields in both wheel wells. The two inside push clips were easily removed using a putty knife and large screwdriver to pry them off. These ones are easily reusable. The smaller push clips located around the outside of the wheel well were difficult to remove and after fooling around with them decided it was just easier to cut them off with wire cutters. I purchased replacement clips at Lowes as ROBinGa recommended...best price and selection. It cost be around $7 bucks for all the clips I replaced and this was around 14 pieces in total.

With the splash shields off and the car on floor stands it was VERY easy to access the three nuts on top of the struts. I used a 13mm flex-head ratchet box wrench. I purchased a set of these at Harbor Freight for $19.99 (with coupon) which was well worth it considering how easy and little time it took to remove the nuts...I'd guess it took 6 to 10 minutes to remove all three nuts. The wrenches are decent quality and they are guaranteed for life by HF. I know we have some "serious" mechanics here but you don't need to own Snap-on tools to get work done.

The bushings for my stabilizer were ridiculously non-existent. THIS is what they should look like but mine looked like the following. No rubber bushings on either side and the hard plastic bushings missing on drivers side. I'm kind of surprised I didn't hear clanging or loose hardware every time I hit a bump.

When I installed the new stabilizer bar links I used the torque spec of 18 ft-lbs to see how much it squeezed the rubber bushings. That torque squeezed them a little more than suggested in the video and here is how they looked.

I also used the proper torque specs for all but the strut lower arm bolt which is supposed to be 184 ft-lbs but I only went up to 150 ft-lbs as that's as high as my torque wrench went. I was lazy and did not rent a bigger torque wrench like I had on other projects. Anyhow, my 150 ft-lbs was higher than the 110 ft-lbs recommended in the video. Other than that I pretty much followed the video. I did have to stop and run out to Home Depot to pick up a 21mm deep socket as I discovered I didn't have one in my toolbox after I started the project.