I have taken off the old strut and partially mounted the new one. I cannot gett the new strut to reach the brace on the top of the wheel well. It is a monroe sensa trac strut. The sway bar is disconnected as well as the brake line to the caliper. the strut is compressed and all you d oto decompress it is turn it. I have obviously never done this before. The strut is about 4 inches from the brace. If there is anyone out there that can help me please do.

 

I am assuming that you have already bolted the strut up to the spindle/knuckle assembly...
If possible, get a floor jack under the a-arm (centre it under the ball joint area) and raise the a-arm/compress the front spring guiding the top of the strut into the upper mount.
-Andrew

 

Yeah I have tried that and it still falls short. The car itself starts to lift up moreand the strut does not come any closer.

 

Well,
1. are you sure you have the correct front strut? -(not meant to be a jab...)
2. is the a-arm binding on anything as it is compressed- are you sure you are having full movement/travel of the suspension components - ie, the coil spring isn't binding on anything, is seated correctly in the a-arm (both at the top and bottom) a-arm is travling all the way up and down?
3. the strut shaft is extended all the way? (not being reatained by a clip or??? for shipping) - check monroe's web site and double check the part # listed with the strut you have, just to be sure
Besides some of these checks - strut instal is quite straigh foward. - bottom of the strut bolts up to the knuckle (two bolts - torque to spec) shaf goes through the upper mount, - bolt down the shaft. - Do you want a pic from a manual? - let me know.
-Andrew

 

Yeah send it to me. The strut shaft (piston) is not extended at all. it is still in the state that it was when i pulled it out of the ox. I didnt want it to over extend or something cause i dont know how it fast or hard it decompresses when i turn it. Am I supposed to release the piston before I install it?
cause If thats the casee then it really is a breeze to install. I just didnt know and didnt want to mess the strut up and waste money.

 

Hey DirtyRice,
I scanned a pic from a GM shop manual of the assmbly instructions. If this doesn't help, then I can attempt to scan the actual written step-by-step instructions (a bit of a pain as it goes over two pages, but if you need it....)
-Andrew

 

Thanx for the pic kaptinkafeen. It helps me out a lot. I pretty much had it all done correctly except i did not extend the strut rod out first. thanx again for all your help.

 

I had the same problem installing my KYB gas shocks/struts.

This is what I did:


I stuck a piece of wood that was about 8" tall underneath the brake rotor, and I GENTLY lowered the car from the floor jack. I lowered it just enough so that the piece of wood would jolt the A-arm upward and the strut would go through the hole. Just be careful not to lower it all the way, I'd hate to see you put the car on the ground with no front wheel

 

Thanx man

 

I know its a late post but the struts also come "locked" in the box, mine required me to turn the spindle approx 180 degrees and then the strut expanded, Im sure they do it to cut down on shipping sizes, but that could explain why you were coming up short...

 

im confused as to how exactly the rear struts mount in at the top. my kyb gr2s have a threaded rod at the top of them but i see no place where i could screw them in inside the wheel well, and no place to get to the top of it and bolt it in. does this make any sense to anyone?

 

to get at the top of the rear struts you have to pull back the rear carpet, they go through the forward section of "the hump" under foam blocks under the carpet

 

cool thanks, i would have never figured that out.