Today I called the auto parts store to get a price on front struts for my 1991 Firebird and when she looked them up in the Monroe book at the bottom a footnote states "A spring compressor is not needed for this car". I asked her if she's sure it was referring to a 1991 Firebird and she said yes. Also, this is not a quick strut application which I know doesn't need a spring compressor, this was just for the struts alone.

I'm very confused by this. Did they do something different to the 1991 Firebirds that I'm not aware of that makes it so you don't need a spring compressor? My friend had an '89 Formula and he had to use a spring compressor on his. Is the Monroe book wrong?

 

UPDATE: I called a buddy of mine at a shop and he said that the computer lists separate labor time for the struts and springs which makes him believe the struts and springs are in different places on my '91. I'm really confused now and I'm going to have to pull the tire off and check this out with my own eyes.

 

Ever look under your car? THe spring is between the lower a-arm and the pocket on your k-member. Your strut attaches to the spindle up to the strut bearing in the tower. It's a modified strut with no spring.

 

Struts are a bolt on deal. Don't need to touch the spring at all.

 

JamesC

 

Also it is a known fact that all 3rd gen cars have sagging springs.

 

And now I may have a broken spring. For some reason I thought the strut went through the spring like on other cars. I guess that explains why there's no quick strut for my car.

 

Springs do break, but it's not all that common. Take a peek.

JamesC

 

FYI, seperate spring and strut is called a "conventional" setup. Strut through spring is called "coilover".

 

That's a Macpherson strut. As mentioned above, the spring and strut are completely separate.

Doing the strut is relatively easy. Jack up the car and put jack stands under the framework behind the front wheels. Put the jack under the control arm and jack it up just enough to compress the spring. Take off the tire. Unbolt and remove the strut. Reverse the procedure to reinstall.

The weight of the car is held up by the spring between the a-arm and the upper spring pocket under the frame rail. Technically you don't even need to use a jackstand under the body. It's just there as a safety item. Jacking the car up under the a-arm takes to load off the ball joint which makes removing the strut easier. The upper mount of the strut doesn't hold any weight of the car. It just keeps the strut in the correct position for wheel alignment.

When converting to a coil over system, you do put all the front weight of the car on the strut. This means the strut towers "should" be reinforced to handle the increased load.