Well about 6 months after I put in no-name Modified Mcphearson struts...they are totally shot. I have strut oil all over the front wheelwells, the car is now sitting about 2" lower then it should be and when jacked up the struts do not decompress....Beh now I have KYB GR-2's on order from Summit.
This teaches me, NEVER buy no name generic OEM replacements!!! Always pay more and get something with a brand name....I don't do it with PC parts, donno why I wasn't thinking when I got the car parts. Now I get to deal with the springs again and hope they dont go flying....

 

Springs? Your A-arm travel is not limited by the struts (if it is, there's more wrong than I care to mention in a theoretical).. you have no worries about the springs going anywhere.

Sorry to hear of your bad experiences with el cheapo parts... hopefully the KYBs will treat you much better =)

 

It was my understanding, possibly quite wrong, that the struts kept the pressure on the control-arm/a-arm which kept the spring compressed? If not then I feel much better.

From everything I have heard here on the forums, the KYBs should be MUCH nicer then the cheap no-name parts..was only about $100 from summit for the pair...the cheapo's were $70...not much cheaper.

 

When I changed the struts on my V8, I did it with only the tire jack holding the car up.. by the rocker jack point.. the A-arm was completely unsupported. If the strut is what kept pressure on it, I shoulda been dead.. but for saftey's sake (someone else's, not my own) let me grab a book real quick and figure out what *does* hold the A-arm in place.

... and that would be.. big freakin bolts into the crossmember. The struts aren't even mentioned in front coil spring removal.

 

You should definately use a floor jack under the control arm when you replace the struts. The spring could fly out; it's not too likely since the spring is buried pretty deeply up into the K-member's spring pocket, but it's still a chance you don't want to take.

Tip; slide the lanyard off the strut by putting the piston end "down" to the ground and leaning on the strut base. Then slide the piston bumper and cover onto the piston - these come off your old strut. Now put the lanyard back onto the strut- put one end over the piston end, point the piston end down to the ground, compress the strut, and slide the lanyard over the strut base. Now bolt the strut to the knuckle first (remember to follow the torque spec - if you don't have a torque wrench, buy one!). Cut the lanyard with angle snips as you aim the piston's threaded end towards the hole in the upper strut mount.

It just takes a couple seconds to do, and makes life easier!

Remember to get an alignment when you're done...

 

Torqueing to spec is a back-breaker. Make sure you use those knees.

 

Hehe actually I used a friend's knees and back and arms
He helped torq down the bolts and it only took us a couple hours to get both struts done....I must say I LOVE the stiffer ride now. Though now I need to find roads with less potholes in Sacramento to ride to work on