Just finished replacing front struts on my '96 Limited. The article by J.A. was great. I also found other useful info online.
In the process of doing the work, I found a couple of things. Some of this info is in other posts but I figured I would reiterate.
Wheel lug nuts - 21mm book torque - 83 lb-ft
Upper mount stud nuts - 14mm book torque lb-ft
Lower front strut bolt/nut - 19mm book torque 101 lb-ft
I could not get a socket on the inboard front upper mounting stud, had to use a combo wrench (that I bent the heck out of by hammering on it. Cheap combo wrench).
When trying to remove the nuts on the upper strut mounting studs, I had at least one stud on each side start spinning in the mount. On both sides one of the spinners was the inner front stud. I had to use a hack saw blade by hand to cut through those, the outboard studs I could access with the recip saw.
After cutting the studs (4 hrs total), had to order new mounts, chose KYB to match the Monomax struts I was installing. I mail ordered the struts but ordered the mounts through a local parts store. Thy also rented the spring compressor no charge since I bought the mounts.
A note about the spring compressor. I found it easy to use with hand tools. I used a 19mm socket on a ratchet to make them up and relax them, no big deal. This was a two bar compressor, I mounted them diametrically opposed on the spring, When tightening them, I would tighten one side about a full turn and a half, then do the other side. I followed the same practice when relaxing them. When the upper mounts were loose, the compressor bars showed a slight bend but nothing broke. I estimate I compressed about 2 inches to loosen the mounts so I could just turn them by hand.
My upper strut shaft nuts were frozen with rust so I used the recip saw to cut through them. Removing the old strut was easy now.
The KYB Monomax struts came with two rubber bushings, large and small, and three washers. One washer was a centering washer with a small lip in the middle on one side. This washer was fairly thin. One was a little larger idn diameter, slightly cupped and much thicker. I ended up using this one with the cup facing up, installed under the the mount. The third washer was the largest diameter and also fairly thick. I used this with the cup facing down on top of the large bushing, on top of the mount.
The KYB mounts came with a lower bushing installed (glued) to the underside of the mount. This meant I could discard the small bushing from the strut hardware kit. I also discarded the centering washer that came in the strut hardware kit as there was no where the lip would fit. I did speak with KYB tech support (left a message and they called back within a couple of hours) and they confirmed that with my install, the centering washer was not needed.
When reassembling, I followed J.A's tips and positioned the lower coil end so it was pointing outboard. With the spring compressed, it was easy to position the mounts properly. I assembled the new struts into the compressed spring, then clocked the mounts so the lowest coil end would be pointing outboard when installed in the T4R. The struts I removed were aftermarket and had not been installed according to J.A.'s tips so I had to ignore the marks I had made on the springs.
After clocking the mounts so the lower coil end would be pointing outboard when installed on the truck, I torqued the strut center nut. Per KYB Tech Support, I torqued to the OE spec or until the upper bushing was compressed to the diameter of the upper washer. This left about three threads showing above the nut. After torquing the upper nut, I relaxed the spring compressor until I could remove it.
From here on out, it was like rolling down hill. Instead of using the jack to drive the upper control arms down, I used a crow bar. I caught the tip of the crow bar under the fixed strut mount housing, then leaned the bar down on the upper control arm. By tucking the crow bar under my left arm, I could hold pressure down and use both hands to position the lower strut mount into the bracket and feed the bolt through from the back. I did have to use a hammer handle to tap the bolt all the way through.
I tightened the lower mounting bolts snug with a ratchet, torqued the upper mounting bolts to full spec. I installed the wheels, snugged up the lug nuts then lowered the truck. I torqued the lug nuts to spec and final torqued the lower strut bolts with the truck on the ground.
Rides a hell of a lot better now. The reason for the replacement was that I saw a lot of fluid stain on the right side strut. After removing both struts, I could see that the left was leaking also, just not as bad.
Now going to balance and rotate tires, then have front end aligned.
Next project will be a cat back exhaust to replace the rusted out stock exhaust system. I will be comparing the cost of a Midas job to online for parts. If I can come close, I will buy the online cat back system and do the work myself. Just have to be able to justify it to the finance manager.
Lessons learned and recommendations for others considering this job:
If your upper mount studs and nuts are rusty, be prepared to do mounts as well. My old mounts were not in terrible shape but when the studs started spinning, I had no choice but to cut them off. I don't know if upper mount studs are available separately as a service item.
Buy something locally so you can rent the spring compressor for free. I used Advance Auto Parts. They had to order the mounts.
I found the best prices for both mounts and struts online. I ordered struts only initially as I did not foresee the stud issue.
Make sure you have a 14mm combo or crow foot or something to get at the inboard front upper mounting stud. The fender well drops low enough to make it nigh on impossible to get a socket and ratchet on this nut.
Go slow with the compressor, it really did not take that long to wind them up, maybe 10 minutes max. It was not a ball breaker turning them either. I used a 1/2 drive ratchet. Make sure you keep both sides fairly even. You can feel the torque change as they get out of balance. If one side is really hard, switch to the other side for a turn.
My dealer quoted $850 for strut replacement and alignment. It cost me about $180 for the struts, $95 for the mounts (there are cheaper mounts out there) and I spent $16 on a set of Craftsman metric sockets (on sale from $30). It took me 4 hours to dismount the struts from the truck and about two hours to disassemble, reassemble and install on the truck. I'll be checking alignment costs tomorrow.
Thanks all for the wealth of info on this site and I hope my report helps someone else.
Sorry for the lack of photos, I was too focused on getting the job done.
In the process of doing the work, I found a couple of things. Some of this info is in other posts but I figured I would reiterate.
Wheel lug nuts - 21mm book torque - 83 lb-ft
Upper mount stud nuts - 14mm book torque lb-ft
Lower front strut bolt/nut - 19mm book torque 101 lb-ft
I could not get a socket on the inboard front upper mounting stud, had to use a combo wrench (that I bent the heck out of by hammering on it. Cheap combo wrench).
When trying to remove the nuts on the upper strut mounting studs, I had at least one stud on each side start spinning in the mount. On both sides one of the spinners was the inner front stud. I had to use a hack saw blade by hand to cut through those, the outboard studs I could access with the recip saw.
After cutting the studs (4 hrs total), had to order new mounts, chose KYB to match the Monomax struts I was installing. I mail ordered the struts but ordered the mounts through a local parts store. Thy also rented the spring compressor no charge since I bought the mounts.
A note about the spring compressor. I found it easy to use with hand tools. I used a 19mm socket on a ratchet to make them up and relax them, no big deal. This was a two bar compressor, I mounted them diametrically opposed on the spring, When tightening them, I would tighten one side about a full turn and a half, then do the other side. I followed the same practice when relaxing them. When the upper mounts were loose, the compressor bars showed a slight bend but nothing broke. I estimate I compressed about 2 inches to loosen the mounts so I could just turn them by hand.
My upper strut shaft nuts were frozen with rust so I used the recip saw to cut through them. Removing the old strut was easy now.
The KYB Monomax struts came with two rubber bushings, large and small, and three washers. One washer was a centering washer with a small lip in the middle on one side. This washer was fairly thin. One was a little larger idn diameter, slightly cupped and much thicker. I ended up using this one with the cup facing up, installed under the the mount. The third washer was the largest diameter and also fairly thick. I used this with the cup facing down on top of the large bushing, on top of the mount.
The KYB mounts came with a lower bushing installed (glued) to the underside of the mount. This meant I could discard the small bushing from the strut hardware kit. I also discarded the centering washer that came in the strut hardware kit as there was no where the lip would fit. I did speak with KYB tech support (left a message and they called back within a couple of hours) and they confirmed that with my install, the centering washer was not needed.
When reassembling, I followed J.A's tips and positioned the lower coil end so it was pointing outboard. With the spring compressed, it was easy to position the mounts properly. I assembled the new struts into the compressed spring, then clocked the mounts so the lowest coil end would be pointing outboard when installed in the T4R. The struts I removed were aftermarket and had not been installed according to J.A.'s tips so I had to ignore the marks I had made on the springs.
After clocking the mounts so the lower coil end would be pointing outboard when installed on the truck, I torqued the strut center nut. Per KYB Tech Support, I torqued to the OE spec or until the upper bushing was compressed to the diameter of the upper washer. This left about three threads showing above the nut. After torquing the upper nut, I relaxed the spring compressor until I could remove it.
From here on out, it was like rolling down hill. Instead of using the jack to drive the upper control arms down, I used a crow bar. I caught the tip of the crow bar under the fixed strut mount housing, then leaned the bar down on the upper control arm. By tucking the crow bar under my left arm, I could hold pressure down and use both hands to position the lower strut mount into the bracket and feed the bolt through from the back. I did have to use a hammer handle to tap the bolt all the way through.
I tightened the lower mounting bolts snug with a ratchet, torqued the upper mounting bolts to full spec. I installed the wheels, snugged up the lug nuts then lowered the truck. I torqued the lug nuts to spec and final torqued the lower strut bolts with the truck on the ground.
Rides a hell of a lot better now. The reason for the replacement was that I saw a lot of fluid stain on the right side strut. After removing both struts, I could see that the left was leaking also, just not as bad.
Now going to balance and rotate tires, then have front end aligned.
Next project will be a cat back exhaust to replace the rusted out stock exhaust system. I will be comparing the cost of a Midas job to online for parts. If I can come close, I will buy the online cat back system and do the work myself. Just have to be able to justify it to the finance manager.
Lessons learned and recommendations for others considering this job:
If your upper mount studs and nuts are rusty, be prepared to do mounts as well. My old mounts were not in terrible shape but when the studs started spinning, I had no choice but to cut them off. I don't know if upper mount studs are available separately as a service item.
Buy something locally so you can rent the spring compressor for free. I used Advance Auto Parts. They had to order the mounts.
I found the best prices for both mounts and struts online. I ordered struts only initially as I did not foresee the stud issue.
Make sure you have a 14mm combo or crow foot or something to get at the inboard front upper mounting stud. The fender well drops low enough to make it nigh on impossible to get a socket and ratchet on this nut.
Go slow with the compressor, it really did not take that long to wind them up, maybe 10 minutes max. It was not a ball breaker turning them either. I used a 1/2 drive ratchet. Make sure you keep both sides fairly even. You can feel the torque change as they get out of balance. If one side is really hard, switch to the other side for a turn.
My dealer quoted $850 for strut replacement and alignment. It cost me about $180 for the struts, $95 for the mounts (there are cheaper mounts out there) and I spent $16 on a set of Craftsman metric sockets (on sale from $30). It took me 4 hours to dismount the struts from the truck and about two hours to disassemble, reassemble and install on the truck. I'll be checking alignment costs tomorrow.
Thanks all for the wealth of info on this site and I hope my report helps someone else.
Sorry for the lack of photos, I was too focused on getting the job done.
