french1096
New member
How do i replace my front struts myself. I have a 1997 4runner, v-6, 4x4. I have basic mechanical knowledge and skills. I would like to save money by doing this project myself. Thanks....
struts
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004Gunner
New member
This is a simple job that should take about 20 minutes per strut including jacking up the vehicle and removing the wheel. Once there you need to remove the lower bolt attaching the strut to the lower control arm. The strut is now only secured to the upper control arm by the 3 outer nuts. DO NOT REMOVE THE CENTER NUT RIGHT NOW! Shit hits the fan later if you do this! Remove the outer 3 nuts on the top of the strut and the whole assembly should come off. Now you need to compress the spring with a spring compressor/clamp/SST whatever ###s. Only compress the spring enough so that you can SAFELY remove the center nut and top plate. Slide out the shock and slide in the new one with the new plates. The top and bottom plates will align with the end of the spring to fit securely. Once they are in place, spin on the center nut and tighten to 18 ft/lbs with that expensive torque wrench you rarely use. Reverse order from there and tighten the top outer 3 nuts to 47 ft/lbs. The bottom bolt gets a healthy 101 ft/lbs and you should be golden. You may be able to remove the strut assemblies yourself and have a shop compress the spring and install the new shock for you. BTW, service manual says don't use an impact to compress spring, but that manual was written by geeks
french1096
New member
Thanks, I was worried at first because when I googled the subject I ran into people saying how dangerous it was to do it yourself because of the springs. Im going to do it myself. The shops want a rediculas amount of money....
pat161
New member
It's not overly hard, I don't see anyone doing it in 20 minutes or less, unless this is something you have done hundreds of times and you run into no issues at all. Compressing the springs can be very dangerous if you have it hooked up wrong or if the spring compressor you use is not up to the task. Do not think this is a walk in the park because of what one person says. When I did my 97 2.7 Tacoma we used a vise and small compressors, when I did my 02 I had access to a wall mounted compressor, that worked much better. I wouldn't say not to do it, but leave yourself plenty of time. Your truck is a 97, it would not be unheard of to break a bolt or have some other issue, such as a bushing being destroyed that will need replacing.