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Strut Removal and Replacement

kwchang007

New CEG'er
Joined
Dec 19, 2009
Messages
22
Location
Severn, MD
A couple of days ago I tried to replace my front struts on my 2000 Mercury Mystique V6 LS ATX, but I couldn't get them out. After reading the How-to I just want to make sure that when I go to try again tomorrow that I'm pulling out the right things. I'm not too bad when I'm doing the work, but I'm not quite sure about the terminology so that's why I'm making this thread.

Below are two pictures of what I did previously. In the second one, the area that is circled, I need to remove those right? And I think it's called the "steering tie rod"?

Also do I need to undo the bolt that holds the A-arm to the assembly holding the assembly that connects the CV joint, rotor, strut, and tie rod? Is that what is referred to as the "lower pinch bolt"? And is this where you torx wrench?

Sorry for the newbness.


 
Yes, the circled item is the Outer tie rod end, and you do need to remove it. You can do this by hitting the "knuckle" just below where the tie rod connects to it with a hammer, should pop right out. This will prevent the rubber boot on the tie rod end from tearing.

The "pinch bolt" you need to remove is the one where the strut goes into the knuckle, it is above and to the left in the bottom pic.
 
Yes, the circled item is the Outer tie rod end, and you do need to remove it. You can do this by hitting the "knuckle" just below where the tie rod connects to it with a hammer, should pop right out. This will prevent the rubber boot on the tie rod end from tearing.

The "pinch bolt" you need to remove is the one where the strut goes into the knuckle, it is above and to the left in the bottom pic.

Thanks! So after I knock the tie rod comes out is the assembly going to just hang where it is or should it drop a little and give me some more room to work with?
 
Tried Again Today

Tried Again Today

My friend and I tried again today with no luck. The collar that holds the steering assembly to the A-arm wouldn't come off of the A-arm. We tried drowning it in PB blaster, prying the collar apart, prying the assembly off, and hammering it off. Any other suggestions?
 
otc-7266.jpg


Pickle fork. Buy.
 
Thanks. Also, we stripped the allen head part of the bolt on the tie rod. We managed to get it in by hammering the tie rod into the knuckle which kept the bolt from spinning. Any tips to deal with the stripped head?
 
Unfortunately there is no O'Reily's in my state so I'm forced to buy one online. Any ideas what size bolt that is? Like this set would be fine right? http://www.amazon.com/Joint-Separat..._2?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1261757729&sr=1-2

Also because of the stripped allen head on the tie rod, my friend was thinking that we could pull off the steering knuckle without taking off the tie rod. Will the tie rod have enough clearance to do that or am I going to end up screwing something up?
 
Unfortunately there is no O'Reily's in my state so I'm forced to buy one online. Any ideas what size bolt that is? Like this set would be fine right? http://www.amazon.com/Joint-Separat..._2?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1261757729&sr=1-2

Also because of the stripped allen head on the tie rod, my friend was thinking that we could pull off the steering knuckle without taking off the tie rod. Will the tie rod have enough clearance to do that or am I going to end up screwing something up?
is there an autozone or advance auto? they both rent them.
 
is there an autozone or advance auto? they both rent them.
Yeah but Habor Freight Tools has a set for like 3 bucks so I'm going to pick one of those up since renting one probably wouldn't be much cheaper. I will keep in mind that they rent out tools for future reference though. Thanks!
 
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