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Replacing front struts - is there a step by step?

W

Westwildcat

CEG'er
Joined
Nov 9, 2011
Messages
240
I bought new koni struts and h&r springs for my 99 svt. I have the rears done, they were easy. Now I am working on the fronts and am having troubles. Is there a step by step somewhere to help me? Im not sure what I all need to take apart?

Any help is appreciated...
Thanks
 
Undo 15mm nut on outer tie rod end and remove tie rod(may be able to skip this step but It will make for easier removal of stock strut assembly.
Undo sway bar link on the strut tab (18 or 15mm I dont remember and a 17or 18mm wrench to hold the link joint if it just spins)
Undo 15mm nut that holds the brake line bracket to the strut.
Undo 18mm bolt that hold/ pinches the strut to the knuckle.
Using a prybar or something to push down on the lower control arm with knucke attached and hit the top of the knuckle free from the strut.
Undo top 18mm nut from the strut in the engine bay.
Remove strut assembly.

with my koni/gc combo its a 5 min job for me to remove the assembly but I know stock parts that havent been removed for a long time can be a bit more time consuming an dproblematic.
 
solo92s10 said:
With my koni/gc combo its a 5 min job for me to remove the assembly but I know stock parts that havent been removed for a long time can be a bit more time consuming an problematic.
Click to expand...
This probably does work quite well for your short spring coilovers, but if the OP's car has 2-bolt lower control arms and stock length springs, your method has no chance.

On 2-bolt LCA cars with stock springs, with the suspension at full droop, the control arms are metal-to-metal in their pockets in the subframe, there is no give to lever them down any further to pull the knuckle pinch off of the strut body. The knuckle has to drop an additional 2" from full droop for the pinch to release from the strut tube, and there is just no more downward movement when the LCA's hit the subframe.

You can try this, in post 14 I detail the Ford shop manual procedure for a '99 2-bolt, but it really doesn't work, because you're left with the all the mass of the knuckle hanging on the end of the half shaft, you're trying to work a knuckle pinch loose that's frozen and rusted to the strut body, and this is a disaster recipe for pulling the inboard CV joint apart and ripping the boot, BTDT.
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?74628-I-am-ready-to-set-this-car-on-fire&p=975195

I suggest doing the extra steps (10 through 12) I added. I recently did this again, pulled off BAT struts and stock springs to install my front coilovers, and I even pulled off the LCA's just to make the job cleaner.

OP, if you have 2-bolt LCA's, they're probably shot, if you haven't finished this job, just go to Vatozone or Advance and get some new front LCA's, you're going to need them. These cars need LCA's more often than they need clutches.
 
gmorrell said:
This probably does work quite well for your short spring coilovers, but if the OP's car has 2-bolt lower control arms and stock length springs, your method has no chance.

On 2-bolt LCA cars with stock springs, with the suspension at full droop, the control arms are metal-to-metal in their pockets in the subframe, there is no give to lever them down any further to pull the knuckle pinch off of the strut body. The knuckle has to drop an additional 2" from full droop for the pinch to release from the strut tube, and there is just no more downward movement when the LCA's hit the subframe.

You can try this, in post 14 I detail the Ford shop manual procedure for a '99 2-bolt, but it really doesn't work, because you're left with the all the mass of the knuckle hanging on the end of the half shaft, you're trying to work a knuckle pinch loose that's frozen and rusted to the strut body, and this is a disaster recipe for pulling the inboard CV joint apart and ripping the boot, BTDT.
http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?74628-I-am-ready-to-set-this-car-on-fire&p=975195

I suggest doing the extra steps (10 through 12) I added. I recently did this again, pulled off BAT struts and stock springs to install my front coilovers, and I even pulled off the LCA's just to make the job cleaner.

OP, if you have 2-bolt LCA's, they're probably shot, if you haven't finished this job, just go to Vatozone or Advance and get some new front LCA's, you're going to need them. These cars need LCA's more often than they need clutches.
Click to expand...

This is all very true and excellent advice. I have now done both 4 bolt LCA's and 2 bolt LCA's. Here is a tool I used for the 2 bolt - made things so much easier - http://www.otctools.com/products/ford_strut_removal_tool
Of course I agree - these vehicles eat LCA's particularly those with 2.5's and aggressive drivers and lot's of miles racked up - in this case, replacing the LCA's is in order.
GOOD POST!!!!
 
contour_r_us said:
This is all very true and excellent advice. I have now done both 4 bolt LCA's and 2 bolt LCA's. Here is a tool I used for the 2 bolt - made things so much easier - http://www.otctools.com/products/ford_strut_removal_tool
Click to expand...

That's a pretty neat tool, I saw you post about that earlier. So it levers up the strut by pushing against the top of the knuckle pinch. I imagine that Ford/OTC designed that tool after the dealer service techs yelled and screamed about how hard it was to get struts out of the 2-bolt LCA cars. My '99 Ford shop manual has the same procedure for pulling struts out of the 2 and 4 bolt cars like it works the same - It. Doesn't.

A few years ago, I stopped at a little private shop in the middle of Iowa to get a tire re-balanced. While I was waiting I chatted with the lady who ran the shop, she had worked for several Iowa Ford dealers in service scheduling for many years. She complemented me on how nice my 99 CSVT looked, and told me that her service techs would call in sick on the days they had Contours or Mystiques on their schedules. Ford service techs hated these cars, and for good reason, and this was not the first time I'd heard this sentiment.
 
I did mine like Solo said and I have a 2000 with the 2 bolt LCA. The only extra step I added was popping out the lower ball joint. If you pop out the lower ball joint then pull the hub assembly from the strut, then drop the strut out, it works out really nice.
 
95_Mystique said:
I did mine like Solo said and I have a 2000 with the 2 bolt LCA. The only extra step I added was popping out the lower ball joint. If you pop out the lower ball joint then pull the hub assembly from the strut, then drop the strut out, it works out really nice.
Click to expand...

But to pop out the lower ball joint would mean you had non-rivited in ball joints. At some point you would have had to drill them out and bolt them in, or purchaced LCA's seperately from ball joints.
To have to drill these ball joints out, while on the vehicle.....I think not.
 
Pretty sure he meant popped the knuckle off the ball joint. Pretty sure I do that also to remove stock struts just couldn't remember since its been awhile since dealing with stock components.
 
Any thoughts on why our "Tours have a ponderence for front LCA's? My experience would show the V6 being the models that that wear these out the most, as my Zetec with 4 bolt LCA's had almost 175k on the OEM 4 bolt LCA's before wear was obvious. Anyone know how the 4 bolt LCA's on the V6 models hold up? I realize this is somewhat subjective, depending on the aggressive of ones driving, etc.
 
B3NN3TT said:
193,000 miles on my Cougar, and I've replaced the 2-bolt LCA's only once, despite many, many autocross sessions.
Click to expand...

Strange, as I have heard many, many references to LCA's seeing early demise/failure, well documented here on CEG. My personal experience on my SVT is that at approximately 140k miles, the bushing in the LCA's were very well worn. This was the basis for my inquiry.
 
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