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Front Struts

when you say top nut are you talking about the one that retains the strut assembly in the car or the one that retains the spring?


when removing the one that retains the assembly in the car you don't need the allen wrench, just a 18,, socket and impact if you like.

to remove the nut that retains the spring you may need the allen wrench. if the strut is shot just use vice grips on the strut shaft and use an impact to remove it, once spring compressors are in place. on assemble you might need to use the allen to hold the strut shaft from sprinning while tightening the nut.
no need to even hold the shaft. the just use the impact and tap the trigger in quick short, rapid bursts. works almost every time, the only time i havent had that work was when the nut was literally rust welded to the threads on the strut shaft.
 
Not so much "hard" as it is "involved." I'd rate it a solid 5 or 6 to protect for any potential complications you can run into on a car of this age.
 
A 4 or 5 on this car it seems like. Not as involved as some swaps I've done where the control had to come out first and the mount could go in different ways to change alignment settings slightly.
 
yes... well i will be doing it on a Protege5.... you have a mazda(or 2?) how about on those. i just took my wheels off and looked at the front and rear struts. it looks pretty simple. 2 bolts, brake line, and one suspension part on both front and rear. since it will be off... i may paint my strut bar... which is red on a laser blue car... looks weird.
 
Never done a Protege but if its like my 626/Mx6 you'll have bolts up top and then bolts down below where it mounts to the steering knuckle. With luck you'll be able to slide it out by turning the steering wheel for more clearance.
 
this is not cool

I untightened that top mount nut while taking the half shafts out and now i can't get it back in...

I'm gonna need to get a weird offset wrench or something
 
Never done a Protege but if its like my 626/Mx6 you'll have bolts up top and then bolts down below where it mounts to the steering knuckle. With luck you'll be able to slide it out by turning the steering wheel for more clearance.

i looked at it the other day. for the front it lookes like to bolts for the knuckle, the brake line and a small rod attached to the swaybar. then the 3 or 4 bolts on the top under the hood. i think pretty much the same for the back. idk whats on top cause i havent ripped out the interior yet.

should be ordering a Tokico kit tomorrow. its $500 with free shipping. my dads giving me $100. so im onlyy paying $400. so thats not too bad for a full suspension kit. and its apparently 2 or 3 times stiffer than stock and lowers is about 1.5 inches or more.


BTW... were are those pics?
 
just get these tools. i tried w/o and i was hopeless (unless your struts still come with a female alan, mine was male on the top of the strut) either way this is the ticket.
how%20to%20tighten%20strut%20bolt2.JPG


and heres the other special tool i used . i figured id add it just in case a picture doesnt exist
strut%20install%20special%20tools.JPG


GL!
 
anybody ever strip the allen key pattern on top of the bolt before?

I did that today and now I'm sort of screwed :blackeye:
 
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