Well, i called the auto parts store and they wanted $55.00 to rent the spring compressor for one day (rip off). So, i decided to do without. It took me about 2 1/2 hours but i didn't need the compressor and the job went perfect. I'm so glad i didn't spend the $55.00.
So here is what i did:
At no time did i need a spring compressor. The front will come off just like the instructions say and the back are really close, but i could not get the back out of the car the way the instructions indicate. Once i had the top two 10mm bolts out and the knuckle off the bottom of the strut, i had to use a large flat screw driver on the strut purch to pry the strut side ways, toward the front of the car and off the purch. The instructions say to pull the strut with both hands toward you (way too hard, and very dangerous). To put the strut back on the perch, i placed the strut back up in the tower, started the two top 10mm bolts and having the strut to one side of the purch i pried the strut back onto the purch using a flat screwdriver and the purch as the leverage point. Piece of cake. To remove the springs from the struts i backed off the top nut using a allen key and 18mm wrench until the nut was at the top of the threads. At this point i put the strut on its side with a towel over the hole unit and had a friend put a foot on the spring while i used a impact gun on the nut (keeping the nut and gun covered at all times with part of the towel). It came apart with very little movement.
The car looks great and sits just right.
thanks for the help...
