Alright so I got the car jacked up, tire off, I got the Pinch Bolt out, I got
the damper fork bolt out, and now I am realizing that the fork is TIGHTLY
fasten to the bad strut and it needs to be removed to take out the strut.

Any tips or tools that will help out here?

The method I was trying was using a screw driver to pry it apart, it started
to work for a second... but then it just stopped opening it enough to bring
the rest off... well without spending 4 hours trying...

I figured I would see if anyone had a "oh you just do it like this..." and you’re like "ohhhhhhhh yeah... wish I knew that 4 hours ago."

Thanks

 

Did you loosen the two 10mm mounting nuts on the shock tower inside the engine bay? And don't forget the brake line/hose bracket.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 4crx4me &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Did you loosen the two 10mm mounting nuts on the shock tower inside the engine bay? And don't forget the brake line/hose bracket.</TD></TR></TABLE>
there 14mm.
what i would do is take a flat head screw driver and hammer it into the gap get it stuck in there then try hammering it off from the top. leave the 2 14mm top ones for last.

 

You're right. I was thinking about the brake line clamp bracket bolts, my bad.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by black0hatch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
what i would do is take a flat head screw driver and hammer it into the gap get it stuck in there then try hammering it off from the top.</TD></TR></TABLE>

That sounds like it might work out The only problem is how tight it is in the wheel well

 

The brake lines don't matter they are attached to the strut. Try to spray wd40 where the strut and fork meet it might be rusted on ? slap each side of the fork lightly with a rubber mallet see if it breaks loose. Mine came off rather easy it wiggled off.
PS you only have to worry about taking out the 2 bolts that hold the fork to the LCA and the strut/fork bolt.

 

Here's what you do. Leave the two 14mm holding the top of the assembly to the body. Leave the bolt that goes through the LCA and bottom of the fork. Only remove the small pinch bolt. Spray your WD40, pry the fork open, etc. The trick is to use the weight of the brakes to pull down on the fork to seperate it from the bottom of the strut. You can hit downward on the LCA also with a mallet if you feel the need to, but it should be MUCH MUCH easier to use the LCA/Brake/Hub assembly as leverage on the fork to separate it from the strut.

 

WD40 is marginal at best.

Load that bad boy up with some PB Blaster!!!! Let it soak for a few min and give it some taps with a hammer. Then separate it!