I have a 1995 Honda Accord EX Wagon that has the original struts and I will be replacing them with Honda OEM pre-assembled struts from G1Parts.com.

Here are the four FSM pages with torque specs.









First loosened the lug nuts then I jacked up the car and lowered it onto a step chock.



I then removed the lug nuts and wheel. I removed the upper ball joint cotter pin, loosened the nut, and broke loose the upper ball joint with the ball joint separator.







Moving to inside, use the two release tabs to remove the cargo cover if so equipped. Pull the release pin to fold the rear seat forward. Lift the side cushion up as you pull towards the front of the car and it will slide free. My side trim was already broken but if it wasn't I would remove the Philips head screw where the cargo cover locks in. Next remove the 10mm bolt next to the cargo cover mount. There are four clips securing the plastic trim to the body of the car so carefully pull from both sides towards you so you do not break the trim as the previous owner did. I was able to remove the other side without any damage. There is a plastic tab pushed in securing the carpet in place covering the top of the strut. Once removed you can slide the carpet off the rear seat latch and access the two upper strut mounting nuts. You can go ahead and loosen and remove the two 14mm(I think) nuts secured the upper strut.









I set the parking brake when I started, disengaged it when I got to this section, and reengaged it as soon as the new strut was in position and the parking brake cable was re-secured. Moving back outside you will need to move a couple things to be able to maneuver the strut out once free. Remove the two 10mm bolts holding the parking brake cover where it joins the caliper. Remove the two 12mm bolts securing the parking brake cable to the caliper. Remove a 12mm nut holding the parking brake line to the rear trailing arm. This will allow the strut to be lowered and removed.









Separate the upper ball joint from the knuckle. Loosen and remove the 17mm bolt securing the lower strut to the knuckle. Once unthreaded it may need to be tapped out with a hammer and small extension, You can also pry against the bolt head as you continue to rotate it counter clockwise and it will gradually come slowly out. Once the bolt is completely removed, completely remove the upper strut mount nuts from inside the car. Then give the strut a solid whack and it will fall off the knuckle. You should then be able to maneuver the strut out of the wheel well.







Compare the old strut to the new one.



Maneuver the new strut in position. The nut on the bottom mount of the strut should face the front of the car. Push the two upper studs up into position, pry down on the upper knuckle arm to set the bottom of the strut on the lower knuckle mount. This will hold the strut in position as you hand thread the upper strut nuts back on loosely.

Once the upper strut nuts are threaded on it will hold the strut up as you do the rest of the process. I'm sure there are better ways to do this but I was working alone, haven't done this before, and found this way worked for me.

You can now remount the parking brake line to the rear trailing arm, replace and tighten the nut. I do not know the torque specification but it doesn't have to be crazy tight. Line up and hand thread in the two 12mm bolts connecting the parking brake line to the brake caliper. Torque these two bolts to 17 ft/lbs. Replace the cover for the parking brake cable/brake caliper connection, hand thread in the two 10mm bolts and snug them, not too tight. At this point I re-engaged the parking brake.

I'm sure there is a better way to do this but this is what worked for me working alone. I removed the massive 17mm nut and bolt that goes, front the back, through the lower knuckle and both rear lower arms A & B. With that removed and both arms knocked free I was able to have more wiggle room to get the lower strut bolt hole lined up.







I had to tap, wiggle, and pry the lower mount with a hammer, wrenches, and a couple screw drivers to get it aligned. Once I got the bolt in and visually lined up with the nut side of the lower strut I tapped it with a hammer to set the threads against the nut and tightened to 17mm bolt to 40 ft/lbs.

I then pried both rear arms and maneuvered the knuckle until they sat in the proper spot in the knuckle. There is a small lip that sticks out from each rear arm A & B that slip into the knuckle and hold them in place as you replace the monster huge bolt you removed. I slipped the bolt through the rear arm A and held rear arm B in place on the knuckle as I drove the bolt through the back rear arm. Replace the washer with the lip facing the knuckle, hand thread the nut, and torque the 17mm nut to 47 ft/lbs while holding the 17mm bolt head stationary. Re-secure the upper ball joint to the knuckle, hand thread the nut, and torque the nut to 35 ft/lbs. Tighten as needed to align the hole. Replace the cotter pin and bend to secure in place. Replace the ball joint nut cover and snugly tighten the 10mm bolt.









Next use the jack to lift the knuckle and strut up snugly against the body of the car. Move to the inside and torque both 14mm upper strut mount nuts to 28 ft/lbs. Slide the carpet back over the rear seat latch and secure in place with the plastic clip/pin. Replace the side trim carefully and push the four clips back securely into the body. Secure the rear portion of the trim with the Philips head screw and the front portion of the trim with the 10mm bolt. Slide the rear corner cushion mount back into the slot. Fold the rear seat back into position, and replace the cargo cover.

Back outside place the wheel back on the knuckle, hand thread the lug nuts, and torque in a criss-cross pattern to 80 ft/lbs. Lower the car back on the ground and release the parking brake. Enjoy your tight new suspension.





I went for a spirited drive and was impressed with how "tight", (this seems to be the best word to describe it), the rear suspension felt going around corners. I recently installed a three point front upper strut bar on my car and that greatly improved the front rolling. Replacing the rear suspension seems to have had the same effect on the rear of my car. My current front struts are the original 20 year old struts. I wonder how well the front would perform with the combination of new suspension and the strut bar.



Sorry I didn't take more, better pictures. Let me know if any information requires correction.