I removed all the bolts for the rear strut, but no matter how hard i pull down on the LCA and even using a hydraulic jack which is dangerous, i cant get the strut out, should i compress the spring first or something? I'm not sure what to do, its really stuck!

 

i assume you removed the two 14 mm bold in the trunk (rear strut towers)

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DOHCtorTHRUST &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i assume you removed the two 14 mm bold in the trunk (rear strut towers)</TD></TR></TABLE>

I hope so too.
Youll need a big extension or remove side panels..

 

Did you disconnect the lca from the trailing arm. You let the lca rotate down and the strut assembly falls right out. You may need to tap the lca with a rubber mallet to encourage it to separate from the trailing arm.

 

which part is the trailing arm? Does that also have bushing **** i might have to deal with??!?!?

 

^^^

 

if you are up north, or the car was orignially up north this process can be VERY tedious and you may snap off a few bolts in the process. use plenty of liquid wrench!

there are roughly 4 bolts on each side to get the shock assembly out in the rear. and make sure you do it in this order to make life easier on you. (this is assuming you do not have a rear sway bar)

1. 14mm Lower control arm bolt that connects the LCA to the rear hub assembly. once the bolt is out, you may have to tap on the hub with a hammer to get the two pieces to separate.

2. 14mm lower shock bolt. this is the bolt that directly connects the shock to the lower control arm

3. 14mm upper strut mount bolts (x2) are located in the trunk (coupe/sedan) or on the shock towers (hatch). remove trunk liner to gain access to the two bolts. make sure you have a buddy with their hands on the shock when you pull the two upper bolts, cuz it will drop like a sakc of bricks when you take that last one off.

installation is in reverse order, do not tighten anything until all bolts are back in place and you are ready to start torqueing things down.

GOOD LUCK!

 

thank you so much for clearing everything up, the only thing i didnt do was disconnect the LCA bolt. Thanks again.