After nearly three weeks, my struts arrived (bought on eBay on Dec. 4, they arrived Dec. 28 - apparently by Donkey Express).
Unfortunately, the shipper screwed up and sent only the fronts, so I attacked that first (rears will be here next week, I'm assured).
First problem right off the bat was that I discovered that the P.O. didn't include the lug nut key with the car when I bought it. A phone call to the dealer revealed that they (the dealer) cannot get a replacement. Luckily, the PO found the key and I got it from him. On the way back, I stopped at AutoZone and purchased 4 normal lug nuts to replaced the keyed nuts.
Jacked the car/ used jack stands/ removed the tire.
Now to the strut:
The first strut took me about 5 hours over two days, the 2nd took me about 2.5 hours after I knew what I was doing.
I found that it was easiest to remove the brake caliper and hang it out of the way with some stout wire. Also, you'll want to use some wire to keep the ABS sensor wire out of the way.
Turn the wheel all the way to the right (or left, depending on which side you're working on) to gain better access to the pinch bolt holding the bottom of the strut.
This is where you'll need a very stout air wrench or about a three foot breaker bar. The pinch bolt (13/16") is easily the hardest bolt I have ever removed (successfully) from a car. I was reading over on the Taurus forum that, more often than not, they break when removed. However, I was lucky on both sides and they did not break. I bought new bolts from AutoZone, but the old ones probably could have gone back in.
At this point (after you remove the top bolts on the strut in the engine compartment) the strut will probably come out, but you'll not get the new one (with the spring fully extended) in. I found that I could remove the bolt from the lower ball joint, lever the hub assembly up off the ball joint and then off to the side (watch out for the ABS sensor - it will be in close proximity to the exposed ball joint and could get broken). I attempted to remove the ABS sensor on the drivers side, but it appeared that I would probably destroy it in the process so I worked around it).
When removing the strut from the bottom knuckle, use a hammer to knock the knuckle down enough to expose some of the "fin" with the hole in it on the back side, which fits into the slot on the knuckle. You can then use a pry device (I used the lug wrench) to pry the strut up and out of the knuckle.
Removing the ball joint will give you another 2" to work with and that should make the difference in getting the bottom of the strut into the "knuckle". I had to use an array of pry bars and my floor jack to align various components to re-assemble, lever stuff into position, etc.
I've skipped a few parts, but if you know what you're doing, the rest should be self-evident. These are just some tips that turned a 5-hour job into a 2.5-hour job. The back of the car is still "on the ground" so I haven't taken her for a test drive, but the car is sitting up nicely in the front and I expect similar results in the back.
Unfortunately, the shipper screwed up and sent only the fronts, so I attacked that first (rears will be here next week, I'm assured).
First problem right off the bat was that I discovered that the P.O. didn't include the lug nut key with the car when I bought it. A phone call to the dealer revealed that they (the dealer) cannot get a replacement. Luckily, the PO found the key and I got it from him. On the way back, I stopped at AutoZone and purchased 4 normal lug nuts to replaced the keyed nuts.
Jacked the car/ used jack stands/ removed the tire.
Now to the strut:
The first strut took me about 5 hours over two days, the 2nd took me about 2.5 hours after I knew what I was doing.
I found that it was easiest to remove the brake caliper and hang it out of the way with some stout wire. Also, you'll want to use some wire to keep the ABS sensor wire out of the way.
Turn the wheel all the way to the right (or left, depending on which side you're working on) to gain better access to the pinch bolt holding the bottom of the strut.
This is where you'll need a very stout air wrench or about a three foot breaker bar. The pinch bolt (13/16") is easily the hardest bolt I have ever removed (successfully) from a car. I was reading over on the Taurus forum that, more often than not, they break when removed. However, I was lucky on both sides and they did not break. I bought new bolts from AutoZone, but the old ones probably could have gone back in.
At this point (after you remove the top bolts on the strut in the engine compartment) the strut will probably come out, but you'll not get the new one (with the spring fully extended) in. I found that I could remove the bolt from the lower ball joint, lever the hub assembly up off the ball joint and then off to the side (watch out for the ABS sensor - it will be in close proximity to the exposed ball joint and could get broken). I attempted to remove the ABS sensor on the drivers side, but it appeared that I would probably destroy it in the process so I worked around it).
When removing the strut from the bottom knuckle, use a hammer to knock the knuckle down enough to expose some of the "fin" with the hole in it on the back side, which fits into the slot on the knuckle. You can then use a pry device (I used the lug wrench) to pry the strut up and out of the knuckle.
Removing the ball joint will give you another 2" to work with and that should make the difference in getting the bottom of the strut into the "knuckle". I had to use an array of pry bars and my floor jack to align various components to re-assemble, lever stuff into position, etc.
I've skipped a few parts, but if you know what you're doing, the rest should be self-evident. These are just some tips that turned a 5-hour job into a 2.5-hour job. The back of the car is still "on the ground" so I haven't taken her for a test drive, but the car is sitting up nicely in the front and I expect similar results in the back.
