1) Raise and safely support the vehicle. Allow the front suspension to hang free.

2) Remove the front wheel.

Fig. 1: To remove the front strut, first remove the brake hose-to-strut retaining clip and pull the hose free from the bracket

3) Disconnect the E-clip mounting the brake hose and remove the brake hose from the strut bracket.

4) Support the control arm with a stand or floor jack.

CAUTION

The coil spring is under extreme pressure. Make sure control arm is firmly supported with a hydraulic jack before continuing with procedure. If this precaution is not observed, serious bodily injury may result.

Fig. 2: Next, support the lower control arm and remove the lower strut bracket bolts . . .

Fig. 3: . . . followed by the upper strut mount attaching nuts — be sure to support the strut before removing the last nut!

5) Matchmark the strut lower bracket to the steering knuckle. Remove the strut-to-knuckle bolts.

6) Remove the upper strut mounting nuts (12mm). Hold the strut to prevent it from falling. Remove the strut assembly from the vehicle.

TIP: If you want to remove the strut and not the upper strut mount, put a pipe wrench on the hex disc (on top of the strut mount) to keep the strut from turning while removing the 19mm nut.

Fig. 4: Finally, pull the strut from the vehicle

To install:

Install the strut assembly and tighten the upper strut mounting nuts to 15–22 ft. lbs. (20–30 Nm).

Install the strut-to-knuckle bolts, ensuring that the matchmarks are aligned, then tighten the nuts and bolts to 58–75 ft. lbs. (80–100 Nm).

Remove the stand or jack.

Connect the brake hose to the strut bracket using the E-clip.

Install the front wheels and lower the vehicle.

Check the vehicle’s alignment.