To replace the struts, you only need to undo two bolts in the steering spindle and three 13 mm bolts in the spring seat up top. Compressing the springs is the troublesome part. At the top, there's a spring bearing plate, and then a rubber spring seat. If the rubber spring seat is worn, you might get some taxicab style knocks from there. I put in Bilstein Heavy Duty struts and they are stiff and feel the pebbles in the road but at highway speeds they feel very stable
I rented two sets of spring compressors because the position of the compressors had to be changed from the removal position to get the whole thing back in. The space in the strut well is tight. Here's a pic of a mistake I made the first time