I need to replace a wornout strut. Bently says it can be done on the car, but the strut must be supported while I work on it. What do I use to hold it in place and where on the car do I attach the wires(?) that support it?

Thanks for your advice.

Mark

FYI,

I have been using a set of spring compressors that I bought from Cummins Tools for $9.99 (http:/www.cumminstools.com) and can't tell the difference in construction from the $40.00 sets. They are well made and hook up securely.

Regards,
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Will Dallas, www.willdallas.us, www.willdallas.org, www.willdallas.com 86 245 DL 205K miles, 93 940 250K miles, 88 765 GLE 149K miles, 87 745 , 86 244 DL 200K Miles, 88 744T 200K miles

I used a nylon load strap and wrapped / looped it to the lower strut mount,around the inside of the fender and around the top of the fender and then clamp back together at the bottom.

bending the brake line is a minimal worry. I smashed the strut all over all over the place (not recommended) and nothing happened. Just make sure to loosen the lower brake line mount.



Ram
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1989 245 M47, 195K

From “Strut replacement for Novices”
http://www.brickboard.com/RWD/index.htm?id=769381
(See above post for illustration)

6) heavy gauge wire/rod to hang strut outside wheel well
6a) 18” long piece of 3/16” threaded rod, described in 700-900 FAQ. I left the described 1” tail (that gets fed through the eyelet in the swaybar) longer than that, in case I wanted to lengthen it a bit..."
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I needed TWO of the above rods to prevent the strut tower from stressing the brake lines. Loosening the brake line bracket precluded pulling the caliper. I also used a rope from the lower fender bracket in front of the wheel well to prevent the tower tipping rearward.
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Jim (90 244DL 175K miles) turbo sways w/poly, front struts & bushings, OD wiring, downpipe, OEM hitch, remote-locks.

The way they do it in a dealership is:

1)Turn loose the outer tie rod end and the front stabilizer link rod where it attaches to the lower control arm.
2)Remove the bolt that goes through the bracket that holds the brake lines to the frame. Lift that plate with the lines on it up and position it infront of where you just took the bolt out of. This will allow the caliper and lines enough room to stretch.
3)Shoot loose the three bolts that hold it into the strut tower.
4)With everything loose push down on the assembly and lean it out of the fender well. You may have to push hard right where it comes out of the actual fender well or it will hit/scrape.
5)This is the real answer to your question here, with the strut housing assembly leaned out there is a factory Volvo tool that looks like a double ended hook. One end hooks around the strut housing and the other hooks through the eye of the stabilizer bar where the link rods goes. I doubt you have this tool so you will need to use a few wraps of tie wire or something. Done properly there will be no stress on the brake lines and you can take your time to line up the compressor and remove/install the big body nut that holds the cartridge in the housing.

It takes about 20 minutes per side if you have done a few. Please heed the warnings about that coil spring. I do know a few people that have had them get away from them. The results ranged from "It felt like Mike Tyson hit me in the chest" to one guy that is still undergoing reconstructive surgery on his face and will never ever be the same again. Be careful.

Mark

Volvo Factory Tool = 1/4" Drill Rod or Welding Rod bent into an "S" shape.

The cost diff. is the price of a Bilstein Pro Gas strut insert

Welding rod is probably a little light in the ass for this application unless you get light guage enough stuff that you can use like tie wire. Remember at a point you will have the entire strut housing AND spring compressor hanging by this piece of welding rod.

1/4" drill rod would do it well but you would probably be served just as well by a piece of the all thread or cold roll round stock that you can get at OSH or most of your hardware stores. You might have to heat it up a little to get the bend in it that you want but it can be done. If you choose to go this route then keep in mind that their is one hook on either end, one is big enough to go around the strut housing and the other is offset by 90 degrees and is small enough to hook in the end of the stabilizer bar. Imagine if you will if you had a candy cane laying flat on the desk in front of you, looking just like a letter "J". Take the top of the J and bend it up off of the desk and straight back towards you. You now have the bottom bend on a horizontal plane and the top one on a vertical plane, i.e. 90 degrees apart. The tool is about 8.5" long the big loop is about 2.25" on the I.D. and the small loop is about 1" on the I.D. and it is actually left just a little bit open. In other words it does not curl ALL the way around in the opposite direction, this facilitates it going into the stab bar hole.




Mark

Thanks. I've done this with 3 cartridges, but I have always taken the strut off completely. Last time the everything went well until I had to deal with a frozen brake connection. It went from a 2 hour job (including lots of coffee) to a 6 or 7 hour job. Very frustrating. I finally used a bit of heat on the fitting and it came right off. I don't want to do it that way again.

Thanks again.

When I did this job, I had the car on jack stands and supported the control arm with a small hydraulic bottle jack. The brake caliper has to be removed and supported by a wire so the brake line won't get stressed. I can't recall where I hooked the wire (senior moment).

The jack under the control arm lets you lower the strut assembly to clear the fender and then, when you are done replacing the cartridge, you use it to raise the strut assembly back up into place. Clearance is pretty tight between the fender and the top of the strut.

Once the strut is lowered ans clear of the fender, it tends to pivot outward. I held it with my knee while working on the strut but that was awkward. You may prefer to figure out some other way to hold it in place.

Be very careful when using the spring compressor. If these let go, the force is pretty great. Keep your face out of the line of fire. That being said, I've never had one let go.

The thing I did wrong was to not sufficiently tighten the gland nut which holds the cartidge into the strut tube. I had a clunk on one side. What I did was to jack up the car to extend the front spring, slip a pipe wrench between the coils and give that gland nut about 1/4 to 1/3 turn more tightening. That was all it took.

Good luck!

Thanks. I appreciate the advice.

This job is next in line after I replace the short shaft on our minivan.

No problem, having to remove the brakes will double the time on this job real quick. If you feel it is necessary to remove the caliper to do it, just remove the caliper and don't disturb the lines. If you remove the entire strut housing then you have no choice in the matter and must take the lines loose, that is a nightmare. The dual metal lines that wrap around the base of the strut housing can be a real pain in the ass to deal with. If you can do this on the car without messing with the brakes you will be much happier.

Mark