I just finished replacing the oem strut cartridge3s in my 78 242. I have also replaced strut cartridges in my 86 245, and the rear shocks in several models I have owned.

The first time I went to replace a strut cartridge, I followed the Haynes manual. NOT!!

That involved removing the entire strut from the car, including dis-assembly of the brake flex-line.

I also tried to disassemble the strut without an air impact wrench. Very difficult without specialty tools. Get access to an impact wrench...

Much simpler is the "compress the spring, and swing out the front assembly.

STEPS

1.) Block the rear tires - both sides front and back. SLightly loosen wheel nuts while tires still on the ground.

2.) Lift the front end of the car (use the jack and place blocks or stands under the jack mounts. Lifting under the oil pan is unprofessional and dangerous.)

3.) Once both sides are securely blocked (test push the car to make sure it will not fall on you at a later moment) remove both tires(save them for later use :) ).

4.) Mark the alignment marks on the top of the strut towers. Use a jiffy pen or paint stick to index the alignment marks. This may save you the hassle of an alignment afterwards.

5.) Loosen the three small nuts - remove two - leave one in place.

6.) Remove the bolt that attaches the brake line coupling to the inner fender well. Located underneath, behind the strut - where the flex hoses couple to the metal brake lines.

7.) Uncouple the ball joint - if you have a ball joint separation tool - much recommended.
Undo the end nut on the anti sway bar - this allows the the strut to drop freely.

8.) Support the strut from below - block with shims, or a floor jack works even better. This keeps the strut from dropping suddenly when the last small top nut is removed. With the strut supported, remove the last small top nut, and lower the strut 1 - 2". Lowering the struts now will allow extra room to install the spring coil compressors.

9.) IMPORTANT!! - install the coil spring compressors NOW. (This the the biggest safety concern when disassembling the strut.) Compress the coil - this will "shorten" the strut slightly - giving more room to swing out.

10.) Attach the "safety" rope. Lower the strut; at this point the strut should be attached to the lower A-swing arm, and the brake lines.

Watch that the brake lines do not hang up on the anti-sway bar.

The spring is compressed - you may have to push down on the strut cartridge to "shorten" the strut so it swings out clear of the fender.

BIG SAFETY NOTE::: Make sure that the spring is compressed enough so that there is no tension against the top retaining plate before you attempt to remove the top plate.

11.) With the strut swung out and suspended from the anchor rope, disassemble the top of the strut assembly. Use an impact wrench to spin off the main nut.


Refit with the new strut - assembly is the reverse of the above steps.


Extra verbose notes (just rambling to cover some "niggleys")

The BIG key in extra clearance is to undo the clip that attached the brake flex-hose couplings to the inner fender well. This will allow the strut to drop down vertically on the lower A-swing arm before having to swing it out. The clip is located just behind and between the two metal brake lines, just below the couplings. I think it is a 12 or 13 mm head size.

By not having to disconnect the brake lines, you save the hassle of bleeding the brake lines. Even though you only disconnect the front lines, it turns into a four wheel bleed.

I installed a pair of KYB strut cartridge inserts.

PROBLEM - When I inserted the left strut cartridge, it sat about 1/4" above the top of the cartridge tube. The oem style cartridges have a convex bottom the nests in the spacer washer at the bottom of the tube. Without the spacer washer, the strut cartridge would rest against a large nut at the bottom of the tube, and eventually possibly wear through or puncture.
HOWEVER - the KYB's have a spacer welded to the bottom of the insert cartridge. So I decided to remove the spacer washer - this eventually led to unbolting the strut tube from the lower ball joint (4 small bolts under the cartridge tube).
BUT - with the spacer washer removed, the cartridge rested about 3/16" BELOW the top of the tube, and would have slopped up and down in use.

What I did was to carefully use a "zip-disc" and sliced the washer down to 1/2 the thickness.

I was starting to disassemble the right tube when I decided to test fit the right insert cartridge. Puzzlingly enough, it fit perfect.

NOTE: - before you remove the old strut insert cartridge, make a note of where the TOP of the tube is in relation to the strut tube.

ALSO - Make a note of how far down the retaining top nut, that holds the strut insert in, is actually turned - BEFORE you begin loosening it. I noticed that the retaining nuts on my 242 were not bottomed out. It is not necessary to bottom out the retaining nut later.

A light turn with a pipe wrench usually loosens, and later tightens, these nuts; another reason to leave the strut in place and drop down.

BIG NOTE - have a safety rope looped around the strut, put a soft blanket over the fender and attach the rope to the motor lifting lug located near the top front of the engine. This keeps the strut from dropping down and OUT and dinging your shin (don't ask how I know this detail) as well as limiting the strain on the brake lines.

THis is a long post - I hope I have covered the niggleys that can ruin an otherwise easy task.

Good Luck.