Let’s start by jacking your car up, if your vehicle has a sway bar, you want to make sure the whole car is jacked up, this is because the sway bar can only travel so far with only one side jacked up. This also effects your control arm and spindle because in relation to the sway bar, it can also only move so far. Moreover, if you are having trouble with the sway bar link reaching the tab, you can jack up the entire hub assembly with the strut installed from the lower control arm to bring it in place.

If you are having trouble loosening the old bolts, try any of the following:

• Spray the bolts with PB blaster or any other penetrator, this will break down the rust allowing the bolt to break free.
• If all else fails, using a torch to heat the bolts will assist in removal.

When removing your strut:

Use a spindle/knuckle separator to spread the spindle/knuckle open and release the bottom of the strut, if you don’t have the separator or do not want to purchase one, you could use a mallet.

When installing your strut:

• Use a C-clamp to pinch the bottom of the spindle/knuckle together so you can get the bolt through.
• You can also use anti-seize or white lithium grease on the spindle/knuckle, and the bottom of the strut to make it easier to get the strut totally seated.
• If the top mount is not lining up to the holes in the strut tower and you are have to turn the top mount to line up it would be much easier if you mount the top first and adjust the lower mounting bracket after the top is held in.

Lastly, you always want to use the new supplied hardware with your kit. Your old hardware is not only worn and dated, but it can be a different thread pitch then the hardware on the strut. This could cause damage to the hardware on the strut and can be potential for a failure in the future.

Following this cheat sheet will guarantee that your new strut install will be headache free.