Front and rear suspension
What do I need to know about removing the struts and springs on the front and rear of my 92 sse. I know not to remove the springs off the front struts but how do the rear ones come out? Any tricks to removing the sway bars? Any help is great. Thanks
Grab yourself a really, REALLY big breaker bar. I've removed several sets of front struts and one set of rears and all of them have been pretty tough. Strangely enough, removing the strut to knuckle nuts is considerably easier than removing the bolts. I used a 5 foot floor jack handle over the breakerbar in order to loosen the bolts and work some penetrating oil in. I also found that an air chisel with a very blunt tool is a HUGE help to pound the bolts out.


You will not need a spring compressor for the front struts unless you intend on separating the spring from the strut. For the rear, I recommend one for safety but BillBost and I removed the rear struts from the donor car without one. I'm not sure I'll do that again to a parts car and would definately use one on a car I cared about the car.


You will not need a spring compressor for the front struts unless you intend on separating the spring from the strut. For the rear, I recommend one for safety but BillBost and I removed the rear struts from the donor car without one. I'm not sure I'll do that again to a parts car and would definately use one on a car I cared about the car.
After Randy had fought for a while the suspension was staying up and he couldn't get it out. I looked inside the car as the whole thing was gutted, and with the rear dash removed I could easily get to the three nuts holding the top of the struts on each side. I agree with randy...they went down with quite a bang since the car was up on blocks. This relieved all pressure off the struts holding the springs in place.
The FSM procedure is as follows...please realize..this is one of those things that is best done by a mechanic. Saves blood and pain.
Big caution statement that the control arms need to be supported with a suitable jack. Otherwise the coil springs will do what they did to Randy and I.
1. Remove rear seat cushion and seat back to gain access to strut tower mounting bolts. (Do not remove them yet.)
2. Remove tire and wheel
3. If ELC equipped, air tube from strut
4. Support control arm *******
5. STrut to knuckle bolts
6. Strut tower mounting nuts through body slot behind rear seat back.
7. Strut from knuckle
8. If CCR equiped, lower strut and disconnect electrical connector.
9. Strut
Basically support the suspension under the spring, remove all your hardware, then lower it gently. This will slowly relieve the pressure of the coil spring.
The FSM procedure is as follows...please realize..this is one of those things that is best done by a mechanic. Saves blood and pain.
Big caution statement that the control arms need to be supported with a suitable jack. Otherwise the coil springs will do what they did to Randy and I.
1. Remove rear seat cushion and seat back to gain access to strut tower mounting bolts. (Do not remove them yet.)
2. Remove tire and wheel
3. If ELC equipped, air tube from strut
4. Support control arm *******
5. STrut to knuckle bolts
6. Strut tower mounting nuts through body slot behind rear seat back.
7. Strut from knuckle
8. If CCR equiped, lower strut and disconnect electrical connector.
9. Strut
Basically support the suspension under the spring, remove all your hardware, then lower it gently. This will slowly relieve the pressure of the coil spring.






