Placed the car on jackstands and loosen the wheel lug nuts as well as the front part of the car. Pull the parking brake and place chocks at the rear wheels to avoid the car moving off the jack stands and return the wheels. Remove the brake hose from the strut's brake hose channel and in the case of the ABS equipped vehicle, get rid of the ABS harness from its holder. On 2002 and later models you will need to remove the link from the stabilizer bar if it is connected. Take off all the strut to knuckle nuts and bolts, if they are very tight, use hammer and punch to tighten the nuts. Isolate the strut from the
Steering Knuckle as it may drop down ward and hit the inner CV joint or the brake line as it comes out. Label the position of the strut mount to the strut tower since wheel alignment will be affected if the strut mount is not placed back to its correct position. With support from another person because of the strut's size and the simplicity of maneuvering, undo the mounting nuts, and carefully retreat it out of the fenderwell. For the strut body examine it for signs of leaks, dents, cracks or contaminants and examine coils spring for damages on the surface of the coating or if there are signs of chapping at the spring seat available. If the above problems are deemed as present, then go ahead to the process of dismantling the strut. For installation, align the strut assembly with the fenderwell, thread the strut mount stud to the shock tower holes and fasten the nuts tightly up to the required torque of the car. Once more, help is advised because of the strut's mass is again quite large to carry by hand. Position the steering knuckle into the strut flange, put the bolts in, then tighten the nuts to the manufactures recommended torque. Plug the brake hose and ABS harness if it is necessary; put the wheel on and tighten the lug nuts, allowing the car to stand and then tightening the lug nuts to the prescribed degree of, for example, 100 Nm. Last but not the least, have the wheel alignment of the front wheel inspected and corrected if needed.