Front strut replacement

[RedDakooter05]

you should be able to "rent" (buy and return easily) the spring compressor. been a long time since i have done it but i did it once and as i recall it was fairly simple. just get the compressor on there good and you tighten slowly so it is not too scary. What screwed us up was at the time not knowing how to bleed brakes after needing to move the lines out of the way (doh, that should have been the easy part)

Its easy.

Buy a spring compressor. They are not death traps. Much like firearms, dont put your face at the business end of one and you will be fine.

One shop finally told me "Let us see it" so, it's not a no. I'll see what they say, and go from there.

I may consider returning these as long as the shops markup fee isn't outrageous. If not, I'll just take my time and do em myself. 3 day weekend should leave me some room if things go south on me haha.

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[Trigganometry]

I bought a spring compressor years ago. It’s a scissor type. Don’t use it often but when you need one. Nothing works better other than a press though. You can rent them from auto parts stores I think. Unless they don’t want that liability now with the way things are today

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

I had the same issue was able to get my stock struts out and springs off, but could not get the new springs on. They were too big. I ran Bilstein 5100 with Eibach springs
The Eibach springs were too big to compress had to take them to a shop to be put on a press. It was $40 for the pair (so-CAL prices there’s literally 10 shops within 5 miles that can do it) over all the jobs not too hard just make sure you take out the axle nut when you pull out the coil over. Not sure if you wanna pull off the coil over yourself, but it will save you a lot of money.

His truck is 2WD, so no front CV to worry about. ?

 

[NvrFinished]

Try a local machine shop. They are great for such things. I had some bushings that I needed to have pressed out of the rear lower control arms for my Mustang. My local machine shop was able to press them out and install the upgraded ones for a reasonable fee.

 

[Cinci36]

A independent shop at 3500 miles or 3 months, gutted my suspension front and rear and replaced everthing but a arms, they didn't care about warranty, and it does not void your warranty, only on replaced items. They still replaced my drive shaft 2 years later..

 

[MikeyB]

Anyone swapped the front struts themselves?
Nobody around here wants to touch my truck due to warranty/liability reasons(which is mostly valid).

So either I'll have to return my Bilstein 4600 units, or risk smashing my face with a coil spring. Most youtube videos I find they for some reason skim past the Compress the spring and swap out the strut bit.

I can do most basic repairs, but messing with loaded strut assemblies is something I've never been brave enough to attempt.




2wd xl(stx) ranger so should be fairly easy, right?

Oh man, those 4600's are awesome! I have them front and rear on my truck. They are stout and the truck rides so good. Firm but not uncomfortable. You will love them.
Try and find a competent shop to install them. Plus is that you have no CV axles to deal with up front. Any shop worth their salt will do the job. Don't get rid of them!

 

[DHMag]

I swapped my front struts in a couple hours using this spring compressor:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X5CXTR6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be. I did end up doing it twice as the new struts at factory height were already contacting the bump stops. I did have a slight mishap where the spring wasnt fully seated in the compressor shoe and flung out, thankfully the strut mount was still attached.

 

[SDXLT]

The chain auto parts stores rent them for free. Just give them a credit card. It’s not that bad but you want to take your time and make sure you know how to use one properly.

The other thing you could do is look for anyone with free takeoffs. Then you have a second set and can drive those to wherever you get the work done vs. having the shop keep your truck while you walk around the shops. Just an idea.

 

[ctechbob]

For those of you that have done front shocks on a 2WD. Do you even need to take any of the ball joints apart, or can you get the assembly out of there leaving things together?

 

[Frenchy]

For those of you that have done front shocks on a 2WD. Do you even need to take any of the ball joints apart, or can you get the assembly out of there leaving things together?

It's best to remove one of the ball joints. It will give you enough space to do the job. Without it you will fight it. That said at least you don't have to worry about the CV Nut

 

[RAYJAY]

Don't have any buddies since moving down here.
Though I'm not opposed to walking to stores to kill time.


Bah Maybe I'll buy a spring compressor tool and give it a whirl.

don't buy the death sticks .... this is the better one to use

https://www.harborfreight.com/singl...3753.html?_br_psugg_q=strut+spring+compressor

 

[RAYJAY]

I swapped my front struts in a couple hours using this spring compressor:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00X5CXTR6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be. I did end up doing it twice as the new struts at factory height were already contacting the bump stops. I did have a slight mishap where the spring wasnt fully seated in the compressor shoe and flung out, thankfully the strut mount was still attached.

that is a new style death stick kinda like them.

 

[RedDakooter05]

Thanks for the replies so far.
I'm still making some calls, but if I do go with doing it myself, I'll probably just buy the "Death sticks" over renting. I found some for $40 that should work for my task.


Will post updates whenever I get something done.

 

[hookem57]

Anyone swapped the front struts themselves?
Nobody around here wants to touch my truck due to warranty/liability reasons(which is mostly valid).

So either I'll have to return my Bilstein 4600 units, or risk smashing my face with a coil spring. Most youtube videos I find they for some reason skim past the Compress the spring and swap out the strut bit.

I can do most basic repairs, but messing with loaded strut assemblies is something I've never been brave enough to attempt.




2wd xl(stx) ranger so should be fairly easy, right?

Harbor Freight had some spring compressors that were actually not half bad. If you do it yourself, just take your time and don't rush when compressing.

 

[BettaRanga]

I did this with a friend for my 5100s and we compressed the springs ourselves. I would not do it again though.

I swore I would just buy assembled coil overs if there was a next time.

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