[hvacskills]

well, i guess since i unbolted the wheel hub from the strut assembly to replace EVERYTHING and since i was wanting to eventually replace the front struts and springs anyhow and i guess since i am going to have to get this car aligned before i can drive it much of anywhere i was wondering what is involved in replacing the front struts ? is it fairly easy ? i am still waiting on all the front end parts to be delivered to include lower control arm and the wheel hub is still off, and i am still reluctantly thinking about the inner tie rod replacement ..... but to do this ALL at once may be better than having to do two wheel alignments ...... plus when i was much younger my boss drove me in his brand new talking laser and the one thing i remember was that the front of the car seemd to float, maybe that was just because i was younger, but i bet i would probably really enjoy a brand new front end in this car .... but i might just bolt all this together and do the struts momentarily so i can at least drive this car 10 houses down to the gas station ..... then do the struts and tie rods ......... cost / procedure ?

 

[ChargedDust]

DO you have the tools to compress the springs and a compressor to power a pneumatic gun?

 

[hvacskills]

DO you have the tools to compress the springs and a compressor to power a pneumatic gun?

no, i have a compressor but no pneumatic gun

 

[ChargedDust]

Might be easier to bring the new parts and the old struts to a shop and have them swap everything over. Installing and removing the strut assembly is fairly easy, it's breaking down the strut and swapping over the springs and replacing the top mounts ect. that can be the hassle part of the job.

 

[Michael_Valentine]

Don't they sell these fully assembled already at AutoZone and Advanced Auto?

 

[Bob ONeill]

Made in China springs.... let me think....... NO!!!

The tool to compress the springs safely is available from Harbor freight very cheap. Something like $20. That's cheaper than having a shop do it.

The compressor and air gun are not necessary for this job only a convenience.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

Don't they sell these fully assembled already at AutoZone and Advanced Auto?

When I replaced my struts in 2007, they did not make the 'quick strut' assemblies for Daytonas - only for other cars. As Bob says, better to choose the quality of each part yourself. Gabriel makes quick struts, but I will never buy their products again. Their Ultra struts were defective, could not get the rod centered in the spring when I tried to assemble it. Plus, their shocks rotted and crumbled away to nothing in less than 4 years.

And yes, you can buy/rent the spring compressor and use an 18" long 1/2 drive ratchet to operate it. Builds up your arm muscles.

 

[valiant67]

Besides the possibility of substandard springs, the fact remains Chrysler used several spring/strut combos when these cars were new. The aftermarket serves these with one strut which is bad enough but if you buy the entire assembly it's one strut and one spring, the same whether it's a Daytona or a Reliant or whatever.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

Not sure what you mean by that. There are several brands of struts available for these - Gabriel, Monroe, KYB.

 

[valiant67]

Not sure what you mean by that. There are several brands of struts available for these - Gabriel, Monroe, KYB.

Each vendor offers one, maybe two, models of struts that serve most of the K based car lines for a given year.
For example, looking at the 1991 Chrysler parts catalog, there appears to be at least 16 different struts used on the front of all the FWD cars.
Yet Gabriel and Monroe each offer just two, a low priced and a premium, that fit everything from the Shadow to the Imperial. Chrysler offered three struts for the Daytona alone in 1991. It took over a page to list all the combinations of front springs used on the Daytona while the quick strut assembly uses the same spring for all.

 

[Undermine]

Yes the spring compressing tool is fairly inexpensive. Especially if you plan on servicing your own vehicles. All you need are some sockets and your ready to roll. Takes me about three hours to replace shocks, struts and hardware.

 

[hvacskills]

Not sure what you mean by that. There are several brands of struts available for these - Gabriel, Monroe, KYB.

can i re assemble everything now and then remove and do the struts in a minute ? i live on a main street and this car is up on a cinder block and it is not a pretty sight, i really need to get this car somewhat back together. will it rip the axle out of the trans if i disassemble the strut from the hub ? the strut / springs / mount seem fairly cheap and my shop said they will assemble everything for 12 bucks a side, i might start oredering the parts soon because as much as i might want to at least be able to drive this car a tiny little bit i most likely will not be able to AT ALL because it will probably be out of alignment really bad and i dont want to do two wheel alignmnents. so is it just the three bolts on top and the two bolts on the hub and the brake line, is it that simple ?

 

[Bob Lincoln]

Maybe they don't really fit all. As I said, the Gabriel Ultra heavy-duty struts I bought for my 92 Daytona did not fit.

 

[hvacskills]

Maybe they don't really fit all. As I said, the Gabriel Ultra heavy-duty struts I bought for my 92 Daytona did not fit.

can i re assemble everything now and then remove and do the struts in a minute ? i live on a main street and this car is up on a cinder block and it is not a pretty sight, i really need to get this car somewhat back together. will it rip the axle out of the trans if i disassemble the strut from the hub ? the strut / springs / mount seem fairly cheap and my shop said they will assemble everything for 12 bucks a side, i might start oredering the parts soon because as much as i might want to at least be able to drive this car a tiny little bit i most likely will not be able to AT ALL because it will probably be out of alignment really bad and i dont want to do two wheel alignmnents. so is it just the three bolts on top and the two bolts on the hub and the brake line, is it that simple ?

 

[John Wood]

can i re assemble everything now and then remove and do the struts in a minute ? i live on a main street and this car is up on a cinder block and it is not a pretty sight, i really need to get this car somewhat back together. will it rip the axle out of the trans if i disassemble the strut from the hub ? the strut / springs / mount seem fairly cheap and my shop said they will assemble everything for 12 bucks a side, i might start oredering the parts soon because as much as i might want to at least be able to drive this car a tiny little bit i most likely will not be able to AT ALL because it will probably be out of alignment really bad and i dont want to do two wheel alignmnents. so is it just the three bolts on top and the two bolts on the hub and the brake line, is it that simple ?

I don't know about doing the removal in a minute, but your description is right. Keep in mind that the big bolts and nuts on the knuckle can be quite tight if they have never been taken off. Pay attention to the cam adjustment washers so you get them back in the same position.

 

[hvacskills]

I don't know about doing the removal in a minute, but your description is right. Keep in mind that the big bolts and nuts on the knuckle can be quite tight if they have never been taken off. Pay attention to the cam adjustment washers so you get them back in the same position.

oh, i meant in a minute as in soon, and i have the wheel hub off now to do the wheel bearing so i was just thinking before i get it aligned to maybe do the struts but i was wanting to re assemble the hub / struts now just to get it back togetherand then replace the strut assembly after it is all back together, i just cant have my car torn apart like this for this long i live on main street and it is in the front drive. so can i easily do the strut assembly with evertything back together or do i have to remove the axle again too ?

 

[ChargedDust]

Maybe they don't really fit all. As I said, the Gabriel Ultra heavy-duty struts I bought for my 92 Daytona did not fit.

FWIW, I just had Monroe sensa-tracs installed on my '91, mechanic didn't mention any sort of problems so I assume they fit properly.

I tried taking apart the old struts, compressing the spring was easy with the tool, but I couldn't get the lock nut off the top of the strut, maybe there is a special socket for this?

 

[Undermine]

Right. There are the three nuts on top for the mount, remove the brake line and the two bolts on the knuckle. If you're buying new springs, then yes, feel free to completely assemble the new struts with the new hardware etc then remove and replace thee entire assembly. Maybe spray some pb blaster on the two bolts attatched to the knuckle. I used two open ended renches to remove the lock nut on top.

 

[hvacskills]

Right. There are the three nuts on top for the mount, remove the brake line and the two bolts on the knuckle. If you're buying new springs, then yes, feel free to completely assemble the new struts with the new hardware etc then remove and replace thee entire assembly. Maybe spray some pb blaster on the two bolts attatched to the knuckle. I used two open ended renches to remove the lock nut on top.

what i am asking is does the axle pop out of the trans when you do this ? it seemed to want to when i was removing the hub but i didnt really care becuse i was removing the axle anyhow and planned on installing a new trans seal, i guess i am asking is if i remove the strut assembly does the axle slide out far enough from the trans to where it might damage the trans seal ?

 

[Undermine]

I never had one fall out. But then again i applied pressure as to make sure it didn't slide out. IIRC it shouldn't just slide out anyway. Everytime I've removed an axle, either side, some force was needed to remove the axle. I think you'll be fine.