struts

[eric of dc]

Hi
I have a '96 windstar, and the strut is shot according to the mechanic... in fact, I was backing out of the drive today and I heard something. Looked at it, and the spring is against the rim and tire on the drivers side. They want $500 to do both sides, I don't have it right now... Any tips I need to know if I replace them myself? Do I need to compress the spring with a special tool? Does anyone have any photos that would be helpful? I would appreciate some advice and photos.

Thanks!

[bkf77]

The struts on the front of your van will come out as an assembly, but you will need to compress the springs to replace. If you don't have the proper tool(S) to compress the springs, I would not try it. To try to save you some money, I would get some quotes to have a shop compress the springs and change the struts for you (after removed from vehicle). You will pay less. There should be three nuts to remove at the top of the struts, two larger bolts at the bottum of the strut, possibly a retaining clip or bolt for the brake line, and maybe the sway bar end links. I don't have any picture, but that should give you a general idea of what to remove. It would be recommended to have the alignment done after replacing the struts.