It's very important that you compress the spring before attempting to remove the top strut mount as you could potentially hurt yourself quite badly if you don't. Get out your spring compressor, and place them on each side of the spring. It's a little tricky getting that whole thing outta there, but take it easy and you'll get it (picture below is of front strut but everything should look almost the same). Be careful not to pull on the ABS sensor, and watch for the brake lines. You will now be able to remove the whole strut assembly and take it out of it's place. Once you have removed the three 14mm nuts on the top of the strut, go ahead and take out the two 17mm bolts holding the strut at the bottom as well. The following steps are the same as the front and you can find detailed pictures and instructions at this How-To: Front Strut and Spring Install Then use your deep 14mm socket to remove the three 14mm nuts holding the top of the strut. Just break it loose and leave it alone until later. Do NOT remove it all the way, but simply break it loose, because if you try doing this part with the strut assembly completely removed it will be fun at all. Remove the rubber cap covering the middle, and undo the 17mm nut in the center. Once the metal bracket is out, you will now have access to the top strut bolts. Squeeze the wrench in somehow and undo the two 14mm nuts to take off the metal bracket covering the top of the strut. Now you will need a deep 14mm socket for the next part, otherwise there is no way you can do these next two steps without removing additional plastic panels. Place the seat belt and the plastic panel on the seat and fold it down to give you more room for the next step. Undo the 17mm bolt holding the seat belt, then take out the seat belt and all the little spongy stuff. With the top panel off you will now have access to the seat belt and brackets which hold it in place. You only need to remove this piece, but removing the sides will make your job a LOT easier (I chose not to cuz I was lazy.) Instructions can be found at on page 15 Start by gently pulling up on the front of the top panel and working your way to the back of the car. In order to gain access to the top of the strut you will need to remove some of the plastic pieces, brackets, and rear seat belts. Now that you've removed the top endlink, unclipped the brake & ABS lines, and broken loose the main strut bolts, you need to go clean up your hands and pop the hatch. You only want to break these loose at this point, do NOT remove them all the way until you do the top of the strut first. Just take it easy and they'll give in sooner or later, you don't wanna put TOO much pressure at once and break them in half. Place the wrench on the left side so it's touching the brake rotor, and use as much leverage as you can on the other side to break these bolts loose. You'll need a 17mm wrench on one side, 17mm socket on the other and either a really big *** breaker bar or a hollow steel pole to use a lever. You will need a 14mm socket & wrench, lots of patience, and I suppose praying before this part may help as well depending on your relationship with the man upstairs.Īfter you remove the top part of the endlink, you may move onto the two 17mm main strut bolts. Also, my endlinks are made by AWR so your stock ones are likely to be a lot different AND much much much harder to remove. You only need to remove the top part, so don't hassle yourself with the bottom. Next up you should break loose the endlink. I wasn't able to fully remove the rear ABS sensors, but you still want to at least unbolt it from the strut using a 12mm socket (yes I KNOW. First of all you will need to remove the ABS sensor and set it aside so it doesn't get damaged (they're not cheap to replace). The following morning/afternoon you should be ready to attempt removing everything so get all your tools ready. Get out your trusty PB and spray the hell out of every bolt you see. Take off the wheels and set them aside somewhere. I only had two, so I did the front first then the rear. Start by jacking up the car and putting it on jack stands. I suggest that you do this first step the night before you plan doing all the work, so you can give the PB Blaster time to soak into the bolts. Optional but really useful, compressor with impact gun, air wrench, air drill (I didn't have these so you'll be alright if you don't have them) Big *** breaker bar (½” drive) or hollow steel pipe So be prepared for the worst case scenario if you live in a harsh climate where rust is known to dominate your world. The install time may vary from 2-3 hours to 12 hours if all your bolts are seized up. This tutorial should hopefully help you install rear struts and springs on a Protege5 as well as troubleshoot problems with the install.
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