Strut replacement

I'd like to know how difficult it would be to change my own struts, they are asking for over $1000 for replacement all around. What is the difficulty rating 1-5 (5 being most difficult)Is it worth a shot or just pay up? Any specific make suggested?

1995 LX, 4 dr,
180,000

Holy cow that's a lot of money..........did the dealer quote you this price ??

get some KYB struts at your local part store cost around 80-90 dollars each .. a shop to replace all 4 struts might charge you 1 hr per side , total 4 hrs so depending on their hourly rate , that's the total labor ..

it is fairly easy to replace them,, the biggest issue is getting a spring compressor, you need to compress the spring to replace the strut once it is out of the car

you need some sockets , 12 , 14 and 17 mm ,, racket and extension ..and 19mm to remove the wheels ,, i guess you can use the tire tool in the trunk for that

if you are not very mechanically inclined,, call around for a labor quote,to install all 4 struts , .tell them that you will supply the parts ONLY after they quote you the labor , again labor should be around 4 hrs for all 4 struts

Thanks, yes it is alot of money quoted by a local repair shop, I think I may give it a shot, I can probably rent a spring compressor from Autozone down the street if not I'll just take your advise and get a couple of hrly rates from a local shop then ask if they would install my parts. Not sure of your area but around here they will not install parts bought in by customer. Thanks for the insight doesn't seem that bad afterall.

I'm not sure it this will apply you your year car, but this may be helpful:
http://www.hondaaccordforum.com/Aligning_strut_cap_for_assembly_installation/m_20050/tm.htm

quote:

ORIGINAL: delgadoe

Thanks, yes it is alot of money quoted by a local repair shop, I think I may give it a shot, I can probably rent a spring compressor from Autozone down the street if not I'll just take your advise and get a couple of hrly rates from a local shop then ask if they would install my parts. Not sure of your area but around here they will not install parts bought in by customer. Thanks for the insight doesn't seem that bad afterall.

wow that sucks, where do u live, cuz man... get out of there lol, but yeah 4 hours should b plenty of time, did to my sis 94 accord took about 5 hours, due to 2 lunch brakes, cig brakes and drinking brakes lol

quote:

ORIGINAL: DALAZ_68

quote:

ORIGINAL: delgadoe




wow that sucks, where do u live, cuz man... get out of there lol, but yeah 4 hours should b plenty of time, did to my sis 94 accord took about 5 hours, due to 2 lunch brakes, cig brakes and drinking brakes lol

i said they might charge 4 hrs but i did not say that it takes a tech 4 hrs ..( flat rate my man , flat rate) that's how techs make money ..

Spring compresser from AutoZone $40.00 average with money returned when you bring it back...for everything else there is MasterCard

WheelBrokerAng

one very important thing to do with your struts BEFORE YOU TAKE THEM OUT is to mark the bearing plate and spring with a white gease pin so you know the relationship when you reinstall them. you can also use "C" clamps as spring compressors. I would NOT USE A COAT HANGER..

for the rear springs/struts on some accords, you have to remove the rear shelf and that is where a lot of shops try to rip you on labor

quote:

ORIGINAL: YeuEmMaiMai

one very important thing to do with your struts BEFORE YOU TAKE THEM OUT is to mark the bearing plate and spring with a white gease pin so you know the relationship when you reinstall them. you can also use "C" clamps as spring compressors. I would NOT USE A COAT HANGER..

for the rear springs/struts on some accords, you have to remove the rear shelf and that is where a lot of shops try to rip you on labor

I agree completely about marking the cap and spring. When you're relplacing only the strut - NOT the spring - it's pretty easy to get things together back the way they were. The rubber between the cap and spring is indented nicely to show where the cap should be placed on the spring, but putting a mark on there must make it even easier. (I replaced my springs, too, with aftermarket units, so this made initial alignment more difficult.)

I don't know how you could get a C-clamp secruely on that srping. The top of the "C" may go in nicely, but where does the pivoting top of the "screw" go? The amount that I had to compress the spring, even using a proper compressor, was pretty scary. Yikes, I'd hate to be on the receiving end of a spring suddenly letting go. This is one place where I'd spend bit of money for the added saftety. I picked up a decent compressor for around $20.

I also had to remove the rear seat, trunk carpet, trunk liner, and rear-seat plastic "trim" to get easy access to the top of the rear struts. Rather a pain. I had all the time in the world to do it, buy I can see where one would pay dearly to have a technician do it. This is why people DIY. (DIT?)

well I would still mark them just incase you run into a problem where you have to reinstall them....