The front passenger strut is leaking oil (80K on the car) on our Accord and I was wondering how difficult a task it is to replace these on my own. I have replaced rear shocks on an old Chevelle where I had to compress the coil springs with a tool (borrowed from Autozone) but never replaced struts.

1. Does anyone have any words of wisdom before I attempt this?

2. Can someone suggest/recommend a brand that is reasonably priced and gets the job done? (Monroe, KYB, etc)

Thanks,
Scott

 

The whole assembly is easy to remove. You have to be careful when you disassemble the assembly, because that spring has a lot of force.

If you look at the OEM parts site, the dampener is $138 at the dealership, the assembly is $193. It is $100 or $140 if you buy from the sight, but shipping is not included.

For $55, you can have a new assembly and swap it in pretty easily.

 

Thanks Pahonda.

Where would I find the OEM website? Most likely a link here on this site so I will look.

So do I need to purchase an assembly and dampener to fix this problem or can I use the old assembly?

 

The OEM sites are Majestic Honda, hondapartsnow.com, hondapartsdeals.com, etc...

You don't need to purchase an assembly. It would be an easier repair.

Search Ce5c6eUPW4s on YouTube to see how to remove the assembly. Then you can see how to take apart the assembly.

 

We can't view Youtube out here......we only have dial up available. Are there any pitfalls or things to be aware of before changing out the assembly? Is it absolutely necessary to replace both struts when there is nothing wrong with the driver's side?

Thanks,
Scott

 

If you are replacing only the strut, then you can replace the one that is bad.

If you are changing the spring and strut, I would suggest to do both.

You should be able to watch YouTube with dialup. Just pause the video at the beginning and wait a while until the video downloads.

 

Wolfehunter,

Replacing the struts on a '07 Accord is a pretty orthodox strut replacement job. You should have no problems undertaking the job yourself. Here's a write-up for the procedure that may be of use to you:


Front struts-

1) Raise and safely support the vehicle.

2) Remove the front wheel.

3) Remove the damper fork (ref #11 & 12 in the diagram below) and damper from the lower arm. (ref #6 & 7 in the diagram below)




4) Remove the two 8 mm flange nuts and three 10 mm flange nuts from the top of the strut, and remove the strut assembly.

To install:

1) Position the strut assembly in the body with the aligning tab facing inside, and then loosely install the new flange nuts.

2) Install the damper fork over the driveshaft and onto the lower arm. Install the front damper in the damper fork so the aligning tab is aligned with the slot in the damper fork.

3) Loosely install the damper pinch bolt into the damper fork.

4) Install the new flange bolt to the damper fork and lower arm, and lightly tighten the new damper fork mounting nut.

5) Place the floor jack under the lower arm, and raise the suspension to load it with the vehicle's weight.

6) Tighten the flange nuts on the top of the strut as follows:
8x.1.25 mm bolt: 16 ft. lbs. (22 Nm)
10x1.25mm bolt: 37 ft. lbs. (50 Nm)

7) Tighten the damper pinch bolts to 32 ft. lbs. (43 Nm).

8) Tighten the flange nut on the damper fork to 47 ft. lbs. (64 Nm).

9) Check and adjust the wheel alignment as necessary.

Rear Struts-

1) Remove the rear tires.

2) Remove the rear bulkhead cover. Remove the seat side bolster.

3) Remove the two flange nuts, while holding the joint pin. Disconnect the stabilizer link from the stabilizer bracket.

4) Remove the flange bolt from the knuckle. Lower the rear suspension and remove the damper from the vehicle.

To install:

1) Position the damper assembly in the vehicle.

Note: Damper springs are different for the left and right side. Mark the springs prior to removal.

2) Loosely install the flange nuts onto the top of the damper.

3) Loosely install the flange bolt on the bottom of the damper.

4) Connect the stabilizer link on the bracket and loosely install the flange nut.

5) Raise the floor jack until the suspension begins to compress. Tighten the bolts.

6) Continue the installation in the reverse order of the removal procedure.

 

I will definately try to pause the video while it is downloading. We never tried that before. Hope it works. Glad I only need to replace one!

Thanks for the detailed instructions onmyownaccord. Really like your username.

 

So I replaced this leaking strut (strut only) a few months ago with a Monroe. I had noticed that a "rattle" had started to come from the front passenger side prior to replacing the bad strut and hence blamed the noise on it. The noise was only heard when hitting a bump. Well, after I replaced the strut I still have a rattle going over bumps. I suppose it is more of a "clunk" and I can't figure out what it is! And it will clunk more than once if the bump is hard enough so I call it a rattle. I thought maybe i didn't install the new strut properly and have pulled the wheel several times trying to figure out what is loose but to no avail. Did I get a bad strut? Any way to test it? I tried picking up the front assembly where the strut is fastened to with the car jacked up but I can't budge it. Trying to simulate hitting a bump to find the rattle. I hate "rattle clunks"......makes the car sound junky. But want to correct a problem as it could lead to other issues. Thanks for any suggestions.

Scott

 

It sounds more like a problem with the sway bar end-links or bushing.

There is another video by ericthecarguy on how to find suspension noises that you can search for on youtube.