Removing a front strut

HOW TO REMOVE A STILO FRONT STRUT
This is on a 1.6 engine Stilo - models may vary
Ring a round and find a garage who will change the springs for you. Don't attempt to change springs on your own. A spring in the face is very likely and some of you are ugly enough already.

Bear in mind the reason why many people are changing springs is because they tend to fracture under stress remember? Point taken?

First of all check your tracking and make some notes as although your steering shouldn’t be altered at all or by much, you are moving some chunky suspension bits around and a mm here and a mm there may add up by the time it gets down to your wheels.

But you haven’t got laser tracking facilities I hear you say.
Can you see the sea horizon? Can you see the moon at night? Then you don’t need a laser to do tracking checks. Have a look in “How to check your tracking" and after learning how to do that you may not be visiting the tyre shops quite so much

REMOVING THE STRUT

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OK so do the usual, jack it up, wheel off and axle stand stuff. You can see where I put the jack and axle stand here.

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ABS CONNECTOR
Pull up the clip and disconnect the wheel ABS connector. Then pull out the brake hydraulic hose, ABS wire and brake pad wear wires from the strut

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ANTI ROLL BAR LINK
Just get hold of the back of the ball joint with a mole wrench over the protective boot and undo the nut with a 16mm socket. The protective boot on the drop link is very tough so you can use a mole wrench on it to grab the shoulder of the ball joint underneath without problems. You can put on new links using this method too without problems of damaging the boot. Move the link out of the way, no need to disconnect the bottom one

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STRUT BOTTOM BOLTS

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These are not as tight as you might think they are gong to be but a long bar makes easy work of them. Don’t remove the nuts entirely yet, only run the nuts up to the end as you’ll need to use a hammer to knock the bolts through and don’t want to damage the thread. BUT BEFORE YOU DO. Move the ABS and brake pad wear wires out of the way. Don’t want to smack them with the hammer

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OK just knock the bolts through a bit to get them moving as they’ll have a bit of rust holding them.

TOPSIDE NOW

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Put some oil on and get to undoing the very top nut but don’t take it off completely just yet, you’re just loosening it ready, so take it up until it’s just finger tight and then leave it ready. You may need to use a torx or allen key in the screw centre to stop the shocker spindle turning while you unscrew the nut..

BACK TO THE BOTTOM STRUT BOLTS

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Ok you can take off the nuts and turn and knock out the bottom bolts now. Then you can lever the hub out towards you

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Now the strut is just hanging by the top nut and cover, so, supporting the strut with one hand underneath just undo the top nut. Take off the cover and now your strut is ready to remove from the car. It’s not very heavy.
WARNING DON'T even attempt to undo the nut shown down in here under the top cap. This is the strut spring retaining nut and is holding your strut spring on.

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CHANGING THE SPRING
Don’t try changing the spring yourself. A garage or tyre shop will do it for you for next to nothing in just a few minutes in complete safety. The Stilo spring is very strong and goes all over the place when compressing so have a garage do it. Bear in mind why you’re changing the spring, because it tends to snap and if it’s going to snap it’ll do it in full tension just where you’re face is so don’t mess with it. It’s quick, cheap, safe and effortless in a garage.

POINTS TO NOTE - VERY IMPORTANT

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When your garage man reassembles the strut with the new spring for you, make sure they have lined up the top cap and bearing surface like this with the point on the cap and the hollow on the top plastic bearing surface all in line with the bottom bolt mounting brackets. If not then they’ll have to do it again as it determines the angle of the top mount in relation to the bottom strut

REINSTALLING THE STRUT
When you reinstall the strut, wait until the car is back on the ground again before finally tightening the top mount nut

Now check your tracking is still ok as before

27col · 03-02-2008

Nice to see such a good quality set of photographs.

ROWENA · 06-04-2008

JUST CHANGED MY O/S SPRING YOUR STEP BY STEP WAS GREAT!! SPRINGS AREN'T THAT DIFFICULT TO CHANGE YOU NEED GOOD SPRING COMPRESSORS THOUGH THE STILO SPRINGS ARE MASSIVE THANX AGAIN FOR THE STRIP INFO
ROWENA.

mhowse · 03-05-2008

Today I replaced off side front spring on my multiwagon jtd, first time I have changed a coil spring so took all morning using a draper double prong compressor tool and wearing my bike helemt just in case of any rapid firing springs, still job done car back on the road and keeping an extra eye open for them pot holes that caused it to snap at 10mph..
many thanks for this handy guide

mhowse

forsh · 03-08-2008

i wish i seen this guide before trying to change my snapped spring

oh well now i can return to the car and try again

after bashing the front abs cable i think i could of fraid the cable a bit

couldnt work out how to take that anti roll bar nut and bot off,it just span and span round and round

taking a susspension off with the roll bar still attacked is nasty and hard work

managed to get the springs on and off no problem

after this i am going to my nearest dealership and trading my stilo in for a different car

maybe a bmw compact or a honda crv.hrv type thing

love my stilo,but i hate fixing it when i have problems
so hard to get round places in there

ninjaben · 23-09-2008

Thanx for the brilliant guide. Took awhile to get fronts off, had to drill out one of the bolts. The backs came off in 15 mins. Only prob left is car is pullig to left. Had tracking checked but said it was OK. Goin to get computer tracking done later.
Cheers matey

Nig1 · 03-07-2009

Thanks Deckchair,
I have just refitted the new spring. I do agree that it would be best to arrange to remove the spring at a garage. It would save stress that is caused when you can see the spring bending out of shape and the spring compressors slipping round the spring.
The spring compressors are only on their second spring (first one on a Punto) but I can't risk using them again as threads are damaged.
Also I would have finished the job yesterday in the sun and not be finishing it today in driving rain!
Also despite (or maybe because of) having had a new spring fitted three years ago at the FIAT deaalers, the bottom nut and bolts were rusted solid. I had to split the nut to remove it.

I repeat Deckchairs' advice: TAKE THE STRUT TO A GARAGE!

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