re: Strut Boots

[James Marriott <marriott@pophost.micron.net>]

At 04:02 PM 9/17/98 -0400, Dave Conner wrote:
>Gary asks:
>Anyone heard of a way to replace a front strut boot (ya know the 
>accordian plastic thing) without having to remove and disassemble the 
>whole darn assembly?
>'91 200tq
>
>Gary,
>I believe this can be done on the type 44 cars, including the 91 200tq .

Dunno about the '91, but for certain on the '89.

>This is the car where you can change front struts in 5 minutes. ( Actually
>takes me a little longer.)  
>
>To replace the boots you would remove the strut top nut and strut bearing.
>At this point there is a hole big enough to withdraw the strut cartridge,
>so just pull the boot up thru it and squeeze the new on in place.  
>
>Remember the strut bearing maintains the alignment so carefully mark it's
>location before loosening the nuts and try to get it back in the exact same
>spot on re-assembly.

It will be a tad difficult to get the upper end of the new acc'n onto the
bottom of the bearing. Patience and creativity will pay off here.

>You will likely end up doing a bit of struggling/ wrestling with things and
>don't be surprised if this ends up taking an hour of grunting and cursing
>per side 

Took me ~10 mins per side after I neglected the acc'n and bump stops (don't
you forget--they're $3) while putting the new Spaxes in.

hth,
James
'87 4kq, two-hour struts
'89 200q, 15-minute struts