How To change out front struts and front rotors

[bsljacques]

Taking off the strut out of the SUV is not that bad....but the removing the spring can be a bit more fun! The nut that holds the plate and spring on is prone to shearing...but if you have a pair of vise grips...you can get-r-done!

[JCMusika]

i used this thread to replace my "POS" rancho's MyLift from shocks last weekend. spot on. as bsljacques stated, removal of the strut was easy, but removing the spring was more difficult. fortunatly, i got power tools to help. what a relief.
just an advise, it was easier to remove and install the shock assembly when moving the the stabilizer links to aid lower the spindle assembly.

[RocketPower]

Just posted this in a thread in the Performance Section as well.

Just changed the struts on my QX yesterday. It's not hard, but a buddy is a must. We found that it's also easier if the entire front of the truck is lifted and placed on jack stands as it took off "tension" in the stabilizer bar that occurs when one is lifted and the other is sitting on the ground. Even then one of us had to step on/push down on the rotor for removal and installation of the strut assembly. I got the HD's (part# 24-197656), and noticed that when transferring the rubber bumper and other parts onto the Bilsteins, the whole assembly, after put everything back together, is about 1/4" taller than the stock - we measured before and after. I don't think this will affect anything though. Luckily for us, nothing sheared off during removal. Nissan has thread lock on the shafts of the bolts.

One question though, how in the heck is someone able to torque that nut in the strut shaft when an 8mm wrench is needed to hold the same shaft at the end so that it can be tightened/loosened? The spec says 40 ft/lbs but I don't see how this can be done. The torque specs on the 3 bolts on the top suspension bucket is 22ft/lbs, and those for for the bottom bolt/nut is 99ft/lbs.

I actually brought a set of spring compressors, while they worked in the end (had impact wrenches to compress them), they were not made for truck springs so the safety pins were not able to close. I would assume those will be the case for those that are rented from the auto parts stores.

[Kooshtaka]

My buddy had an old school torque wrench.. the kind with the needle and fan... it was a bit tricky but that worked best for us. Two people does definately help the process along! I borrowed a set of compressors from my uncle and they had a serious bow in the rods when compressed down... definately didn't want to let them sit like that for too long. haha