replacing strut bearings in a vt commodore

[Vs-Stato]

hey all. been told i gotta replace the top strut bearings on both sides in my 98 ex police vt. the part is cheap but is it hard to do? could someone that knows how to do this work give me step by step instructions on how to do it please??? thanks heaps guys

[vx_commodore]

Take wheel off, Undo the 2 bolts on the bottom of the strut, undo the nut on the sway bar link pin, then undo the top strut bolt, Then the strut will just drop out.
Its a really easy task, You will understand it a lot more once you get the wheel off and have a look see. 2x 19mm nuts, 1x 13mm and strut top nut and thats all.
Then just pull the bearing's out. more than likley you will need to replace the strut top mount rubber's too, best to do the mount's and Bearing's all together.
dunno if i got the mm's right, has been a few month's since i done one.

[Vs-Stato]

wow... that does sound pretty easy.. thanks for that mate. ill be doing the work over the weekend.

[edals]

Are Spring Compressors involved at all ?

[Shen Long]

Sounds fairly easy. i've been meaning to change my front hubs as well. Would it be the same procedure to change the front bearing hubs?

[Brett_jjj]

Are Spring Compressors involved at all ?

No, not when removing the strut assembly from the vehicle. You only need to use the spring compressors to disassemble the actual strut once its removed from the vehicle.

[vx_commodore]

Are Spring Compressors involved at all ?

Not to just change the bearing's.
But if you need to change the rubber mount's then u'll need em.

[goose202]

Not to just change the bearing's.
But if you need to change the rubber mount's then u'll need em.

But the bearings are underneath the rubber mounts!


In addition to the bottom bolts (which are done up damn tight, you'll need a breaker bar), you also need to remove the brake caliper and the sway bar links.
Technically, the bottom strut bolts are throw-away jobs - you're supposed to discard them and use new bolts if you undo them. I can't say I've lost any sleep over that though.

If you run stock springs, then I wouldn't be so sure you don't need a spring compressor. Just make sure there's no pressure on the spring when you undo that top bolt or someone could loose a head. The other option is to undo the top nuts before removal from the car with the weight of the car still on the springs.

However, with spring compressors, the strut tops and bearings can be changed with the strut in place. Remove the top plate (from above the strut tower), jack the car until the strut drops down to full droop then use spring compressors give enough room to remove the strut top.

If you're going to go to the effort of new bearings, I'd recommend doing the tops at the same time anyway. They all collapse. New strut tops come with the bearings and are less than $100 from Holden.

[Sabbath']

Not to just change the bearing's.
But if you need to change the rubber mount's then u'll need em.

As explained in post above mine. WTF? You've obviously never done the job, or dont know what the different parts are called