On Fri, 05 Oct 2007 16:28:06 -0500, DT > wrote:


>This is on a 1992 4-door Lumina sedan. The factory manual calls for a rather
>large tool that fits across the whole spring to compress it when changing out
>the rear struts. Has anyone replaced the struts, and do you really need the
>special tool? Perhaps the spring is slack enough with the wheels drooped that a
>simple pry bar can pull each knuckle down enough to slip the strut out?

Usually the strut's "shock" will bottom out when you remove the assembly --
ie: if the wheel is dropped then the spring is still loaded with enough force
to take your head off.

Either spend the $30 to rent the tool, or get used to driving around with
a bouncing suspension. If you can't come up with $30, then you have no
business trying to do a strut job.