Quote:
Originally Posted by California98Civic
If struts last anywhere from 50K to 150K miles, you'll know in a few years if you got the full use out of yours since the lowering, no? I ask because I'm genuinely interested in your full assessment, not to contest your claims. I'm thinking of lowering with clamps, but I just replaced the struts about 30K miles ago. They were costly. If I needed them again, I would learn to do the job myself, but still... costly.
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You should be able to find very detailed "how-to's" for strut replacement, posted in chatrooms specific to your model of car, complete with photos, and tips, and maybe even links to your car's service manual. Then, look up "How to replace the struts on your Mazda Protege", on youtube.com, plus more generic videos, for shocks and brakes. In particular, I liked the video entitled, "How NOT to replace the..." and think about the suddenly unrestrained spring going shooting across the road; watch several, and if they all seem to be telling you the same thing, then perhaps you really shouldn't release the tension on that top nut until AFTER you've got the spring compressor on. And wear your safety goggles!
Here in Canada, we often feel that we're getting suckered by manufactures/dealers, but I saved $1,300 replacing the struts on my two cars [although a big part of that savings was buying parts from a US Acura dealer whose web-business shipped to Canada and handled all of the paperwork, too], less the cost of a few more tools.
Oh, and remember to buy those endlinks before you start, and a grinder and a nut-splitter, and remember that you can do this, and then you'll start doing brakes, again, and then... I figure I'm $2,500 ahead, including my daughter's boyfriend's car; going slow, that's 2 -4 hours a night over 14 nights!