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struts on a dodge intrepid?

i have a 1998 dodge intrepid with 169k miles. its on the origional struts, and its a northern ny car, so some bolts are pretty rusty. ive been thinking about getting new struts, as its pretty the only thing else maitanence wise i have left to do, but theyre like 80 bucks each, and im afraid ill need a bunch of other crap too besides the struts.... ill probably do just the front first... how logical is it to jack up one side of the car, take the wheel off, then basically take the strut and spring out, just to make sure all the bolts will break loose and there wont be any problems... and inspect the struts? im guessing theyre bad because they have so many miles on them... what should i look for as far as them being bad? and is the tool used to compress the spring to get the strut out universal? like i just buy some generic tool at autozone? .... do i need anything else besides struts? like some kind of bushings or whatever? im gonna check as much as i can for rust before i go buy e

Public Comments

1. I've got a '98 Intrepid too......also in Upstate NY..... Is yours green? Dude, gimme back my car!!! OK... Bounce the front end. Hard. Get it going good. Now let go. Does it keep bouncing? Any loud creaking or groaning? Does the car keep bouncing after you hit a dip? If not, your struts are probably fine. Any visible signs of leakage? No? Leave them alone. Ride sucks, car bounces all over the place? Then change them. Yes, you can do one side at a time with a jack. As far as special tools, you'll need a pair of strut spring compressors & a tierod splitter. You don't have to buy them if you have an AutoZone nearby: they have a great loan-a-tool program. You put up a deposit, use the tools & bring them back. Your deposit will be refunded in full. You may also want to look into borrowing an impact gun. BTW... Ain't that a GREAT riding car? Kinda like a Battleship........
2. spray the bolts with pb blaster,and let it sit for a while,they should come loose.you need a set of j-hooks to compress the springs,(by the way,maybe your springs are weak)you can rent the spring compressor at auto zone.while you are at it,check the bushings,they are probably good,but it wouldnt hurt to check them anyways.just be careful,if 1 of the springs comes flying out,it can kill you.iam changing struts on the back of my olds next week,but my springs are seperate from the struts.i getting my struts from advance for $69.95 each.they are monroe sensi-tracs.