MacPherson.
This car owned my ass yesterday.
I knew there was a leaky CV boot on the left side and I figured I would seal it up while i was under there. However, all the maneuvering of the steering knuckle to remove the strut pulled on the boot enough to open the crack further, which caused a crap load of grease to leak out*. Further, the nut holding the sway bar end link to the sway bar would not budge. It's a crimped nut which grips the stud pretty hard, and it faces inboard so i couldnt give it a blast with the impact driver, which i was able to do with the upper nut.
Getting the strut out required a tool like this:
but I made this from an 8mm hex key:
(Only this picture is mine.)so I could do this:
Opening that clamp, plus removing the 3 bolts holding the upper mount to the frame allowed me to remove the whole strut assembly. I disassembled the strut to get the spring off and onto the new strut and bearing/mount assembly. This went without a hitch, surprisingly, since I had my impact driver to tighten the threaded spring compressor tool i rented:
With a ratchet, it would have taken me at least a half hour and killed my arms. I put the new assembly in, but not without murdering the CV boot and draining more grease out. Each flex of the boot ingested air, and the reverse motion squeezed out more grease*. Eventually the strut was in place. Of the 3 screws on top, i cross threaded one
and snapped the head off another when my torque wrench either didn't click, or i didn't notice
.
It was at this point I decided I should stop before i dug myself deeper. I called the volvo mechanic I visited last month and told him about the CV joint and asked if it was safe to drive so I could drop it off at his shop. He said it should be ok as long as the joint bearings are in place properly. I will have him check out and repair the CV joint monday, install the right strut and end links.
After that, I called a bunch of auto supply shops, hardware stores and a volvo dealer to try locating the top mount bolts that I ruined. One hardware store had the correct size and strength (M8X1.25 10.9), but wrong length. The volvo dealer said the nearest one was in Westport, CT, which is about an hour drive from me. I couldnt believe I was about to drive an hour for 2 bolts, but that's what i planned to do. Later that night, i just figured I could buy the hardware store bolt until i ordered the right one. I would have to visit CT another time. Since there are plenty of threads past the nut on the strut mount, and the new bolt is the required strength, I could just leave them on there. However they are black oxide and I'm not sure of their rust resistance.
As for the snapped one (the rest of the bolt was still in the mount), since the mount had a tapped through hole, the tip of the bolt stuck through under the wheel well. I got a tiny needle nose in there somehow (I thought i would have to take the whole strut assembly out) and about 5 degrees at a time, was able to thread the remainder of the bolt out. I installed the 2 new bolts (the last 2 in the store) and was done with it. Part of me still wants to replace the right strut myself, but I don't want to dig another hole and I will just let a pro do it. At least I can limp it there.
*CV joint grease is pretty thick stuff. When I used words like "dripping" and "spilling", the mechanic seemed puzzled. I searched a bit about these CV joints, and happened to come across a rebuild where someone mentioned water mixing with the grease, making it the consistency of thick motor oil. The boot must have ingested a bunch of water which thinned it out to the point where it could drip. I hope I don't have to replace the whole thing. They are almost $600 each for OEM, however I see some random brand on rock auto for like $45. Makes no sense.
TL;DR- Replaced left front strut, but cross threaded and snapped 2 bolts and had to get new ones. Tore open inner CV boot and lost lots of grease. Decided to cut my losses and have a pro finish right strut and fix CV joint.