you win today, car

[jiggersplat]

score for today... car 2... dan 1

tried and failed to get tpms into learn mode - point car
tried and failed to remove front suspension to install h-tech - point car
sheared off the head of one of the steering stop bolts - point dan

how the f*** do you get the front suspension out of the AWD model without disconnecting the front sway bar?

[TDot]

Sheeeeeeet, you are in for a hell of a time lol. You need help to pull down the rotor/lower control arm and then you tilt, turn, cuss, slide, and maneuver the strut out. But be carefull because my boy tore my inner axle boot while he was pulling down the rotor...damn boy thought he was Herculese lol. Suffice it to say it wasn't easy, although from reading other peoples posts it was easy for them.

Odd thing though, which will contradict what I just said, I slid it out once with little effort pulling down the rotor and maneuvering it out. But I guess the stars were aligned right and the sun was shining on a dogs a$$ lol. That was one out of the three times I had to remove the front struts.

My suggestion, drop the lower part if its not complicated. It will save a whole lot of time and aggregation. Good luck.

[svard75]

You absolutely have to raise both fronts. Then you can disconnect the sway bar to lower the control bar.

[jiggersplat]

did you guys separate the strut from the wishbone thingy that the axle passes through or were you able to pull it out in one piece?

[TDot]

I just bent the rotor/lower arm (not really sure of the proper name for that) down and struggled my way through.

Did you put the back ones on?

[jiggersplat]

Did you put the back ones on?

i did not...

btw, i measured 28 3/4" stock height on both of front fenders and something like 28 1/2" on one rear fender and 29" on the other one.

[svard75]

Why are you struggling so much while refusing against all ends to remove the front sway bar? The sway bar on the AWD is a beast and if you leave one wheel down there ain't no way you're gonna have enough leverage to push down on that lower control arm to remove the front strut. Even if you have 2 or 3 guys standing on a long enough pipe you won't get it down enough. Just take your time, raise both front wheels, remove both wheels and then remove the front strut link from the lower arm. I was able to simply push down far enough to pull the entire assembly out. You will have to wiggle it around a bit because the lower wishbone is quite long oh and you have to remove the lower strut mount retainer as well. Take a look at my post to see what I'm talking about. That actually was a pain and my impact kits swivel joint came in handy there.

[jiggersplat]

Why are you struggling so much while refusing against all ends to remove the front sway bar? The sway bar on the AWD is a beast and if you leave one wheel down there ain't no way you're gonna have enough leverage to push down on that lower control arm to remove the front strut. Even if you have 2 or 3 guys standing on a long enough pipe you won't get it down enough. Just take your time, raise both front wheels, remove both wheels and then remove the front strut link from the lower arm. I was able to simply push down far enough to pull the entire assembly out.

i'm not... i'm just trying to understand my options before i make a second attempt. also i've never removed/disconnected a sway bar before so i don't know what's involved in getting it back on or if i need an specialty tools.

You will have to wiggle it around a bit because the lower wishbone is quite long oh and you have to remove the lower strut mount retainer as well. Take a look at my post to see what I'm talking about. That actually was a pain and my impact kits swivel joint came in handy there.

are you talking about the steering stop? little black metal bracket with two bolts and a big tab on it?

[svard75]

If the sway bar is unweighted then there is no need for special tools. Just a breaker bar and an adjustable wrench for the opposite side as you remove the bolt on the end links. It's actually quite easy. I would also suggest a rubber mallet to hammer the end link out. My cars an 06 and I live in a cold climate where lot's of road salt is used so there's plenty of rust and I was still able to remove it easily.

Yes that small black metal bracket. That holds the lower end within a small area of space and I believe there isn't enough room to remove the lower end with it still installed. The trick here is to push the steering arm down so that the socket extension can hook up to the bolts and remove them.

[jiggersplat]

If the sway bar is unweighted then there is no need for special tools. Just a breaker bar and an adjustable wrench for the opposite side as you remove the bolt on the end links. It's actually quite easy. I would also suggest a rubber mallet to hammer the end link out. My cars an 06 and I live in a cold climate where lot's of road salt is used so there's plenty of rust and I was still able to remove it easily.

cool.

Yes that small black metal bracket. That holds the lower end within a small area of space and I believe there isn't enough room to remove the lower end with it still installed. The trick here is to push the steering arm down so that the socket extension can hook up to the bolts and remove them.

yeah, i was able to get that out... the lower of those two bolts was the one i sheared off.

[svard75]

What's the plan with the sheared bolt? Drill and tap or replace the arm?

[jiggersplat]

What's the plan with the sheared bolt? Drill and tap or replace the arm?

It's got enough bolt left in it so that the part won't rotate with the other good bolt in place. I'm probably just going to leave it. Plus there's the stop on the other side of the car as well. I may try a liberal dose of PB blaster and an EZ-out when I re-attempt but I doubt an ez-out will have enough torque to remove it.

[svard75]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix1-NVOC83w

[jiggersplat]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix1-NVOC83w

rounded off bolt is a slight different problem than a bolt with no head at all

but yeah, i have the deep well version and the standard version of those sockets.

[svard75]

Oh yeah lol. Well in that case I would probably use a cutting disk to cut the remaining head off and whatever is left spray liberal amounts of PB plaster let sit for 1 hour then heat the arm up using a torch, use the cutting disk to cut a slot into the bolt and then a flat bit on your wrench to get it out. If it won't budge use a hammer on the wrench. If that fails drill.

[jiggersplat]

Oh yeah lol. Well in that case I would probably use a cutting disk to cut the remaining head off and whatever is left spray liberal amounts of PB plaster let sit for 1 hour then heat the arm up using a torch, use the cutting disk to cut a slot into the bolt and then a flat bit on your wrench to get it out. If it won't budge use a hammer on the wrench. If that fails drill.

yeah that trick has saved my a** a number times on smaller bolts and stripped screws... use the dremel to cut a slot and then a flat head screwdriver.