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1992 Buick Regal struts


brainboy
09-21-2004, 01:38 PM
The struts on my 1992 Buick Regal are bad and need to be replaced. I have never attempted to replace struts. For those of you who have: How easy is it? Are there any problems I may run into? Any tips would be helpful.

bigboyisme
09-23-2004, 07:35 PM
I've replaced a back one a few months ago and it was extremely easy. I have never done one on the front, but I'd imagine it wouldn't be too hard, unless you have to remove the hood to do it. The instructions that come with them pretty much explain everything

richtazz
09-25-2004, 01:41 PM
Front struts are a little more difficult than the rears, but both are easy enough that a do-it-yourselfer can handle it. You'll need to have the car aligned when your done, but you can do the install yourself.

Ruley73
09-27-2004, 02:32 PM
I'm shocked to hear you say that the back struts were easier to install than the front struts.

I thought the front struts (actually strut cartidges) were cake. I rented the W-body kit ($75 refundable deposist and a BIG time saver) from AutoZone and had both of them installed in under an hour. An alignment is not required afterwards for the front because you don't move anything that affects the alignment anyways.

The back ones I had installed at a local shop. They said that they broke a bolt on the upper mount on both sides so I'm glad I had them do it. They said the book says it takes 2.7 hours for both sides for my '95 Regal GS. They only charged me $100 because I work for the place they get their parts from. I thought they looked too hard for me to tackle, mainly because of the leafspring. I also don't have health insurance so that was also a consideration. The Haynes service manual says that the leafspring needs to be compressed with a "special tool" to do the job right. I still need an alignment but I'm getting new tires fairly soon and the told me to wait until I get them because these tires are so bad

I just want to know how you guys dealt with the leaf spring. Had I known it was "easy", I probably would have done it myself. :disappoin

bigboyisme
09-27-2004, 06:09 PM
Hmmm, I didn't have to deal with a leaf spring, the coil spring wasn't an issue.

Ruley73
09-27-2004, 07:22 PM
You both (bigboyisme and richtazz) must have a 1997 or newer Regal. They have a completely different suspension than the older (1988-1996) chassis. They have coil springs on the front and the rear. They also don't have the cartridge type struts up front like their predecessors did.

The 1988-1996 Regals don't have coil springs in the rear. Instead they ALL have a single leafspring that spans between the two rear axles. The same can be said about ALL 1988-96 Pontiac Grand Prix and 1988-97 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme.

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