replacing strut bearing???

[dmorlow]

I am having a squeak coming from the passenger front side of the car. I took it to the dealer and he said it was the top of the strut tower that is squeaking. It seems to only squeak when going straight (just a little) or right (squeaks a lot more) but never squeaks when you turn left. The tech said that made sense. I didn't have them fix it. The tech put some oil in it and the squeak went away. He said it wasn't imperative that I get it fixed. The squeak seems to be getting louder lately and I am getting sick of it. So I called a local shop and asked them how much it would cost to fix it. They said it would cost about $300. I am not made of money and I don't have extra money lying around. But I just went to autopartsgiant.com and they have the strut bearing for $15. Is from what I have described to be the problem and the tech saying it was the mount at the top of the strut, would you think that it would be this bearing for $15? $300 I can't afford, but $15 I can find a way to find the money. Does anyone know how hard this would be to fix? I have always been scared to mess around with the struts because all of the pressure they have. Can someone give me some directions on how I would go about replacing the bearing? Plus the shop I called up said that if they did this, they would have to give the car an alignment. It makes sense to me but on my last car, I had to remove the strut plate at the top so I could oblong the holes so the shop could align the car better. When I did that, I just used a paint marker to draw lines on the plate so when I put it back, I got it in pretty much the same spot and didn't ruin the alignment too much. Is it possible to do something like that with this current problem so I don't have to pay for an alignment?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

David

[Indy8]

You are flirting with disaster here. If you can't afford to fix it right, then wait. Keep spraying lube into the top of the bearing. The actual replacement bearing alone may be $15, but you should use an all new bearing plate assembly and they average $60 each. And yes, you have to R&R the struts to get the plates on, then have the car aligned. Don't try to skimp and end up dead!