Questions about replacing rear strut mount

[Carwhiz]

Oh, and be sure to get lots of PB Penetrating fluid......those knuckle bolt's and stabilizer bolt get rusty! I ended up getting a new strut with mount premounted because where the mount mounts to the strut was all rusted off. I even tried to weld a big washer to keep it in place, but no go. Plus, the whole new strut with mount wasn't a whole lot more than just the mount. The only spring you need to worry about is the single leaf that goes from tire to tire. There is a trick to relieving the spring tension...there is a rubber figure 8 bumpstop that puts pressure on the strut. There is a hole on the top of this mount for you to compress this rubber mount. Most new struts include the bolt that fits this "unit" and sure as heck helps for making this job a lot easier. The problem......rust gets built up in this threaded hole.....use PB. It's hard to explain, but once you see it, you'll know what I'm talking about.

[Corkscrew]

I imagine you had a lot of rust since you're in Minnesota, from road salt. But hopefully we won't have much rust. Not much snow here in TN. We won't be replacing the strut if at all possible, since the car will be for sale right after this repair. The hole strut is about $80-$90. The mount is supposedly about $25.
So can I buy just the bolt to put pressure on the figure 8 bumpstop from the auto parts store? Or I wonder if home depot/lowes would have the same bolt? Anyone know it's sizes?

[airboatphil]

If you haven't replaced the upper rear strut mount yet....you really dont have to remove the strut to replace it...only on the rear !!! . That is...provided you can loosen the center nut at the top thru the trunk opening without the rod spinning on you. There is a flat spot on the rod to hold backup if needed.If you can get this nut loosened, jack up the car on that side until the wheel clears...remove the wheel...remove the 2 nut/bolt that hold the mount to the body.......compress the strut by hand(if the strut is bad..the rod will come down easy..otherwise...just the gas pressure to overcome)....remove and replace mount...and ...put it back together !!!. The piece that was mentioned as hard to line up in previous posts is the rubber jouncer under the strut to the knuckle if you dont contain it with a threaded rod before you begin to remove/change the entire strut.
Phil