Strut assembly or strut mounts?

[$ilv3rado]

My 1994 Saturn SL2 obviously needs one or the other...hopefully not both. When going along at a slow speed (1mph ~ high 30's or so) you will hear a rattle type noise coming from the front passenger's side wheel. If you pop the hood and bounce the car a little while holding your hand over the top of the passenger's side strut you can feel a little pop - now obviously that's a bad sign but is it most likely a bad strut like I've been thinking or could it be the upper strut mount? Is there any easy way to test this? I can't feel this 'pop' on the driver's side but I can tell it needs replaced too because you can hear it sometimes at really slow speeds and especially when turning, however it doesn't make the rattling sound like the passenger's side does. The front axle, outer tie rod and wheel bearing have all been replaced on the passenger's side.

I know you must rent some kind of tool in order to replace the struts on a vehicle, but does anyone know how hard it is to replace the struts on this car from a scale of 1 - 10? I intend on replacing both struts at the same time but would like to avoid having to spend the extra $80+ on new upper strut mounts too if possible. I roughly figured if I could do this by myself then it would be somewhere around $150 after realignment and returning the tool. Your input would be appreciated. Thanks.

[RC1488]

Bad upper mounts. With a '94 they are over 14 years old...id say they owe you nothing Replace them when you do the struts.

Ebay is your best bet for new struts. Many have liked the KYB Gr2's with stock springs.

Tool is 40 bucks at autozone. If you get stock struts then no alignment is really needed as there is LITTLE play in the strut for the camber to be off. If you go after market...then if you feel eyeballing it isnt going to cut it then youll have to get an alignment.

Scale 1-10....3-4 id say. Its very east. 3 13mm nuts on top of the strut, 18mm and 21mm holding the strut to the spindle and IIRC an 18mm holding the upper mount on the strut.

Use a piece of tape to mark where the end of the spring is on the strut mount. It is important the the mount sits properly on the spring during re assemby. If it doesnt, youll be taking it all apart to re seat it

Be sure to have the compressors (both) on there securely. There is alot of force from the srping that is very dangerous if handled wrong. Be patient and think about every bolt before loosening them

[$ilv3rado]

Originally Posted by RC1488

Bad upper mounts. With a '94 they are over 14 years old...id say they owe you nothing Replace them when you do the struts.

Ebay is your best bet for new struts. Many have liked the KYB Gr2's with stock springs.

Tool is 40 bucks at autozone. If you get stock struts then no alignment is really needed as there is LITTLE play in the strut for the camber to be off. If you go after market...then if you feel eyeballing it isnt going to cut it then youll have to get an alignment.

Scale 1-10....3-4 id say. Its very east. 3 13mm nuts on top of the strut, 18mm and 21mm holding the strut to the spindle and IIRC an 18mm holding the upper mount on the strut.

Use a piece of tape to mark where the end of the spring is on the strut mount. It is important the the mount sits properly on the spring during re assemby. If it doesnt, youll be taking it all apart to re seat it

Be sure to have the compressors (both) on there securely. There is alot of force from the srping that is very dangerous if handled wrong. Be patient and think about every bolt before loosening them

Ok. Thanks for the advice, RC1488.