JasonH
Full Access Members
Thought I would briefly share my experience swapping out the OE rear struts on my 2017 EL. For context, this vehicle has seen 10 - 20,000 miles towing over the past 3 years. I think the towing wore out the rear struts, because the fronts seem fine. The rear was bobbing and bouncing over bad roads, complete with passengers coming out of their seats on big bumps. It was clear that the struts couldn't control the spring rebound anymore. I initially tried to go with quickstruts for ease of replacement, but ordered the wrong KYB part number and could only get the strut tube in time for our 800 mile, 12 hour road trip.
The job is easily doable, provided you have the correct tools, including a strut compressor. I used the KYB Excel-G struts (part no. 340072) and the tools below:
27 mm socket
30 mm socket (6 pt preferred)
1/2-inch breaker bars (two if you have them)
17 mm ratcheting wrench
8mm socket
Torch
Floor Jack
The only bolts that need to come out on the bottom are the 27mm lower strut bolt, and the 27mm lower control arm bolt (with captive nut). Up top, the 17 mm ratcheting wrench will make removing the 3 upper screws easy. It takes several turns to get them loose, so I strongly recommend using a ratcheting wrench. Due to space constraints I didn't bother trying to squeeze a socket in there. I suggest starting by breaking loose the lower strut 27mm bolt, as it is held on by the 30 mm nut has the highest torque. If you can't get that loose, then taking the top nuts off isn't helpful.
The biggest complication I had was on the driver side, as the lower strut bolt was seized and no amount of force or hammering would release it. Strangely, the passenger side came out easily. I have an air compressor, but no air tools. Ultimately, what worked was lighting the lower strut bushing on fire with a torch and hitting the loosened 30 mm nut on the end to shield the bolt from the impact. This released the bolt almost immediately, after I spent hours with penetrating and a cordless impact driver trying to get it out. Impact sockets may be helpful here as well, since the parts can be seized or torqued down pretty tight. I suggest a 6 pt socket to reduce the chance of stripping the 30mm.
Once the strut is out, you can use compress the spring, spray some penetrating lube on top, and use an impact driver to loosen the 17 mm top nut. It may require a combination of 17 mm wrenching and 8 mm socket to keep the shaft from spinning, but my impact driver helped vibrate the nut loose even with the shaft spinning.
Take the lower spring perch insulator and put it on the new strut reassemble in reverse order.
Loosely support the strut using the top screws and start threading the bottom 27mm bolts. Once everything is properly positioned, tighten and up the screws and you're good to go. I don't have torque specs...perhaps someone can chime in with those.
The ride quality was improved substantially using the Excel-G. The roads on several segments of our trip were extremely uneven, and I had no issues with controlling the vehicle anymore. I can't compare to OEM, because the vehicle was purchased with 60K miles and I have "E" tires on, which are stiffer.
The job is easily doable, provided you have the correct tools, including a strut compressor. I used the KYB Excel-G struts (part no. 340072) and the tools below:
27 mm socket
30 mm socket (6 pt preferred)
1/2-inch breaker bars (two if you have them)
17 mm ratcheting wrench
8mm socket
Torch
Floor Jack
The only bolts that need to come out on the bottom are the 27mm lower strut bolt, and the 27mm lower control arm bolt (with captive nut). Up top, the 17 mm ratcheting wrench will make removing the 3 upper screws easy. It takes several turns to get them loose, so I strongly recommend using a ratcheting wrench. Due to space constraints I didn't bother trying to squeeze a socket in there. I suggest starting by breaking loose the lower strut 27mm bolt, as it is held on by the 30 mm nut has the highest torque. If you can't get that loose, then taking the top nuts off isn't helpful.
The biggest complication I had was on the driver side, as the lower strut bolt was seized and no amount of force or hammering would release it. Strangely, the passenger side came out easily. I have an air compressor, but no air tools. Ultimately, what worked was lighting the lower strut bushing on fire with a torch and hitting the loosened 30 mm nut on the end to shield the bolt from the impact. This released the bolt almost immediately, after I spent hours with penetrating and a cordless impact driver trying to get it out. Impact sockets may be helpful here as well, since the parts can be seized or torqued down pretty tight. I suggest a 6 pt socket to reduce the chance of stripping the 30mm.
Once the strut is out, you can use compress the spring, spray some penetrating lube on top, and use an impact driver to loosen the 17 mm top nut. It may require a combination of 17 mm wrenching and 8 mm socket to keep the shaft from spinning, but my impact driver helped vibrate the nut loose even with the shaft spinning.
Take the lower spring perch insulator and put it on the new strut reassemble in reverse order.
Loosely support the strut using the top screws and start threading the bottom 27mm bolts. Once everything is properly positioned, tighten and up the screws and you're good to go. I don't have torque specs...perhaps someone can chime in with those.
The ride quality was improved substantially using the Excel-G. The roads on several segments of our trip were extremely uneven, and I had no issues with controlling the vehicle anymore. I can't compare to OEM, because the vehicle was purchased with 60K miles and I have "E" tires on, which are stiffer.
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