Your post is eerily coincidental, for my expy (2011 EL XL 4wd, 50K miles) is at the shop as I write having its struts replaced. So, of course, I just went through the throes that are about to beset you. I did EXTENSIVE research, mistakenly bought some chinese coil-overs (also called loaded struts and fully assembled shocks, etc) thinking I could do it myself. Couldn't get the first wheel off the truck without dropping the vehicle onto the garage floor to break the seal...inauspicious beginning (recommend you apply anti-seize compound when wheels go back on). When I couldn't break torque on the lower strut bolt with everything I had (short of a pneumatic impact driver which I don't have) I gave up, returned the coilovers and bought *** made KYB struts to go with my existing springs and hardware. I've read where US and *** struts are the best and KYB the best of the latter. They make coilovers, called Struts Plus, for Gen 2 and perhaps earlier models but they are not available for the Gen 3 expy otherwise I would have bought them. Seemingly, the Chinese have cornered the market on struts for our vehicle, so beware some sellers don't tell you this. Were I you, I would not undertake installing struts using your existing springs for the reasons mentioned above. I'm not trying to steer you in any direction. Just sharing my hard earned lesson. If you like, I will report the results of my strut installation in another post after I've had a chance to feel them out. Would be interested in hearing your experience. Thanks and good luck.
