Replace rear struts 1996 buick regal

How to replace rear struts on a 1997 buick century.

I replaced the struts with Monroe Ecomatic quick struts. The rear struts I replaced, required jacking the car up on the frame support located in front of the tire, remove tire. Support the wheel hub you should be able to lift it and put either a jack or wood under it. Open trunk and remove the shock dust caps by pressing on the bottom sides while pushing up. Remove the 3 hold down nuts from the struts using a 15 mm medium socket or wrench (adjustable is OK) but the nuts are locking nuts and don't just spin off. Once off, return to the tire area and remove the upper sway bar link using a socket and holding the nut located in the MIDDLE of the assembly (directly behind the bracket). Remove the brake line bracket from the strut making sure not to damage the metal brake line by moving the bracket itself just remove the screw. Remove the two strut mounting nuts with a deep well socket (I used a 13/16 spark plug socket). The bolts will have to be knocked out to free the strut. I screwed the nuts back on a couple of turns and used them to protedt the threads. The bolts "bite" into the metal so the will have to beat out (and back in) You can adjust the tension on these bolts by adjusting the height of the wheel hub. After the bolts are removed, tap the bottom strut back but make sure you hold on to the strut as this will be the only thing holding it up. Replace new strut back in the same way it came out. Position the strut on the bottom bracket and put the 2 bolts back in and beat the bolt heads until they are flush with strut. You should have someone look into the trunk to tell you which way to push in order to align the strut studs into the 3 holes. Using a jack, I lined it up and jacked the wheel hub up to seat the strut into the 3 holes in the trunk mount. Tighten 3 nuts on top. Reconnect the Brake line bracket. Reconnect the sway bar link. Tighten the 2 lower strut nuts. Replace tires. Lower the car and Check brakes to make sure you did not move the mounting bracket and break the metal piece of brake line going to the wheel cylinder ( I did). Recheck the mount bolts in the trunk for tightness then replace dust caps. Done Totaltime 3 hrs for 2. It helps to do both sides at the same time, doing each step on each side.

Here is a link describing your strut replacement. Autozone also has free tool rental for the strut spring compressor if you need it. Thank you, and don't forget to vote. http://www.autozone.com/shopping/repairGuide.htm?pageId=0900c152800681ba