93 Z34 Rear leaf compressor

[DannZ34]

I'm new here. And I have bought a used Z34. 152,000 + miles. I need to replace the rear struts. I bought a repair manual and it speaks of some compression tools that are necessary to do the job. The car has the transverse leaf spring in the rear. Does anyone have some experience in this repair they would like to share. I need to fix this soon. I appreciate any help that you might have.

[White93z34]

you don't need any special tools to change the rear struts. at most you will have to get a jack under the rear knuckle to get the rear strut up high enough to bolt the top bolts up.

 

here is a writeup that someone did a while back

http://www.w-body.com/forum/index.php?topic=32934.0

[DannZ34]

Thanks for the quick response. That is just the info I need to go at it myself with more confidence. This is my only car right now and I have to be able to do this repair in a timely manner.

 

I can paint them and make em' look better than new but with mecanical stuff I'm a rookie.

 

Dann

[White93z34]

one thing i'll caution you with is that the bottom strut bolts can get seized in the knuckle. mine were.

 

best bet at that point is to remove the rear caliper and knuckle and beat them out with a good sledge on the floor. and do NOT mar up the threads.

[DannZ34]

You better effin believe it those bolts won't come out. So take off the strut and the knuckle together............. I'll give it a look see.

[Brian P]

Those bolts are splined and need to be hammered out anyway. They usually come out fine but there's always exceptions.

[DannZ34]

Well it turns out I had to take some heat to the the knuckle in the area of the upper bolt it just would not come out on its own no matter how hard I beat it. Its out now though and I didn't destroy the bolts either. Hopefully I have better luck tomorrow.

[DannZ34]

Got one side done and it is clear that I had one bad strut. The car sits level and it doesn't look like it has a trunk full of cement anymore. An interesting thing did occur as soon as I put it on the ground and took it for a ride. When I bought the car the steering wheel wasn't centered. It was slightly to left at an 11:45 position. Since I have changed the left side strut it is centered now. ALso about a week ago while going around a left corner the left lower contol arm broke at the front knuckle position and it looked like the left rear was taking a left turn. once I repaired that it became obvious the car needed struts as well. So i suppose letteing your struts get too far gone can be dangerous. I was lucky that I didn't wreck or rip the whole knuckle clear off and tear up the quarter panel.

 

Glad I found this site. I think this painter can transistion into being able to fix his own car one issue at a time I'll post some pictures when I have both sides done. And maybe some other rookie can benefit from this.

[Night Fury]

So you are doing both sides? Good. Shouldn't do just one.

[Brian P]

Those lower control arms are prone to early corrosion (ask me how I know) so likely the bad strut didn't cause the failure, unless the strut had outright snapped or broke thru the upper mount. Good to hear it's tracking straight now!