A sure sign the strut needs replacing, all the insides have leaked out!
Newbies thanks warrick (was rory actually)
Even if you are only doing one strut, jack and support both sides, to remove tension off the sway bar. Remember to chock the wheels, and use good stands. SAFETY first
Remove strut brace
Mark one of the studs on the top hat, so it can be put back together in the same place, loosen the top hat nuts, but dont remove completely. You can also loosen the ram nut at this stage too.
Disconnect the brake line, and remove from the strut, reconnect the fitting, so you dont loose all the fluid.
Disconnect the sway bar link from the strut, if the stud just spins, you will need to use an allen key to stop this while you undo the nut with a 14mm spanner.
Remove the split pin in the top balljoint use a 17mm spanner to loosen the nut as far as it will go, then use a balljoint breaker to loosen the balljoint. (i had to shorten one side of mine to stop it fouling on the strut) Once the joint breaks you should be able to remove the nut completely.
Note if you are changing the struts, the top balljoint is installed already. If you are only changing the springs dont use a breaker like i used, you will quite possibly stuff the balljoint
Next remove the split pin, nut cover, and nut from the camber arm 21mm from memory. I found the easiest way to remove the strut, from the camber arm, was to take the weight off the joint, by putting a jack under the bottom balljoint, and then using a long bar to lever between the strut, and the camber arm. Try not to damage this balljoint, with a breaker. If the joint is real tight, use a hammer to shock the old strut, dont hit anything you want to keep.
After all this, it's just a matter of undoing the 3 tophat nuts and removing the strut from the vehicle.
Now the dangerous part
attach you spring compressors evenly on each side of your spring. There are only a limited amount of coils that you can clamp, so if you have twin finger clamps like mine its a real PITA. Wind the clamps until the tension is removed from the top hat, and then compress a little more.
Remove the ram nut, if you didn't loosen it in the car it can be a real sod.
dissasemble and lay out parts.
You should now have this.
Clean up the components and reassemble to new strut, this is good time to clean and regrease the bearing in the tophat as well. Make sure the rubbers are in the right place, and on the top hat, the are 3 notches cut into the edge. The smallest notch should line up with the spring end slot on the strut.
Comparrison between compressed and non compressed spring
Reassembly is just a reverse of what you have just done.
Points to note
Top ball joint nut tighten untill the nut binds, and then go 1/8 of a turn more. if a slot doesnt line up, loosen till it does.
Camber arm nut is the same. If someone has actual torque settings let me know.
When putting strut back into the car put the stud with a mark on it, in the same place, and tighten to 55 foot pound.
Dont forget to bleed the brakes.
When the car is back on the ground, tighten the ram nut again, retorque the top hat nuts, and tension the strut brace, if its adjustable.
I have to find a few more photo's but thats about it. Total time to change 2 struts was about 4 hours, with a couple of coffee breaks.
