A few questions about replacing the struts on a 2002 Civic . . .

Factual Questions
1

Hello,

I have found myself in a bit of a predicament with my Civic lately, as it is shaking when I get over about 40mph. While getting the inspection done, my mechanic also did the brakes and put two new tires on the front, and after running the wheels on the lift he believes that I need new struts in the front followed up with a tire alignment.

All of that seems reasonable enough . . . but the price he quoted me is over $700 and I would prefer to do it myself if possible. From watching some YouTube videos, it doesn’t appear to be that difficult as I am not going to mess with the springs at all. Just going to buy a set of the quick struts that come with the entire assembly and throw those into place. However, this is my first time tackling this sort of thing as I am not normally a very mechanically inclined person.

And don’t worry, I will be watching and rewatching many more videos before I actually do the job. But in the videos the mechanics always make it look so simple and easy with their air tools and precise knowledge of torquing everything to specification and so on . . .

So I simply must ask . . .

Do I require air tools or an impact wrench to get the bolts loose? The car has 190,000 miles and it is 16 years old, and those are almost certainly the original struts that came with the car when it rolled off the dealership lot way back when, so I am a little worried about being able to get all of the bolts free. Will simple hand tools suffice?

How important is it to torque everything to specification once I have gotten the new strut in place? In some videos I have seen the mechanic ensure that everything was done by the book, but in others the person will simply tighten the nuts and not worry about making sure that each bolt is exactly to specification. Do I require a torque wrench for this job, or is it all right to simply make sure everything is snug before I start driving?

Is it all right to replace one strut at a time? While I am going to have to replace both, I am a little concerned that I may not have the time to do both on the same day. I may have to put off the second strut until a day or two later, depending on how busy I am. Would it be safe to drive the car like that? I know it is recommended that a person has a tire alignment done after replacing their struts, but I just wanna have an idea of if I will be able to get around with one new strut in place until I am able to complete the entire job. Or, should I only do it if I can do both struts on the same day, followed up by the alignment?

Any help is appreciated as I am very eager to learn and want to make sure I am doing this right!

Thanks!

2

You need to do BOTH at the same time because, if the new one is functioning properly and the old one isn’t, you risk stresses that could damage the new one.

3

You should be able to loosen the bolts with normal hand tools. I hardly ever use my air wrench except for wheel studs. You need a set of sockets and combination wrenches in the proper sizes. The standard metric wrench assortments will be just fine for the Honda. There may be Allen or Torx screws holding the brake calipers on. The videos should mention this, I would assume.

There are various designs of struts. Some just bolt right back in the same location. Others have slotted holes for adjustment. If yours can be adjusted you at least need to mark where the old ones sit and make sure the replacements are close.

If you really need to do it in two days I think it will be fine for short distances. Changing the struts should not affect the toe-in. The adjustments are for camber. If it pulls a little bit to one side that is your sign to "get it done’.

Dennis

4

Start with the hand tools you have but also make plans to fall back to, be they different tool options or a means to get the car to your mechanic if you cannot finish.

You can get electric corded or cordless impact drivers that may help with difficult nuts. A Black & Decker cordless impact is 60$. In addition to working on my car I have found mine very nice for driving enormous lag bolts into thick wood. Also great for taking the blades off a lawnmower if you want to replace or sharpen them. You would also need the hex to square adapter to connect a socket to this tool. They’re inexpensive. Also noisy. Wear eye and hearing protection.

The most typical downside is that you never have room to get the impact driver in to where you need it. That’s why there are so many types of hand wrenches.

I did the struts on an 2006 Hyundai Tucson in 2017 without an impact, only hand tools. They were probably original to the car. Some type of penetrating spray will be your friend.

I personally would want to torque the nuts accurately. I wouldn’t want anything coming loose while rolling. If you do not get a torque wrench try to tighten each fastener back up as close to as hard as it was to take off. If you use an impact to undo it, though, you won’t have any idea of the feeling of the force it took to remove.

It’s been a very long time since I’ve owned a Civic but I did the struts on my 1995 VW Golf and an impact driver was needed to properly tighten the top nut. The Germans had designed a very complicated way to hold it to the car that required one-of-a-kind tools. I bet the Civic isn’t as idiosyncratic.

Good luck!

5

What is the torque spec you are supposed to hit?

6

At the very least I would invest in a breaker bar (1/2" drive), 1/2 drive impact sockets in the sizes you’ll need, penetrating oil, and a torque wrench. If you’re planning on doing more work on your car an impact wrench would be a good investment. You don’t need anything super expensive; I have a Craftsman C3 cordless and while it certainly isn’t professional grade, it hasn’t failed me yet and I would have not been able to do some of the DIY repairs I’ve done on my cars without it. Some spots are just too tight for the breaker bar and rusty bolt head will round off way too easy with a combination wrench.

7

It’s a wheel alignment. You can’t align tires.

No. Hand tools will be fine, but you might need ½" drive items for the bigger bolts (strut to knuckle).

If you don’t have the personal experience to know you’re getting things properly tight, very important. Even with that, I do auto repair for a living and I always torque strut-to-knuckle bolts, ball joints, and tie rod ends.

Yes, and it’s all right to delay the alignment for a while. I suggest get everything done within a span of a few weeks.

8

Just did this on my Subaru. I highly recommend penetrating oil on the lower bolts to help them off. Be careful you don’t spray oil on your brake pads or rotors and let them soak for a good half hour. You can do it all with hand tools but take the advice above; you will also need jack stands and a decent hydraulic jack unless you have access to a vehicle lift to get the wheels off the ground. I bought torque wrenches because I do a lot of stuff to my cars and other things but you should be able to rent/borrow one from your local parts store.