Replacing Front struts on a Mark VIII

I WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND DRENCHING DOWN THE LOWER BOLT ON BOTH SIDES WITH PB BLASTER OR SOME TYPE OF RUST PENETRANT BEFORE DOING THIS JOB!

Depending on the environment the car has been subjected too, this is the one thing that can stand in between an easy job and a nitemare!!

The smart way to handle this job is to order your parts, then while your waiting for your parts to be delivered, soak down the lower mounting bolts really good at least twice a day.

1) Turn off suspension switch!

2) Put vehicle on jackstands and remove both front wheels. Even if your only replacing 1 strut, have both raised on jackstands.

(If you one side raised and the other on the ground, the sway bar will hold tension and make things difficult)

3) Leave the steering wheel unlocked. With the steering unlocked, you can easily move the wheel back & forth outside, under the car, to make it easier to remove the lower bolt.

Remove the 2 pin connector on the solenoid. See red arrow below.

4) Remove the air line from the solenoid.

The air lines are connected by way of a brass collet. To disconnect air line, push in on the orange collar with one hand while pulling on the air line with the other hand. Because the collet has been "dugg-in" for many years, you may need to try this several times before it comes loose.

Having a hard time getting the air line out?

Click HERE for help

5) With a small blade screwdriver, remove thin metal retaining ring around solenoid. Twist solenoid counter-clockwise until it stops or until you hear a sudden burst of air. After air has stopped venting, twist solenoid again until it stops and remove.

If you have one of the few solenoids that don't pop down (it happens) after you twist it, you'll need to pry it down with a screwdriver to break the air seal.

6) Remove the lower 21mm nut on the bolt. Remove bolt.

IF YOU NEED HELP GETTING THE BOLT OUT, CLICK HERE.

7) Remove the 2 x 5/16 bolts attaching module. Remove the 3-13mm nuts on top of the strut tower.

8) Push down and compress strut, then pull out strut.

9) Reverse to install.

IMPORTANT NOTES

When lowering the vehicle off the jack after strut installation, DO NOT allow the front end to go all the way down with all the weight resting on the bumpstops. This could damage the strut and may even cause one of the sensors to operate in an area it was not designed to operate in.

In other words, an immediate "check suspension" light may come on if the vehicle is lowered all the way down.

We recommend lowering the vehicle just below normal ride height, then turn the suspension switch on, then the ignition. After the compressor has stopped running, then lower the jack the rest of the way down. You may need to turn the ignition back on to allow it to raise up the rest of the way.