97 outback rear struts in CO

[Frank Rizzo]

I need to get rear struts done on my 97 outback wagon. I was wondering if anyone knows of some good cheap places in the Denver area that would do it.

Does anyone know how hard these would be to do yourself?

Thanks in advance.

[92snowmachine]

I would recommend doing them yourself. It's really pretty simple and you can borrow the spring compressor from autozone.
Just pop off the rear speaker grill and you can see the 3 nuts holding the top of the strut, pop em off and then jack it up and take off the wheels. Unhook the brake line from the strut (don't usually have to remove caliper), mark the position of the two bolts that hold the strut to the knuckle because they are adjustable, take em out and your almost done. Use the spring compressor from autozone to compress the spring while you replace the strut. Should take you maybe an hour or two, worth not having to pay someone.
If you don't want to do it yourself Bonnie Brae Conoco is reasonable and good, I would recommend the shop I work at but we are definitely not cheap.
If you have any more questions or just need to borrow a tool let me know i always like to help a fellow suby fan.

[davew833]

Ditto that it's not really hard to do if you can get a spring compressor. Borrow one from AutoZone or get one at Harbor Freight Tools for $14.99- or less if they're on sale.

http://www.harborfreight.com/macpher...-set-3980.html

[Frank Rizzo]

Sweet, thanks for the replies. Sounds like it's not hard at all. I wasn't aware it was that simple. I've done plenty of other stuff myself including brakes, water pump and timing belt but haven't messed much with suspensions.

[Frank Rizzo]

I did this today but didn't want to have to bleed the brakes, so I just cut the existing clamps (to the shocks) with a sawzall. I really don't see the point in having the brake lines clamped to the shock. and I suppose I can easily use tie wraps as a substitue.