Originally Posted By: coopns
The car is rattling and jiggling up front. My mechanic said I need a new strut...saw fluid around the shock (I watched him evaluate it). So I went to the NAPA store and there was a strut and strut assembly. Strut was 30 and strut assembly was 125 (or the other way around? Can't remember). The guy at the parts store said I need a coil compressor to compress the springs back in to the shock.
Can someone explain this and any ideas on how to get the strut in there without a coil compressor?
WARNING!!!!!
Be very careful. I had an older Volvo that made the same type of noise. While I was under the car removing the whole strut assembly, I noticed the last lower bolt to the frame was difficult to turn (the top bolt keeps the pressure on the spring, and is only removed after the assembly is compressed by a spring compressor). As I made the last turn, the spring decompressed, causing the assembly to shoot downward with great force. Fortunately, I wasn't under it. It did strike my hand with a glancing blow, creating a golf ball sized knot on the muscle of my palm. If my head was under the assembly, I would have been killed.
It turned out the rattling noice was caused by a failure in the strut assembly itself, and the only thing keeping tension were the frame mounting bolts. I later found it was a dangerous design defect that Volvo corrected on later struts.
If the strut is leaking, it needs to be replaced. And yes, as the other posters have mentioned, you have to remove the whole assembly, and use a spring compressor or a press to compress the spring to replace the strut. There are no shortcuts. Make sure the noise isn't caused by a broken assembly though, or removing it from the frame in itself could be dangerous.