I have a 93 GXE, and My Rear struts are completely shot!! I don't know how to go about replacing them, as far as using a spring compressor. I was looking to see if there was somewhere I could purchase a complete assembly( aka quick strut) for the rear. Also the GXE has a bit of a soft ride, so I was thinking about getting the SE struts. Has anyone ever replaced their rear struts, and does the job call for 2 people or can one person handle it?

 

you can do it by yourself, but, as always, two people make it go by faster. afaik, there is no "quick strut," as you call it, for our cars. the rear is just too much for a company to care to try to replicate, with at least three (that I can think of;89-90 disk, 91-94 disk, all drums) variations, on a car that was only produced for a few years (and afaik, these strut assys were only used on our cars).

three is absolutely no difference whatsoever between a gxe strut and se strut. all the difference is in the springs.

I believe there are some decent writeups, somewhere on here, about replacing the rear strut cartriges

 

best option is to do a disc swap and put new strut cartridges in the disc strut housings. at that time you can choose to keep the gxe springs or to put the SE springs on (from the disc setup donor car). if you do SE in back you should get the SE front springs too tho.

other option is to just keep drums and put new cartridges in those.

oh and KYB is ok for stock gxe/se springs. tokico is better (like if you are getting drop springs), koni is best (adjustible stiffness). don't waste your money on any other brands.

 

Ya, I did find a number of great resources through this website for the rear replacement. If you need a parts list maxinout, you can send me a PM. I bought all the parts for the same replacement you are doing, and i'm just waiting for a week or two, so it's warmer, and they are all going in. I'm also doing the front ones at the same time.

 

I didn't know KYB was similar to the OEM expensive ones from the dealer. So what you are saying is the height of the KYB coils, will retain the original ride hight...or very close to it?

 

Well see My GXE came with rear disk brakes and anti-lock brakes, but I was wondering if the whole wheel hub bearing and stuff has to come off or does it sit as one assembly, also when compressing the spring, do you have to compress both sides at equal intervals? Also would the SE Springs Give the GXE a stiffer ride? Because the GXE springs seem a bit too soft.

 

the SE springs should stiffen up the GXEs ride a bit. you should ALWAYS compress springs evenly.
the hub does not need to come off, you take off the whole strut as an assembly and only an insert is replaced not the entire assembly.

 

BE CAREFUL compressing the springs! Taking the assembly off of the car is easy, but the rest of the job is something I would only recommend if you're sure you know what you're doing. Otherwise, a shop shouldn't charge too much to install some new strut cartridges.

 

kyb makes struts, not springs. caped was having a brain fart @3:00 this morning.

 

yea try to compress the springs pretty equally so it doesnt apply side load to the one adjuster and strip out the threaded rod or nut on the spring compressor

 

I don't know if this helps at all but, I found a great deal on KYB GR2 struts on ebay. $200 with free shipping for all four corners. That's what I have planned for next week. That and replacing driveshafts.

 

That's a pretty good deal - I paid almost 200 just for the front 2. That guy is right about the danger of compressing the coils wrong. If they pop out somehow, you can get a fatal blast from a spring.

 

not a brain fart, just ambiguous wording. i meant "KYBs are fine for [use with] stock springs"

 

Well I am thinking now of replacing the rear gxe strut assembly with one from an SE. The only reason I havent done it yet is because I didnt want to loose the ride height in the rear. So far I have gotten one SE strut/spring assembly on the driver side of the car. With the stiffer springs it seems a little more responsive, but Ive never driven an SE to be able to tell the difference.

 

get an SE rear swaybar as well if you can.. it'll help out a little bit. Front swaybars are both the same.

So what do you mean the car seems more responsive but you haven't installed the SE spring/strut assemblies yet? or you swapped the fronts to SE springs/struts but not the rears yet?

 

yah I swapped the rear sway bar, and a front strut from the SE. But I have yet to swap the rear struts off the SE onto my car. I dont even know if its even worth it though.

 

What's the difference between the strut housings, why will the disc brake type accept a cartridge and the drum brake type won't.

 

They both will use the same cart. but if you are going to go all that work, may as well get rid of the sloppy drums, in favor of better stopping power. will make the job go a little quicker, too.

 

I'll tell ya what's worth it.

http://www.energysuspensionparts.com...sp?prod=7.3117


Day and night different! Make sure you get the black ones, I know it doesn't have any flashes but it doesn't squeal like the red ones and feels a little softer too.

 

Why are you swapping GXE and SE drumsticks? Why not sticking to the same model? Are they exactly the same? I'm a little suspicious here...you might wanna double check on that.

And also, why are you changing the assembly when in fact your struts are shot? Those assemblies are indestructible. I just can't imagine why would you want to toss them away for another set from SE model. And the rear shock inserts are very cheap. Both KYB GR2 and Tokico cost about $50/pc.

 

Okay, I just read a little more it seems you want to upgrade drum to disc brake? GXE also have rear disc. My 94 GXE has it. But that would require a lot of upgrade and headache. Not sure if you even can directly swap parking cable from drum to disc but I recall some guys here have successfully done it in the past.

 

Once you have a idea about changing the struts it's easy but compressing the spring's is not something a first time person should do by yourself cause it have been known to get loose from the compressor and damage
if you know someone who did it already let them give you some help or even ideas on how to do it..................

 

Nah Im not doing it for the Drum and disk swap. I already have disk brakes on all four wheels. I was thinking about doing it because someone said that the SE has stiffer springs than the GXE does. But now im thinking it may not be worth the hassle and spending of money that may not even be worth the while. Overall the gxe has a nice ride/suspension. Ill probaly just replace the strut inserts in there. The top looks easy to do, but the bottom looks complicated. I know that there is that large nut that has to come off, along with the stabilizer bar. Is it alot more to do after that? I can probaly take that whole assembly to a shop and let them install the inserts, and that would probaly save alot of money.

 

one long bolt, one shorter one, the sway bar bolt, and the couple for the caliper.
three up top, easily drop it out. (edit: forgot abs sensor, if equipped, is a small screw to remove and give the sensor a few gentle twisting motions to extract.)

it can be done solo, but helps to have a hand to catch them. they aren't really heavy, just awkward.
taking it out is easier than putting it back in, both can be done by yourself, but having an extra hand, esp. when reinstalling them is helpful. before you get the new struts installed, I recommend trying to put it back in right after you drop them. gives you time to find a helper if you are by yourself to start with.
dang, I am rambling again, sorry.