Do I have to disconnect the struts or can I remove the lower ball joint and swing the hub off the axle?

 

When i do them at work i remove the lower ball joint nut, pop the joint out and then remove the shaft that way so i have the least amount of chance to mess up the alignment.

 

Thanks that was why I did not want to remove the strut bolts

 

I take out the strut bolts and disconnect the tie rod. You can swing the knuckle far enough to the side to work the axle in and out.

I get what a33 is saying about messing up the alignment, but I 've never had a problem. If you use my method, make sure you don't let the tie rod turn. Taking out the strut bolts shouldn't cause an alignment issue . . . unless you have a camber bolt.

 

Is two hours a fair amount of time it should take to do this job?

 

Yeah, two hours is probably right. I'm sure I could do mine in less than an hour but I've done it so many times (issues with bad shafts out of the box) that it's almost second nature.

 

I never disconnected the tie rod. All I did was unbolt the lower strut mount and un-clip the break line from its mount (so I didn't stretch it). You have to work it a little bit to get it out but it's not too bad at all.

 

I unbolted the brake caliper, detached the brake hose from the strut and unbolted the strut from the steering knuckle. I didn't touch the tie rod end or the ball joint.

 

When I did mine I just took the strut out. It's only 3 extra nuts inside the engine bay and opens up quite a bit of room.