[salcuta]

My right side started rattling and clunking really bad recently. I thought it may be my upper control arm, but after inspecting it, I concluded that it was not it. Then my strut started squeaking a bit over speed bumps. It seems that my strut mount rubber had been broken or cracked.

I ordered 2 Unity strut assemblies at the price of 1 KYB assembly. Initially I was going to go with KYB, but after some research, I decided to give Unity a try. I read a bunch of reviews on Amazon and CarID, and many seemed favorable. Got them from RockAuto with lifetime warranty. The car feels so much smoother and quieter now.

Sorry for the small pics. You'll have to click on them to enlarge.

The job itself isn't too hard. It took me about 1 to do one side.

What are the signs of bad struts? Rattles over rough surfaces, squeaking, or bouncing like a boat when going over bigger speed bumps and such.

Jack up and remove the wheel



This 14mm bolt is the one holding the clamp tight onto the lower strut.


Remove this first using a 14 socket and ratchet.


This is the bolt removed


Next you want to remove the long bolt that holds the "fork" and the lower control arm together. The bolt and nut are 17mm. You will have to press down on the rotor to get the bolt to come out. I also used pliers to pull it out.



This is the bolt and nut. A bit longer than the first.


Spin the crown/fork back and forth downward


You will need to remove the upper control arm from the spindle to be able to push the spindle assembly down in order to remove the strut from the crown/fork


Use a hammer with a 2x4 to knock the upper ball joint out of the spindle.


I also removed the tire rod for more movement.


Remove the 5 nuts. Do not remove the nut in the middle. 3 of the nuts are 14mm and the 2 on the strut brace are 12mm.


Now push down on the spindle or rotor and pull the strut out of the crown/fork.




Remove the 5 outer bolts off the new assembly. Again, do not remove the nut in the middle.


Insert the strut and attached 3 of the nuts to hold the strut assembly as high as possible. This will make it easier to insert it back into the crown.


Press down on the rotor to slide the strut into the crown.



Knock lightly on the bottom of the crown/fork to have the strut slide in all the way.



Install tire rod



Now insert this bolt back into the crown/fork. I pressed down on the spindle/rotor and looked from underneath to align the holes, otherwise it's cumbersome getting the bolt in and having to press on the spindle and not seeing where the holes line up.




Now insert upper ball joint back into spindle. You'll have to put some muscle into bringing that upper control down.





Insert the 14mm bolt back into the upper crown clamp.


Insert all the nuts on top of the strut frame and tighten. The new nuts that came were in inches, so I reused my old metric nuts.

 

[bobbo]

Well played mate .. even with the tiny pictures !

You swapped whole assemblies right ?

 

[salcuta]

Well played mate .. even with the tiny pictures !

You swapped whole assemblies right ?

Thanks, bobbo. Pics can be enlarged but clicking on them.

Yes, I bought 2 new whole assemblies. Since one of my strut mounts was bad, if I was going to buy the struts alone, then I would need to buy a mount assembly too. So I went ahead and bought whole assemblies for both front sides. The price was too good to pass. Over 100 5 star reviews on carid.com on the Unity assemblies.

 

[chris918]

What company makes struts for Honda? Typically you get what you pay for. I'd do this but I don't want them going bad in 10K miles.

 

[jimijam]

Well done, sir. @RickBlaine will be along shortly to add this to his "so you bought..." sticky.

 

[I am Confused]

I take it you can tighten everything back as strong as your anatomy allows, or is there a torque spec?

Well done

 

[salcuta]

I take it you can tighten everything back as strong as your anatomy allows, or is there a torque spec?

Well done

There are specs, of course. I'll see if I have time to get the book and add them in the post.

 

[rookie]

Nice! Thank you!

So - if I read you right, the spring compression tool is not needed for Accord strut replacement? Years ago I was replacing struts and shocks on my Nissan Altima and I definitely needed It there.

 

[salcuta]

Nice! Thank you!

So - if I read you right, the spring compression tool is not needed for Accord strut replacement? Years ago I was replacing struts and shocks on my Nissan Altima and I definitely needed It there.

If you buy the strut alone, then yes, you'll need a spring compression kit. However, I bought the whole assembly - the spring, strut, and the mount. Getting the whole assembly is about 30% more expensive but makes the job easier. Also, you won't have to worry about your strut mounts failing soon either. So no, if you buy the whole assembly, no spring compression kit is needed. It's ready to be put in.

 

[rookie]

If you buy the strut alone, then yes, you'll need a spring compression kit. However, I bought the whole assembly - the spring, strut, and the mount. Getting the whole assembly is about 30% more expensive but makes the job easier. Also, you won't have to worry about your strut mounts failing soon either. So no, if you buy the whole assembly, no spring compression kit is needed. It's ready to be put in.

Got you, thanks!

What's this about "you won't have to worry about your strut mounts failing soon". Is that a thing?

 

[salcuta]

Got you, thanks!

What's this about "you won't have to worry about your strut mounts failing soon". Is that a thing?

It's the top plate and rubber that holds the spring compressed onto the strut. There's also a bottom mount and rubber. Bottom mount is not removable. Mine actually failed and rattled bad. If you just buy the strut and reuse the spring and strut mount, you're likely to work on it again soon. The strut mount kit is about $30 alone. You won't save much in the long run.

 

[t-rd]

Make sure you get an alignment, the height of the entire suspension assembly should be higher now.

 

[salcuta]

Make sure you get an alignment, the height of the entire suspension assembly should be higher now.

That's the plan.

 

[ebowski88]

Nice write up! Thanks! I will probably have to do this soon. I've noticed that even with religiously rotating every 7500...getting slight cupping on my tires.

 

[salcuta]

Nice write up! Thanks! I will probably have to do this soon. I've noticed that even with religiously rotating every 7500...getting slight cupping on my tires.

If your tires wear, check your upper control arm, grab the spindle from the top and wiggle back and forth. If there's play, the ball joint is bad and will cause tire wear. Also check your lower ball joint as well.

 

[evident]

I bought KYB Strut plus on all 4 sides and did the rears one night and fronts on another after work. Very easy to do, but there are some tricky spots. I made some mistakes due to impatience.

1. The rear strut assemblies are a pain to pull out of the wheel well. I scratched up some of the paint by accident trying to pull it out. make sure you have a partner or a pry bar available to push down on the brake rotor to get clearance.
2. Front passenger side nut that hols the strut into the fork - I stripped this, badly, due to my impatience and had to pick up a new bolt at honda for 6 bucks, but i was really afraid that i wasn't able to get it out. I had a deep 14mm socket and didnt get it in all the way. not enough clearance between that nut due to some line or bar (i forget now) being right in front of it. You need to have a 14mm shallow socket.

 

[Hesse]

@salcuta any chance you can repost the photos? They're not visible anymore unfortunately. I tried with a few different browsers and the photobucket hotlink extension that others have recommended on the forum before.

It's a shame when valuable resources like this one are lost.

 

[derass]

Check out this guide. It includes the steps to remove the front struts. I posted the FSM procedure for the front struts in that thread too.

Upper Ball Joint and Control Arm Replacement

Here is a little write-up I put together when replacing my upper ball joints at 243k miles (Honda Accord 2007, 4CYL). Perhaps it will be useful to you if you are considering doing the same! Hope it helps!

www.driveaccord.net

 

[Hesse]

Check out this guide. It includes the steps to remove the front struts. I posted the FSM procedure for the front struts in that thread too.

Upper Ball Joint and Control Arm Replacement

Here is a little write-up I put together when replacing my upper ball joints at 243k miles (Honda Accord 2007, 4CYL). Perhaps it will be useful to you if you are considering doing the same! Hope it helps!

www.driveaccord.net

Nice, thanks for the tip!