How do you replace rear struts on 1992 Mercury Sable?

Answer 1

There are three nuts on the top of the strut that are barely accessible from inside the trunk, one small bolt that holds a brake line bracket, one very long swaybar link bolt, and one large bolt at the bottom that tightens a clamp onto the strut tube. Remove the small bolt, the long bolt, and the big bolt, and you should be able to slide the clamp down the strut tube far enough to clear the end. Then remove the three nuts from the top and pull out the old strut. Installation is the reverse. Things to watch out for? Rust. Both of the big clamp bolts on this car were so rusty, the heads snapped off when I was trying to turn them out, even with PB Blaster and torch heat liberally applied. I spent an hour working the second one back and forth, trying to keep it from breaking. I got it to come out about 3/4 of an inch, and then it snapped. I ended up just blowing the bolts out with the cutting torch and putting in a similarly-sized grade 8 bolt and locking nut. The swaybar link bolts also snapped off, but those are much easier to remove. Corroded brake lines. One of the brake lines was rotted enough to start leaking as soon as I flexed it a little, that still needs replacing. I have the leak stopped at the proportioning valve on the rear axle, but for the moment there's no RR brake. Proceed with caution, or save yourself the trouble and push it into a lake.