Shocks and Struts

Go to AutoZone.com, They have on line repair manuals. The arm has two bolts to the frame and the ball joint has a pinch bolt to the steering knuckle. place a jack under the knuckle and jack it up a little, then pry ball joint out, unbolt frame bolts and pull it out. The bushings can now be replaced. I would replace the whole arm while its out, the ball joint is riveted in the frame Go to AutoZone.com, They have on line repair manuals. The arm has two bolts to the frame and the ball joint has a pinch bolt to the steering knuckle. place a jack under the knuckle and jack it up a little, then pry ball joint out, unbolt frame bolts and pull it out. The bushings can now be replaced. I would replace the whole arm while its out, the ball joint is riveted in the frame

I suppose that is possible, however I would not recommend it due to how dangerous it could be. The proper way to remove and intall a coil spring is with a spring compressor, available at you local parts store. O'Reilly Auto Parts has one for $32.99.

Sensa trac sells for 65 a piece with lifetime warranty

That would be rear strut over coil springs. u will need a coil spring compressor and some general hand tools. when u find a coil spring compressor email me at matts911.rr.com for more details.

Matt

tire off, remove the 2 17mm bolts with nuts, then under the hood there is 3 bolts on each side in the strut area. you need some type of compression device. if you are not aware of this type of tool, i would ask to be shown by a tech. this type of compression power released is capible of almost or possible killing you if you get struck by a spring. the strut and spring come out as one peice until the top 17mm bolt combining them both is unhinged You wouldn't be able to without special equipment to remove the springs. Go to http://protege5.ugly.net/02-13.PDF That's the manual with instructions for removing struts. I believe the P5 shares many parts with Protege. At least you'll get a rough idea what you're dealing with.

Sounds like your front-end bushings may need to be replaced. Without the proper tools you should consult a mechanic.

yes when I put on lowering springs, the back seat had to be taken out

Around 60,000 miles

First you must remove the rear seat to gain access to the top strut mounts. The bottom of the rear seat comes out first. On the 96 model there are two tabs at the base of the seat bottm that you pull forward to release the seat bottom. I'm not sure if the 93 is the same. After removal of the rear seat bottom, you will see a bolt at the bottom of each side of the rear seat back that need to be removed. Fold down the arm rest and disconnect the vinyl cover at the base of the armrest to expose and remove two screws. Push up on the rear seat back to unhook three plastic hooks (center and one at each end) at the top of the rear seat back. Remove the seat back. Remove the large metal support panel that is behind the seat back. Safely jack up the rear of the car and support on jack stands so the rear wheels hang free. Doing one strut at a time, remove the two top strut mount bolts leaving the center strut stud nut in place. The strut and mount will lower out of the unibody. Disconnect the bottom strut mount. Remove the strut/coil spring assembly. Using a strut/spring compressor (some auto parts stores rent these) compress the spring. Carefully remove the top strut stud retaining nut, top strut mount, bumpers and strut boot. Carefully install compressed spring, strut boot, bumpers and top strut mount on new strut and install washer and retaining nut. Reinstall strut and etc. in reverse order.

They are an integral part of the steering and suspension that also performs like a shock absorber. They can be on the front or the rear.