Replaces
Part Details
Specifications
Our direct fit gas-charged strut assemblies help to restore your vehicle’s handling and ride quality to just like new.
Our direct fit gas-charged shock absorbers help restore your vehicle's handling and ride quality to just like new.
Attention California Customers:
WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals including Lead and Lead Compounds, which are known to the State of California to cause cancer, and birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information, go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.
Lifetime Warranty
This item is backed by our limited lifetime warranty. In the event that this item should fail due to manufacturing defects during intended use, we will replace the part free of charge. This warranty covers the cost of the part only.
FREE Shipping is standard on orders shipped to the lower 48 States (Contiguous United States). Standard shipping charges apply to Hawaii and Alaska.
Shipping is not available to a P.O. Box, APO/FPO/DPO addresses, US Territories, or Canada for this item.
Expedited is available on checkout to the United States, excluding Alaska, Hawaii.
Final shipping costs are available at checkout.
Created on:
Tools used
Brought to you by 1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the Internet.
Hi, I'm Mike from 1A Auto. I hope this how-to video helps you out, and next time you need parts for your vehicle, think of 1AAuto.com. Thanks.
In this video, we're going to show you how to replace the struts with unloaded struts on this 2003 Chevy Monte Carlo. We'll show you on the passenger's side, but it's the same procedure on the driver's side. It's the same parts and similar process on this Monte Carlos from 2000 to 2007. The items you'll need include a new front strut from 1AAuto.com, a 15mm, 19mm, and 21mm socket and ratchet, an 18mm wrench, 21mm strut socket or a 7/8 inch O2 sensor socket, a T47 Torx Bit, a hammer, a torque wrench, penetrating oil, a spring compressor, and jack and jack stands.
Start off by using a 19mm socket to loosen up these lug nut caps and pull your hubcap free. If you have air-powered tools, you want to lift the vehicle and remove the lug nuts. If you don't have air-powered tools, you want to keep the vehicle on the ground, loosen the lug nuts, raise the vehicle, and then remove the lug nuts the rest of the way. Then just pull your wheel free.
Spray these two strut bolts with some penetrating oil, and do the same thing for these three up here. Remove the nuts on top. You want to leave one of them in place just to hold the strut until you take the lower part apart. Put an 18mm wrench on one side, and use a 21mm socket and ratchet on the other. You may need a piece of pipe for some extra leverage. Then just loosen up those two nuts.
Also, if you do have ABS brakes, there'll be a couple of harnesses that you need to detach from the strut at this point and reattach them later on. Hammer the knuckle in between the two posts of the strut, and then remove those nuts the rest of the way. Then just hammer out the bolts. Pull the bolts the rest of the way free. Now, pull your wheel knuckle forward, push the strut back and angle it down, and then remove that nut that you put back on finger-tight up top. Then pull your strut down and out.
Spray this top bolt with penetrating oil and then attach your spring compressors. Either use an air-powered ratchet or ratchet and socket, and you want to just tighten these up. You want to go back and forth tightening them up until the spring is compressed. Put your T47 Torx bit into the bolt at the top of the strut. Make sure it's in there nice and good, and then put on your strut socket and then remove this bolt. We'll fast-forward as Mike removes this the rest of the way. Once the nut is removed, just remove this place and then pull the mount from the strut, and, now, you can lift your spring up and off.
Pull this boot free. On the bottom is the old strut; above it is the new one from 1A Auto. You can see they're identical enough and exactly the same. Push down on the strut and remove this packing clip, and then remove the nut and pull the clip free. You want to hammer in this clip on the plate of your old strut that holds this gasket on, and then transfer that over to this place. Push that clip back down into place.
Take your boot and slide it down on to the strut. Lower your spring into place, making sure it lines up on that tab the way it was before. Once you have that lined up, take your mounting plate, line it up, and push it down into place. Push this plate into place and then replace that nut. It is a slightly different-sized nut, so what we end up using is a 19mm wrench. It actually uses a 6mm Allen. We just tighten it up.
Now, carefully loosen your spring compressors. Just loosen each one a little bit at a time, going back and forth, making sure that the spring is uncoiling in the right spot. Take your new strut and fit it back up into place, and then just replace those nuts by hand at the top of the strut.
Push the strut back behind the wheel knuckle, and then push the wheel knuckle into it.
Then replace those two bolts as far as you can. You will have to maneuver it around a bit to get the holes to line up. Then use a hammer and put them in. When they have about this much space left, you can just use the nut to pull them the rest of the way through. So just replace the nuts and then tighten these up. Now torque these two bolts to 130 foot-pounds.
Replace the wheel and then replace and tighten up those nuts in a crossing pattern. Torque each of them to 100 foot-pounds in a crossing pattern. We'll fast-forward as Mike tightens those three nuts at the top of the strut. Torque each of these to 30 foot-pounds. Replace your hubcap, tighten up your lug nut caps, and then you're all set.
We hope this video helps you out. Brought to you by www.1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the Internet. Please feel free to call us toll-free, 888-844-3393. We're the company that's here for you on the Internet and in person.
Tools used
Brought to you by 1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the Internet.
Hi, I'm Mike from 1A Auto. I hope this how-to video helps you out, and next time you need parts for your vehicle, think of 1AAuto.com. Thanks.
In this video, we show you how to replace the rear struts on this 2003 Chevy Monte Carlo with unloaded struts from 1AAuto.com. We show you on the passenger's side, but the driver's side is the same procedure. The items that you'll need for this is new rear struts unloaded from 1AAuto.com, 13mm, 18mm, 19mm, and 21 mm sockets, a ratchet with socket extensions, 14mm and 15mm wrenches, 6mm Allen bit, T45 torque's bit, hammer, flat blade screwdriver, torque wrench, jack, and jack stands, spring compressors and a strut socket.
Start off in the trunk. Pull back this insulation, and you'll want to remove these three 15mm nuts. You can remove this cap so that one is easier to get to. You will have to use a wrench for the back one, but you can use a 15mm socket and ratchet for the other two. Loosen up the lug nuts and pull your hubcap off. Then remove the lug nuts. You'll want to loosen these while the vehicle is on the ground, raise the vehicle, and remove them the rest of the way. Do this if you don't have air powered tools. Now, just pull the wheel off.
Using a 14mm wrench on the back and an 18mm socket and ratchet, just remove this nut. Push the sway bar out and put it to the side. Now, remove these two 21mm nuts. Next, remove these two 13mm bolts that hold your caliper into place. Now, pry your caliper off and set it aside. Hammer the bottom of the strut to loosen the bolts and then hammer the bolts out. Now, pull your rotor off, lift the strut up, and push it back off the knuckle. Once you get it off the knuckle you can pull it down and pull it out.
Put the spring compressors on either side of the spring, and then tighten each one back and forth a little bit at a time. Now, using a strut socket and a T45 torques bit, just remove the nut at the top of the strut. A 7/8ths oxygen sensor socket can work for this as well. Now, pull the plate free and pull your spring off along with this gasket that goes down along the bottom.
For the boot you will have to kind of work it off of the bottom here. Once you get it free, you can just pull it up and off. Up top is the old unloaded strut; below it is the new unloaded strut from 1A Auto. You can see their identical, and they'll fit exactly the same.
Take this gasket and put it down into place. Then put your boot in place. Now, take your spring, and you want to put it down into that notch right there. Just lower it down into place. Then push your plate down onto the strut with the rounded end facing the brackets on the bottom. Put this down into place. Push down on the strut and replace the nut. Then tighten it up using your strut socket. On our new strut it's a 6mm Allen instead of the T45 Torques bit.
Now, loosen each side a little at a time and just repeat this until your spring compressors pull free. Feed the strut into place and push down on the knuckle. Feed the strut behind it. Just push it onto the knuckle and feed your bolts through. Put the two bolts in place and place the nuts on the other side just have them on there hand-tight. Now put a jack underneath the knuckle and line up the studs. You want to make sure you have at least one of them lined up. Once you can see one, just replace the nut. Now pry out right here so that the other studs will line up. Then, using the jack, just push the studs up and through. Then replace the nuts.
Now hammer these two bolts in as much as you can, and then just tighten up the nuts and pull the bolts the rest of the way through. Now torque these to 120 foot-pounds. Push the rotor into place. Then put your caliper into place and hammer it on. Then replace the bolts on the back of it and tighten them up. Make sure you push your sway bar link back into place and replace that 18mm nut.
Replace your wheel and then replace the lug nuts. Tighten them preliminarily, lower the vehicle, and tighten them the rest of the way. Then torque each of these to a hundred foot-pounds in a crossing pattern. Then replace your hubcap and tighten up these lug nut caps. Now, go back into the trunk and tighten up those three 15mm bolts. Put the rubber stopper and rubber bumper back on the top of the insulator, and then put the trunk trim back in place.
We hope this video helps you out. Brought to you by www.1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the Internet. Please feel free to call us toll-free, 888-844-3393. We're the company that's here for you on the Internet and in person.
SBA56725
We have a few different aftermarket companies build these parts specifically for us, as our 1A Auto house brand. They are manufactured to the same OEM specifications as the original part that came with your vehicle. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
Thanks for your inquiry. This part is specific to vehicles with a particular set of options. We will need more information about your vehicle to confirm the fit. Please contact us and we will be happy to help you out.
