We have a 2001 stratus RT coupe. My husband is changing the front struts out on his own. He'sdone lots of other work on the car before...changed the altinator, changed 3 motor mounts, one of them twice cause it broke again! But he is having a hell of a timegetting the strut change completed. When compressing the coils back down he just can't get them small enough. He gets to a certain point and the spring compressors slip or slide or one time it snapped off. Or he gets it to a point and he doesn't have enough thred to tighten the bolt. Anybody done this before and have any tips or tricks? He's a man and refuses to ask any friends for help but I'm tired of carpooling. Any help would be appreciated.

....or how much does it run if we have to take to a shop? can we just take the coil and strut and have a shop put it back together and then he can re-install??

Thanks

 

OK we finally got the strutsback on the car. The problem seems to be fixed (as far as hitting bumps really hard and riding more smothly)....but the issue of shaking real bad once we get it up to 70 or 75 is still an issue. The steering wheel and dash start shaking. Any ideas?. We checked the motor mounts again and they're all good.

 

Not sure if this will have any affect on it but when you usually mess with the suspension an alignment is usually a must. Did he put stock struts in or they aftermarket?

 

Thanks for the reply.
they're KYB - GR2 gas replacement struts.