I am trying to remove the old assembly and I cannot figure out how to get to the top bolts where it mounts in. Tried removing the covering where the speakers are but afraid it will break. Do I need to take out the whole back seat?

 

Remove the lower portion of the rear seat. Youll see a black tab on the bottom of the lower seat on the left and right. Pull the tabs, remove the seat, and youll see where the upper sides of the seat back are bolted down at the bottom. Remove a bolt from each side and pull the seat sides out. There youll have access to the upper strut bolts.

 

okay, we are at that point now. There is a black piece of plastic that we have to peel back to get to it. Is there an easy way to remove this? Thank you!

 

well we got the top loosened up. Now we are trying to get the old shock out. We got the bottom screw off but don't know if we need to remove and other parts to get it off. Thought it would slide off but its not budging.

 

The top drops out after you remove the 2 bolts, and the bottom may need some persuasion if its been on for a while. It should slide right off. Before you put the new one on it wouldnt hurt to put some anti-seize on if you plan on keeping the car for a while.

 

had to cut it off with a saw. was totally seized on. cant get the sleeve off. had to cut all the rubber off with a razor.

 

Sounds like it was an original shock from 2004. The last time I replaced my shocks was 2008, when my car was 7 years old. I recall them coming off easily. I recently sold it; its someone elses problem now