Monty3038

So I managed to get the rotor off. With the help of Cobalt drill bits, a chisel and a lot of patience, I was able to drill through the rotor around the bolt and stuck extractor. The extractor was eventually worn out of the remaining parts of the bolt (minimal, though they still stick up out of the hub). I was able to finally replace the rotor and finish the brake replacement, though it is a bit trickier now to insert the lug bolts as you have to keep the rotor aligned before putting the wheel back on. But it is all together..and rolling again. Strut is next on the list for replacement... of course it has to be the same wheel that I had this problem with that needs replaced...

Oh, and one more note. Something I didn't even notice. On the driver side I had vented disc brakes, on the passenger side I did not. So it appears someone changed the rotor on the passenger side before, but due to this bolt issue didn't change the driver side.

So I have that going for me.

Monty3038

A little follow up to all interested... this weekend I did replace the failed/failing strut (or shock). Went well... with one exception. My Spring Compressor is of the two screw type with brackets that attach to the spring. The brackets that actually attach to the spring were not really long enough (or wide enogh depending on view) to reach in past the spring mounting plates... which created an issue when trying to mount on the new Sachs unit. Struggled a bit with it and had to eventually decompress the spring then recompress in another spot and still it was a bit of a problem getting it on. If the brackets (or arms) of the compressor were longer it wouldn't have been an issue, but I scraped up the new unit spring bed pretty badly getting it to fit... not that you can see it, but was a struggle.

Now to order the other side so I have a matched set (knew I wasn't doing them both the same weekend due to time, and wasn't sure I could complete it myself having never used the spring compressor before).

All in all it went ok... and the car is back on the road... control arms look like they could be done, if I do them one at a time (lower one time then upper)... something to consider for later. Thanks all for the suggestions and help!

Monty3038

Finally getting around to the other strut this past weekend. Wow, what a headache. Took the old strut off, compress the spring (apparently not enough, or in the right way, even though it worked for the other side) and took unit apart. Unbox new strut, looks just like old one (except for the rubber mounts where the spring coil sits, they were missing, so removed from old one and put on new one. Start trying to mount spring... can get it in place but can't get top retaining clip on with everything in place as spring isn't compressed enough. Take it all apart, recompress the spring differently, no go. After 6 recompressions, and still not being able to get it on, figure I need more compression, or a way to do it with the compressor parts out of the way.

So I've seen the heavy duty compressors at the parts store for rent or purchase, so I go rent one. I figure I can just recompress with that and put it all together then take it back.

Now I'm 7 hours in, have it all together, the heavy duty compressor having shrunk it enough to get it on, but now I can't get the heavy duty compressor off.

I've tried using the smaller compressor rods to shrink the spring to get it out, no go. I've tried a hammer, no go. I gave up.

Have slept since... and now am at work, so when I get home I get to try again. The only thing I can think of is to take it all back apart, remove the heavy duty compressor and try again. This is a nightmare.

Monty3038

So... was able to get the spring compressor out by disassembling the entire shock assembly. Started over. This time with the small spring compressor parts. Managed to get the whole assembly back together about two hours later. Mounted in the vehicle... struggled to get it in place correctly but finally did so. After completion, the top strut mount bolt (with the weird little bracket under it) sits about 1/2 inch above the strut tower. Everything is tight, car lowered, and it stays this way. I drove it to see if it just needed to recompress the spring again with some weight on it, no problems. Took it back and parked it.

This morning, took it to work... and now I have a rattle every time the wheel extends (which tells me the top bracket is hitting the top of the strut mount... ). So tonight I get to tear it all apart again and see if I can figure out what is wrong. The top bracket on the other side sits about 1/8 to 1/4 inch above the rubber housing piece and doesn't rattle, so I don't have any idea what is wrong.

This has been an exhausting exercise, and if I cannot find it, I will likely have to take it to the dealer and have them replace the strut and repair whatever is wrong. So... if no luck tonight, I'm looking at about $1400 US for two new struts to be installed.