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This thread is a basic how-to on installing 97+ Escort front strut mounts in a 93-97 Probe. This is basically all the same steps as swapping out springs or struts on the front, with one extra step...
Tools required:
Jack and jack stands
Ratchet (3/8 or 1/2 will work)
Basic Socket Set (12, 14, 17, and 19 are the main ones you will use)
Tire Iron or 21mm socket and breaker bar
Pliers
Strut Spring Compressor
Dremel rotory tool
Start off of course by breaking loose the lug nuts, but do not remove them. Then jack up both sides of the car and support them with jack stands, and remove both front tires. Make sure to either block the rear wheels or set the parking brake firmly before doing this.
Loosen the nut in the center of each strut mount and turn it one turn. Do NOT remove this nut yet.
Loosen and remove the 2 17mm nuts on holding the strut to the steering knuckle. Also, if your car has ABS like mine, remove the 12mm nut holding the wheel speed sensor wiring bracket to the strut. Remove the clip holding the brake hose to the strut and pull the brake hose out of the strut bracket. Then, use a hammer (or your ratchet
) to lightly tap the 2 bolts holding the strut to the steering knuckle out. You may need to move the steering knuckle around some to pull the bolts completely out. The steering knuckle should drop down a little now, and you should be able to pull it down and swing it out of the way of the strut. If the steering knuckle pops up towards the top of the car when you remove the bolts, it is most likely because you didn't jack up both sides of the car like I said to, and you are now fighting against the front sway bar. Now head back under the hood and remove 3 of the 4 strut mount bolts. Before removing the 4th, get a hand on the strut or spring, otherwise it will drop out under the car, which can do damage. After removing these 4 bolts, remove the strut and spring from the car.
You should be looking at this now... Before proceeding, you will need to compress the coil spring using something like this:
This is a strut coil spring compressor. Most auto parts stores that rent parts will rent these. These clamp down on the coils of the spring and compress them, to you can remove the pressure from the strut mount so you can remove it. Install them on the springs like this:
Now, a little side note about these spring compressors. They are not the best or safest tool ever made. Most shops have spring compressors that mount on the wall and are alot more safe than these compressors. So, when compressing the spring, compress each side of the spring a little bit at a time. And, always keep the spring facing away from you, so that if the compressors slip (I've had this happen to me personally) no parts will come flying at you. Keep in mind that stock GT front springs have a spring rate of about 190 lb/in, and the springs will need to be compressed at least a few inches to remove the strut mount, so if that compressor slips, the spring will fly off there with about 600lbs of force behind it. It will hurt if it hits you, and it could kill you. So BE CAREFUL!!
After you have the spring compressed to a safe level, you should be able to wobble the strut mount around a little, since you've loosened the nut a bit already. Once you are to this point, remove the strut mount from the strut shaft. Leave the bearing and the upper spring hat on there. Now, look at your Probe strut mount, and compare it to the Escort strut mount. You will see this...
Notice how much further this mount puts the top of the spring to the body. It is about a half inch difference. This is how this mount is able to lower your front end about a half an inch without sacrificing any suspension travel. You will also notice that the D-shaped hole where the strut shaft goes through is much smaller on the Escort mount than the Probe mount. This will need to be fixed. In order to do this, I used my Dremel and a tungsten carbide cutting tool, which looks like this.
This is designed to be able to cut hardened steel, so the strut mounts will be no problem. You could probably also do this with a large drill bit or a die grinder, but the Dremel worked best for me. Make sure that when you are enlarging the hole you keep the D-shape, otherwise you will likely have trouble tightening the center strut mount bolt when reinstalling.
After you have gotten the hole to the correct size, slide the mount back onto the strut and snug down the bolt a little. Don't worry about really tightening it down right now, as that is much easier to do once the strut is back in the car. Release the spring compressors, backing the screws off a little bit on each side back and forth until they are loose. From this point, the installation is basically the opposite of removal... The strut to steering knuckle bolts get torqued to 68-86 ft-lbs, the 4 strut mount bolts get torqued 34-46 ft-lbs, and the center strut mount bolts get torqued to 66-86 ft-lbs. And of course, the wheels get torqued to 75ft-lbs in a star pattern.
Continued in next post...
Tools required:
Jack and jack stands
Ratchet (3/8 or 1/2 will work)
Basic Socket Set (12, 14, 17, and 19 are the main ones you will use)
Tire Iron or 21mm socket and breaker bar
Pliers
Strut Spring Compressor
Dremel rotory tool
Start off of course by breaking loose the lug nuts, but do not remove them. Then jack up both sides of the car and support them with jack stands, and remove both front tires. Make sure to either block the rear wheels or set the parking brake firmly before doing this.
Loosen the nut in the center of each strut mount and turn it one turn. Do NOT remove this nut yet.
Loosen and remove the 2 17mm nuts on holding the strut to the steering knuckle. Also, if your car has ABS like mine, remove the 12mm nut holding the wheel speed sensor wiring bracket to the strut. Remove the clip holding the brake hose to the strut and pull the brake hose out of the strut bracket. Then, use a hammer (or your ratchet
) to lightly tap the 2 bolts holding the strut to the steering knuckle out. You may need to move the steering knuckle around some to pull the bolts completely out. The steering knuckle should drop down a little now, and you should be able to pull it down and swing it out of the way of the strut. If the steering knuckle pops up towards the top of the car when you remove the bolts, it is most likely because you didn't jack up both sides of the car like I said to, and you are now fighting against the front sway bar. Now head back under the hood and remove 3 of the 4 strut mount bolts. Before removing the 4th, get a hand on the strut or spring, otherwise it will drop out under the car, which can do damage. After removing these 4 bolts, remove the strut and spring from the car.You should be looking at this now... Before proceeding, you will need to compress the coil spring using something like this:
This is a strut coil spring compressor. Most auto parts stores that rent parts will rent these. These clamp down on the coils of the spring and compress them, to you can remove the pressure from the strut mount so you can remove it. Install them on the springs like this:
Now, a little side note about these spring compressors. They are not the best or safest tool ever made. Most shops have spring compressors that mount on the wall and are alot more safe than these compressors. So, when compressing the spring, compress each side of the spring a little bit at a time. And, always keep the spring facing away from you, so that if the compressors slip (I've had this happen to me personally) no parts will come flying at you. Keep in mind that stock GT front springs have a spring rate of about 190 lb/in, and the springs will need to be compressed at least a few inches to remove the strut mount, so if that compressor slips, the spring will fly off there with about 600lbs of force behind it. It will hurt if it hits you, and it could kill you. So BE CAREFUL!!
After you have the spring compressed to a safe level, you should be able to wobble the strut mount around a little, since you've loosened the nut a bit already. Once you are to this point, remove the strut mount from the strut shaft. Leave the bearing and the upper spring hat on there. Now, look at your Probe strut mount, and compare it to the Escort strut mount. You will see this...
Notice how much further this mount puts the top of the spring to the body. It is about a half inch difference. This is how this mount is able to lower your front end about a half an inch without sacrificing any suspension travel. You will also notice that the D-shaped hole where the strut shaft goes through is much smaller on the Escort mount than the Probe mount. This will need to be fixed. In order to do this, I used my Dremel and a tungsten carbide cutting tool, which looks like this.
This is designed to be able to cut hardened steel, so the strut mounts will be no problem. You could probably also do this with a large drill bit or a die grinder, but the Dremel worked best for me. Make sure that when you are enlarging the hole you keep the D-shape, otherwise you will likely have trouble tightening the center strut mount bolt when reinstalling.
After you have gotten the hole to the correct size, slide the mount back onto the strut and snug down the bolt a little. Don't worry about really tightening it down right now, as that is much easier to do once the strut is back in the car. Release the spring compressors, backing the screws off a little bit on each side back and forth until they are loose. From this point, the installation is basically the opposite of removal... The strut to steering knuckle bolts get torqued to 68-86 ft-lbs, the 4 strut mount bolts get torqued 34-46 ft-lbs, and the center strut mount bolts get torqued to 66-86 ft-lbs. And of course, the wheels get torqued to 75ft-lbs in a star pattern.
Continued in next post...
Tire Rack also sells them brand new KYB mounts, but they are $41 each. But it is a good alternative if you don't trust used parts.
The car has the perfect stance now. 
Looked good before, but new and improved now!
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