Postby smj999smj » Fri Apr 22, 2016 10:02 am
Yeah, you are doing it incorrectly. As mentioned, you should have left the center nut on top alone. There are three nuts around it that get removed and the strut assembly gets pulled out; the coil spring will be retained in the assembly by the top strut mount secured by the center nut.
Once you have the complete strut assembly removed, that's the time you install the compressors onto the spring and tighten them. This will remove the tension off of the top mount.
Then, you can remove the top nut, mount with insulator and coil spring w/ compressor tools installed on the spring. Note, you should take a wax crayon or some touch up paint and make alignment marks on the mount, spring and strut prior to disassembly to help you realign everything when you put it back together.
Then you put the coil spring onto the new strut, install the mount and the top center nut. Align the marks accordingly and loosen the compressors, adjusting as necessary to get all three components to line up properly. Once all of the tension is removed from the tools, take the tools off.
Then, you can put the complete, strut assembly into place and install the top three nuts to secure the mount to the upper mount plate of the vehicle.