I am a traditional shade tree mechanic.  No air tools. No lift.  That being said, my 19 year old daughter came home and said it sounds like there is something rattling in the trunk, real loud. Test ride tells me (L) Rear strut is shot.  I will buy the complete unit, already assembled.  Both sides.  AutoZone and other sites make it sound fairly straightforward.  Since I don't have to screw with spring compression, bushing installations, etc. it seems fairly simple.  Then again, so does raising kids, until they are born and grow up.

I did mine with a helper and it is quite straight forward following the Auto Zone guide lines on "HOW TOO". I printed the instructions out and keep them handy for reference if a question or problem occured. You seem to be fairly knowledgeable with mechanical projects so go for it. Do have a helper guiding the new struts into place.

just like the oldman sayed straight forward.not to hard
just make sure if your outside and in the heat you drink lots of water stay cool
oh yea USE JACK STANDS!!!

thanks. Jack Stands and my scissor jack for my K1500 all help support the vehicle. Takes a bit of looking to find a third point to set the jack, but, I have a friend that used jack stands on asphalt in the heat. they just buried into the asphalt. fortunately he noticed the car shift and got out. Ruined his jack stands.

A couple of 1x12 boards should spread the weight enough to keep from burying the jack stands. I think both Harbor Freight and Northern Tool have them on sale now, so picking up an extra pair might be a good investment.

NO-NO on the scissors jack. Don't be cheap with your safety and go to Harbor Freight where you need to pick up a Floor Jack in the 1½ Ton or larger range. It will be a good investment for future use. Bubba makes a good suggestion about using a wood pad under the Jack Stands. I also use a piece of Plywood under my Floor Jack. Floor Jacks are available at Walmart also.

my scissor jack is rated for 3 tons. it is off a 2500 series chevy truck.

Paul- While the scissor jack may have more than adequate lifting ability, it does not offer stability.

When replacing the strut assemblies, you want to get the car as high as comfortably possible to reach the top of the strut towers and to work inside the wheel openings at the same time.

We use a one end frame jack that lifts the whole end of the car, so when it's time to work topside we lower the car. Then raise it back up to work below. (on stands of course)

ok. that makes sense. have not even looked at top of shock towers in trunk.

Following is a list of a scissor jack's good qualities.

:>) Very Punny

To add to Dewey's list, one is getting in under things where nothing else will fit.

either we are both wrong, or it is past his bedtime....

Scissor jacks do have a couple of good qualities, in my opinion. As bompa said, they can start out very low down and still raise up very high. Also, they stay at the height you set them at with no concerns about slipping. I have had ratcheting jacks give way with no warning and bottle jacks slowly lower as they continue to hold the vehicle. Never had any issues with scissor jacks. Just keep them well lubricated.

As for stability issues, just block the wheels like you're supposed to.