Attempting To Replace My 2014 F150's Front Struts (CAN I DO THIS?) 

Starting the weekend with a fresh cup of coffee and a new Meg video, what could be better. Couldn't help but notice however, this video has already been viewed 600 times and only 89 likes and 25 comments. Come on people, this girl busts her butt putting out quality videos that are both informative and entertaining. We've got to do better, this stuff isn't easy. Click on the like button (Thumbs up) above and show her we enjoy her work. Great Video Meg, thanks for sharing

Hey good job young lady. I'm 67 and need to do the same type replacement job. I have already looked up the instructions on my vehicle and you inspired me more to tackle the job. Thanks

You got there in the end Meg, as I was watching I was making a list of tips to make the job easier, but you seem to have learned most of them along the way! I would recommend that you use a Non Ratchet breaker bar for the initial 'Cracking undone' of really tight fasteners before you end up breaking a ratchet. Also I would recommend the use of an Anti-seize compound when re-assembling any fasteners that don't require 'Thread lock', especially given the climate you live in. Have to say though as a guy that's been a Mechanic for close to 40 years now I'm quite impressed with how quickly you are learning. Keep up the good work.

Your "I got this" attitude is inspiring. Excellent job. The hiccups along the way is the best way to learn.

As a 25 yr professional mechanic myself its nice to see you tackling these jobs. This job was easily a thousand in labor at a local shop. If you go to a tire shop they can usually program the sensors easily

I'm a technician myself but on this kind of stuff. I would definitely use a stubby Milwaukee every chance i can. You did great on this, i am proud to see what you accomplished with just hand tools and lots of leverage.

Changed my front struts on my '06 F150, sitting on my driveway. Changed to the Rancho Quicklifts. Added 3" to the front of the truck, level truck settle. Changed rear leafs fron 2+1 to 3+1 (1500lb to 1900lbs) much happier, afterwards bringing the rear much higher as well. Always do what you can on your own.

Nice work there Meg, It may sound counter-intuitive but when dealing with rusty or Dirty nuts and threads if you tighten the bolt until you hear the "Click" of the rust breaking and then undo the nut the threads will be much easier, Keep up the good work, Maybe some Safety Shoes

Rusty suspension stuff is really tough work - well done. Replacing the sway bar link is a smart move - it pays to consider what your time and frustration are worth compared to a relatively inexpensive part! Costco quite often carries "disposable" gloves which are mesh netting on the back and a rubber palm, and I really like those because my hands don't get sweaty - they last a long time for something sold as disposable. Gloves won't protect you from serious injury, but they sure do soften the corners of things along the way and make hands easier to get clean at the end of the job! Remember what your fellow Canadian always says: "If you're not filthy, you're not Rich" 🙂

hi meg as a self taught spanner twirler myself, I've spent many a weekend swearing at a rusty nut, questioning why I put myself through this car maintenance hell?? Then there's the gremlins that hide that tool that I had in my hand 2 seconds ago! You have to have that, 'this stupid pile of junk isn't gonna beat me'!! stubborn mind set. Some days are like running a marathon...hell, but I've done it and saved a shed load of cash. Greetings from a fellow DIY mechanic (masochist) from the UK (i love it really) nice work!

Hey Meg. Swaybars pivot on the chassis and are anchored on each wheel. You could've jacked up the passengers wheel to raise the swaybar on the drivers side, giving you room to bolt it in.

I was doing some serious armchair coaching and talking to you through most of the difficult steps (as if you can hear me). The music, being carefully chosen, was keeping me calm as possible. This was like watching the super bowl game. Great job. That was no easy task even for pros with a lift and all the big tools.

What I like most about you is your patience and your enthusiasm... when you manage to loosen a nut... here you are a woman to admire and my respects for you... beautiful woman♥️❤❤

Does she want a job? 😂😂😂 Seriously though, I would hire her. Common sense and a willingness to learn is all that is needed for an ideal apprentice. She definitely has both. Good job young lady!!!

Amazing, truly amazing. I know a couple of dudes that would’ve chickened out from such a job, and here this amazing lady tames the crusty bolts of an f150 with no daka daka, just hand tools. Nothing to say, but bow and admit that Meg is the true descendant of Eve, as He intended her to be :).

That was SHOCKING 😂, nice job 👍🏻

Great video Meg. I have to admit that I chuckled wat too many times, but I admire your determination and courage in tackling a tough job. The very opening of the video showed the organization system in your garage and it looked fantastic. See you next time.

This is not a complicated job, but it is a very physical one. I would recommend a couple of things here. First is to get a real breaker bar instead of a long handled rachet. The rachet simply can't stand up on those really hard bolts. Second, you should really clean those rotors with brake cleaner to remove any possibility of grease. Other than that you did a great job and I love the can do attitude.

As an ex tech…suspension components are always a bear of a job. I recommend replacing the vise grips and slip joint pliers with some Knipex Cobras…best gripping pliers out there and you will save your hands from the dreaded pliers slip-pinch. Also an electric ratchet (Milwaukee is nice but Harbor freight/Princess auto is cheaper) is worth the money.

Excellent job... There is a lot of men who wouldn't tackle this job. It's awesome to see you taking on these tasks and getting them done! Big congrats to you! Great job!

Great job! I felt my forearm burning when you were working on the left side sway bar link..... All too familiar feeling with driveway suspension work. Keep up the good work!

Well done, you are going places with your channel Lady, just stay focused. So so proud of you. Thanks for attempting and sharing this piece.

Meg, hands down you are the perfect poster child for "Little Miz Sunshine" .... and a great video editor to boot! Keep up the great work!

Fantastic video!!! Very informative and entertaining!!! Love your eye for detail and your drive to get it done!!! You prove that it"s not a man or woman job....it's just a job that needs to be done! Look forward to the next one!!!

Hey Meg. Another great video. I love your go-get-'em attitude. I recommend a head lamp to illuminate dark nooks and crannies. You can illuminate your work area, no need to find a place to stick your light and you keep your hands free. I frequently use mine while working on woodworking projects or while sticking my head under the hood of the car. Keep up the great work!

Meg, you did an amazing job! Keep up with your DIY projects!

Well done Meg for another great video , can't wait for the next one.

I really enjoy watching you work on your truck. When things get hard you don't give up.:)

I think much of womans and males have much too teach of you Great work you done....,👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Hey, Meg I just ran across your channel this morning and enjoyed every minute of it! I have been a mechanic for over 30 years and love seeing new mechanics make all the mistakes that I have. ;-) It brings back a lot of fond memories... Like the very first time, I fixed my own brakes on my first car, a 1967 Mustang, and took it for a spin to make sure everything was functioning properly. I was one block away from home when one of my rear wheels passed me. I was so excited that I got the brakes done and in a hurry to prove that I knew what I was doing, that I forgot to tighten my lugnuts... ;-) Now for my suggestions... Think the whole job through before you start. The sway bar dilemma at 34:31 could have been solved by removing the same nut on the other side of the vehicle, which you still had to do anyway. Once both nuts are off the sway bar moves up and down very easily. Then both could be reinstalled at the same time. Try not to put your whole body weight on top of a breaker bar like you did at 9:21, if that nut lets go your weight will drive you into the ground. Broken fingers happen fast.. ask me how I know. Instead of hands-on pushing down step on it. You would still be using your body weight but far less likely to break a finger or end up face down on the floor.

Traveled through part of Canada in an RV with my wife. Had to do plenty similar repairs on the road. Canadian tire is such a great resource.

Howdy, what I do when stripping jobs down is bag the bolts and screws like you do and label them BUT I also number each bag, when it comes to rebuilding, just work backwards on numbers so steps don't get missed and don't have to undo something again because you put bag 23 on before bag 27🙂👍

Awesome job you are very talented young lady

Great job and love the "safety slides" as foot protection. Keep up the great work.👍

What you lack in body strength & experience, you make up with heart. You are a great example for young ladies everywhere...

Those ball joints are the toughest part of the job so way ta go.

Awesome seeing you tackle this job. You must be in the rust belt….makes it much harder. Looking forward to seeing more videos 😊

you have the right tools and your are driving a standared............. your are awsome.....

Great work Meg you showed us How it's done I have 2013 f150 xlt thank you😮

First video I've seen of you, love it you show it all not like the other ones they cut the struggle bit out, love it.

Have to say, i really enjoy your videos. You're great at showing us pretty much the whole task, the struggles included. Plus You're so very entertaining while you are doing it. Sense of humor is great as well. The camera shots and different angles as well as the editing of the videos is honestly amazing. I watch television shows that to be honest dont have the production values that you are accomplishing. Well done. I look forward to watching you tackle your projects head on. Keep up the amazing work 👏.

Nice to see you taking the initiative to work on your car. Like you, I became interested in working on my car during the lockdown. May I recommend that you invest in 1/2 inch Milwaukee Stubby. They pack a lot of power and are much smaller than your Makita impact wrench. I personally own that and also, the 1/2 Milwaukee mid torque. Both are much small than the Makita and can fit into tighter spaces. Hope this is helpful. Keep Up The Great Work. Nice to see a Canadian Gal wrenching!👍🏾💪🏾

suggestion, use the impact, impact is your best friend for rusty-stuck bolts. And Wear some ear pro for the impact.

So proud. You're attitude is so inspiring.

Very cool! Wish you the best on your show!

So glad RU-vid recommended one of your videos (instantly subbed), you are absolutely adorable and entertaining as hell to watch! Excellent job on the filming/editing as well!! Wrenching on old crusty vehicles can be a series of small victories and watching you celebrate each one so enthusiastically was joy to watch. I can totally relate to the sway bar end link saga. Literally did all the same crap on my 15’ F150 so needless to say, that shit had me in tears! Keep up the great work Meg.

New sub here. Great video. Keep up the good work. That's how you learn. Wish you the best.

I did my truck all i un bolted was da tierods & upper ball joint & swiveled da shock out sideways done oh & da brake line brackets if need b...!!!!

Meg, you're like a cartoon caracter... just some sound effects are missing... 😅 Besides, good work, it's not easy to replace parts with some spring action or tension on them. Your knowledge is growing and also procedures being more correct. Yes, it's right to clean the bolts with wire brush prior to unbolting as junk is getting in the threads and jams the nut. Clean stuff is easier to work and gives better results. I still don't understand though, why people are abusing breaker bars with even more "breaker" leverage, which breaks the bars only point of force transfer, which is the 4 or 5 mm pin in the swivel head... It's better to try impact it, if it doesnt't want to go with the standard breaker bar... or heat and penetrant.. 🤔 Mistery of the "broken breaker bar"! Glad yours is still in one piece. Yaikes, aim the shot.. poor innocent thread always gets beaten..😒 Cheers, keep improving while having fun.

Really well done Meg, you are a trooper😀. I have one suggestion, its good practice to not use an extension bar on a ratchet wrench as you can easily break it. The breaker bar to use has no moving parts, the end does not ratchet so is very strong. 👍

Awesome job Meg ! 👊🏻👍🏻Thank you my friend, stay safe and take care 🙏🏻God Bless Appreciate you, have a wonderful weekend 🙂

What a roller coaster of emotion. When you said you were going to Marks I thought "good, safety shoes" then you said gloves. Then later you commented about not wanting the rotor to fall on your toes. 🙂 Don't get me wrong, you don't want rotors to fall anyway and gloves are good to have on when things slip. Maybe someday the sliders will get upgraded to steel toes. Marks actually sold steel toe sandals for a while but I think they replaced them with ventilated sneaker style steel toes.

When you couldn't break loose the sway bar link on the passenger side with the impact gun, it was more than likely because the extension you were using was not made for impact gun use. It has looser tolerances between the socket and the impact gun. I've also experienced it not working when holding the socket or extension for stability. You would think it wouldn't make a difference, but the hand absorbs some of the hammering action, making it less effective. I bought myself a set of swivel impact sockets with the universal joint built into the socket at Canadian Tire and it was a good investment. They often reduce the need for an extension and have got me out of a few difficult reach situations. Hope these tips are helpful for future maintenance work on your vehicles.

That was an amazing repair!! WELL DONE! I just stumbled across your channel and this was the first vid of yours I've watched. This was really so entertaining to watch so I subbed. Can't wait to watch more of your vids. I would be, and I guess I AM, so intimidated by that kind of repair/replacement. For me, not having ever really done major types of repairs, I often still think cars are kind of "black boxes" where magic happens and us mere mortals dare not attempt to tread lest we do something REALLY WRONG and everything fails while were at speed on the highway. BUT throughout this video I realized it's really just a repeated process of solving problems......one after another. I love how you never got discouraged and just kept on working each different problem until you solved them all and I could totally relate to your collapse on the floor after solving some of those really difficult problems. This vid is so encouraging and inspiring. Well done!!

you have became one of my favorite youtuber already. great videos BTW ❤

Excellent job (again)! Your delighted squeals when something tricky works out are really infectious, as are your growls and curses (yes, you say 'oh dear'!)... this 75 year-old is well entertained! When you are putting grease into the grease nipples (on the sway bar link) you should be able to see each ball joint boot swell up a little!😄😁😎

Love the video!! Meg: “Let’s just give it a lil tap” Also Meg: “BANG BANG BANG”

The second side is always easier to change. I think I'll start my strut job on the second side first. =) But, seriously great job and very informative!

Really enjoying your videos what a pleasant person you are

I stumbled across your channel randomly and im glad i did you're very entertaining to watch and not like in a bad way you're actually doing a really good job most people wouldn't be able to pick up tools and just start fixing their vehicle like you are so keep it up! Also you should have a po box or something where people can send you tools as a fellow Canadian watching you use mastercraft tools makes me want to send you some better stuff although not necessary better quality tools can definitely make things go easier sometimes and i've had more bad experiences with mastercraft than good over the years haha.

50:18 Short bungee cords are handy to hold the calipers and can be used for all kinds of things :-)

Amazing Meg, she is a complete bad ass. You're so talented 🎉

aah yes .. perfect timing just found your channel last night and now I'm simply addicted to the videos .. now i just got the noti for the new one while finishing the laptop video ❤️

Thing I wanted to comment, if you need to get the sway bar back in, you can put a jack under the sway bar and just jack the sway bar itself up and you won’t have to remove everything

Hey Meg! Just came across your channel earlier today... funny enough after watching a Chris Fix video. I have to say I love how Raw your videos are and you show the struggles and the accomplishments. I also love your dedication to getting your car/truck fix. I have replaced brakes, injectors etc and it's all a learning experience to say the least. At least this ways you save hundreds if not thousands of dollars of repairs. Keep up the hard work. I also think your really pretty :)

Awesome job I’m just saying 🤷🏻‍♂️ I WOULD invest in that Milwaukee 3/8 angle impact gun Save so much time and energy Can’t wait for the next video FYI: you can always take bolt off other side of sway bar link and move sway bar up to install sway bar link

Geat video, use some anti-cease on the treads this will keep the rust off the treads.

great job meg yet another great video keep up the great work

If you force a bolt like this to turn with a ratchet wrench, it will break. Use the spinner handle. If it's still heavy, try hitting the head of the bolt with a hammer to shock it. This will remove any rust, loosen the adhesion, and make it easier to remove.

Always a pleasure to look a new video from you....greetings from Germany....Alex

Great job, young lady, but next time you take the calipers off, you need to press the caliper pistons back in, and they would’ve slid right into place for you.👍

Hi Meg Just A Few Things : 1 - That Big Long Ratchet, Is Not A Breaker Bar. I Watched How Much Pressure You Put On The Ratchet With The Pipe & Was Cringing At The Thought Of You Breaking A Very Expensive Ratchet.. A Breaker Bar Does Not Ratchet. It Is A Solid Bar With The Socket Square End On It. Breaker Bars Don't Ratchet, They Are Very Easily Broken When Too Much Force Is Used On Them. You Can Break The Ratcheting Teeth Inside The Ratchet, Then You may as Well Throw It Away. 2 - When You Was Taking Off The Nut On The Sway bar , At The Bottom Of The Rod Is A Head Of The Bolt That You Can Put A Socket Onto, Just Like You Had On The Top Of The Rod, You Can Use That To Hold The Rod From Spinning While You Take Off The Top Nut 3- When You Was Putting The Nut Onto The Top Ball Joint , Should Have Cleaned The Threads With A Wire Brush First, The Clamp You Was Using Is A Quick Grip Clamp, Mostly Used For Clamping Wood. You Needed A Screw Type Clamp To Get Extra Holding Power Onto The Job. 4- Never Seize Is Your Best Friend On Bolts & Nuts, Don't Be Afraid Of Using Never Seize On Jobs Like That , This Is Incase You Have To Remove Them Again Other Then Those Couple Of Things, You Done A Great Job.. Well Done

Great job, Megan. I am glad I don't have to deal with rust down here where I live.

You should spray the truck with Crown or fluid film to stop the rust. You're doing great though

Nicely done ✔️

Pure entertainment, love it🎉

Your Awesome! Great job 😊.

Are there any other creatures like you? Ive not came across any of your kind before. Awesome work awesomeness everything. Thank you for sharing

Enjoying your journey very much, and appreciate the level of effort you put in both with the projects, and the associated camera work and editing required (which is a lot of work). Keep up the good work, and that your efforts lead to channel growth. Most of all have fun. One comment, your choice of footware scares me, be careful, feet are fragile.

Another real video great stick to it ness you do super work keep it up love your videos ❤

Good job you don't give up for sure

For the sway bar: if you jack up the suspension on the opposite side, that would raise the sway bar on the side you're working on, and allow more space to fit the link back together... I think. (Because the sway bar joins the two sides together)

Love the vid thanks for charging ❤❤❤❤

Just to keep it easy on you for next time possibly for the sway bar you could unbolt the bottom nut from the lower control arm? You did an excellent job tho for how rusty things were you tackled the job great with what you had around!

Did you know that 1/2" drive impact guns and ball joint separator fork tools make excellent Valentines Day gifts? 8^) Just kidding, but these tools will make things MUCH easier when working on older vehicles with big rusty fasteners. The impact guns powered by compressed air are more powerful than the electric ones, but the newer electric ones pack a punch. (One of these guns will help avoid wrecking expensive breaker bar ratchets with pipe / jack handle extenders. ) Liked the video. Cheers!

Really enjoyed this video. First one I have seen, am now subscribed! My only issue…………flip flops?!

Meg something that helps along with penetrating oil is wire brush the threads on the studs…preferably with a die grinder that way you aren’t dragging rust 🙏❤️🙏

Never seen such a rust bucket before for you really do some undercoating and zinc coating on their parts I like your videos

Next time for any work " WEAR BOOTS " feet need protection too , good to see you never gave up !!

Nicely done Meg on during ur struts for daily F-150

Perfect job, but my advice any spare parts have left and right like the sway bars, you should to replace both sides at same time

Great job.

BTW, for that job, you only needed to remove 3 nuts from the top of the strut, upper linkage and lower bolt from the strut mount. Placing in the taller Quick Struts from Rancho, required a bit more muscle, but after completed, alignment was checked and perfect

It's 8am here in Vegas, and you're channel is the first one that popped up ! I think you need to pay attention to all the rust on the frame and on the suspension, are the rust coming back on the front bumper ?

Hi, just saying, you could use some squre block of wood on your jack as some kind of spacer, so you can lift higher...

Great videos! RU-vid just randomly recommended one of your videos today. Your camera work and editing are great. Your videos are similar in quality to youtubers that have been doing this for years. The flip flops are styling but not great for when you drop heavy metal parts on your feet. If you want your garage to be really toasty, get a Mr. Heater ventless propane heater. It's basically a fireplace. Just open the door once in a while when you start feeling funny from the CO2.

Great Job Meg

Really hoping you can make this a full time gig and start putting out multiple videos a week.

Small advice, If U have a stuck screw, rub it with brake fluid (y)

Well done.