Ford Taurus Rear Strut Removal & Installation 

I've got 20 + years in as a mechanic of all sorts, not just cars. semis, die casting machines the list goes on. this is still useful to me. much appreciated. I'm sure i could have gotten it, but its nice to see someone who knows do it first. i always tell the new guys, a good mechanic knows what they know and they know when they don't know. always ask questions, I do, all the time.

Thanks for the video. Easy to follow and understand. The 18mm bolt clamping the bottom of the strut was the biggest pain for me. A lot of penetrating oil, a large breaker bar, and some prayer were required to overcome 18 years of corosion due to Wisconsin winters. As a side note the seal on my back struts went bad and moisture got inside. Car drove fine in above freezing temperatures but as soon as the thermometer dropped below 0F° at night the struts would become hard as rock and provide no cushion at all. Took me a long time to realize what exactly was happening. Finally found a few posts that explained it. Very dangerous at highway speeds and hell on your neck and back.

Fantastic Video, Thank You! I was quoted $750 to have a shop perform this job for me. I purchased all parts on line then performed the job myself (with the help of this video). When removing the strut from the knuckle, I had to place a large socket on the end of my pry bar (used as a spacer) in order to get the strut all the way out. Otherwise, I followed your video and it went great. Thank You

Hey Man! What a great help... I just did the rear ones today on a 2007. At first, I did the front struts, and then noticed that the rear was squatting down like a rear-wheel drive hot-rod launching for a quarter-mile pass! This video is right on! THANK YOU!

Thanks man, going to be doing this on an 03 Taurus, and this video was pretty much everything I think I'll need to tackle it with my old man. Appreciate it.

Wonderful video. I don't feel like I saw anything I didn't need to and you didn't skip any of the hard parts.

Just did this today, let those pinch bolts set with BG brand rust penetrant for a day and a half before I attempted to loosen them. Came out very easy with electric impact.

Thanks for the informative video. I am going to do this to my 2006 Taurus due to it being a rear end low rider. Struts and springs need to be replaced.

My car is a 2001 SES and those bolts weren't rusty at all!!! I dipped them in grease for good measure, but I'm lucky. Thanks for another great video!

Awesome!!! I have an 03 taurus and I was told by a firestone mechanic that my rear coil spring was busted so this vid is very helpful! Thank you!!!:)

Perfect video! My dad was quoted $700+ for the job. With your detailed instructions, we were confident to do this ourselves 😎

Nice video with great attention to detail as always!! Thank you for taking the time to do these videos!! It's always nice to have tips from a well educated Ford tech who KNOWS what he is doing!! Recently bought a 02 Sable and have watched many of your videos so far, and subscribed as well!! Thank you once again for amazing videos!!

Thanks for a good tutorial and fine explaining on all the steps. Always enjoying watching your videos and learning from you. !

One strut is here and another is on the way. Can't wait to put them in!!

Very informative and I like the Christ Ian music In the back ground

Great video. Short, to the point, and succinct. thank you.

Great instructional. We've been dealing with a pesky bang/rattle, from the left rear. Recently changed broken link rods but suspect broken spring. Soon as my broken foot heals I'll be done with that job.

Thanks brother. the best instructional video so far. great!

Nice job putting this instructional video together - Thanks !

Great video, as are all of your videos! Also, I couldn't help but notice the Christian music playing in the backround.

Thanks so much for this video. Really helped me fix my son's Taurus. Many thanks!

Best tips here with stabilizer and strut. I don’t have the tools (air) to remove without breaking. Actual 2000 Mercury manuals don’t show any of this information. Lift up and out the cardboard and felt to reach and remove the three screws holding the old strut connections (and vac and super clean the back windshield) is this the way to change that rear stoplight bulb? I’m 64 and willing but unable, but as a QA guy, this video will save you money. Maybe I’ll try again, if I don’t trade it in. Own a home, be a mechanic,electrician,plumber,carpenter, and I’ve got to cook and clean, too? No wonder I have no room to work.

Its great to see something on here that is very informative for the subject you are seeking information about that has Christian music playing in the back ground instead of some rap or heavy metal garb, and the person talking can do so without all the cussing. ( And if you just got to know, I listen to various types of music, and yes I do cuss, but not every other word.)

I never remove the bolt at the bottom where the trailing arms attach. I just remove the pinch bolt, and hammer the knuckle down and off and pivot the drum assy. Looks like you are working on an SES Sport package Taurus based on the interior trim. Also good to check the rot spot where the parcel shelf rots out. The 96-99s are starting to have the strut poke through the parcel shelf in the rust belt. As usual great video!

I like the music in the background ;)

Thanks for the video and I like ur choice of music way to represent

so helpful! thank you so much. great info and tips in here and your description items are on point!!

Great video! You make it look too easy! Could you include the torque specs on all the bolts? thanks!!!

Thank you SO much! Two thumbs up!

My dad blew a tire in my 1997 Taurus because bad road construction moving it against the tire one time I hadda take the tire off and move the springs away from it. When it popped the tire I took the spring off by spinning it around the strut and he still short driving it til I get some from junkyard but drove that car 20k with bad rear struts sagging with smaller tires in back I had like 9 people in the car lapping up before car scrapping lmao. But the gas tank has a hole in it now from the flat tire from the broken spring… I gotta fix that again now smfh.

I have an 03 Taurus with 170 k I think the fronts are bad and have never been changed it drives good but seems to bottom out over a hard bump but the tires are wearing ok and it drives good and straight I inherited it from my grandparents it had 148k and it's very clean , but I believe the rears are ok

Good video. Broke the first bolt. Nightmare indeed!

Thank you so much for the video!

Thanks for the video. I just did this job. Snapped off the bolt and needed to drill it out for hours. However, I did not need to remove the strut bar 13/16 (21mm) bolt. Mine is a 2004 Taurus SES so not sure if the one you are working on is different.

Thanks for the video. Very informative and detailed exactly what I needed. What kind of grease was that...the blue stuff? Thanks

I hope you see this and respond. I am replacing struts to allow a mobility scooter post lift. Would i be better to get Taxi package struts?? Great vid, thank you

I'm assuming this is about the same process for a 1995 Taurus (sedan), am I right? Also, I feel for you guys in the salt belt. Luckily my car has been in the South all its life. Good thing because I love these older cars and thankfully they're still around and rust-free. Thanks in advance for your reply and for this vid.

Very informative video. Awesome job. I'm doing my wife's 2008 mercury sable. I can not locate a fully assembled struts for the car. Do they make one? Individual parts are more money and time.

You forgot to remove the negative battery cable first! That is always the 1st step. LOL

Saved me over $450 at the very least in labor over this process

Super helpful! Thank you!

Sure don't make anything to ease do they Wow I'm over whelmed just watching you,but thanks for the video.

these cars(2000-2007) were really notorious for rear spring sagging. Ugly. I used Moog CC459 springs(variable rate style), with bare strut long ago. It raised rear up 2in., nice look,no more sagging. Later, aftermarket FINALLY put variable rate springs on their QuickStruts. Don't know if they are cc459's.

great job. too bad i saw this after I did the job!

Great video! It helped! 👍🏻

In the process of replacing all 4 struts/springs on an 02 Taurus SE. I'm struggling at one point in your video: at 4:30 you remove the lower strut from the knuckle. How did you remove it completely? Is it the reverse of the procedure at 11:00 where you reattach it? There it looks like your pry bar is wedged between two parts of the wheel/knuckle. Is that just to get some leverage to pull the whole wheel back a couple of inches. I just can't get that extra inch to remove the lower strut completely. I'll give Nick Myers approach a try. Hope I don't break anything!

I'm not having any problems, I just want a better/smoother ride on my 2006 Ford 500 limited, should I just have front and rear struts replaced, and what about any other parts since going this far? Thank you, John

Thanks this is perfect

I'm in the middle of doing this repair on a 02 ses. 169,000 miles. Both the stab link and spring broke on the drivers side. Parts should be here tomorrow morning for reassemble. I know the pinch bolt is 60 ft lbs, but what is the spec for the trailing arm nut and the brake line bolt ? thanks in advance. Enjoy your video's. Thanks for your video's.

I haven't looked yet but if the seats fild down do we really need to remove the bottom?

That lower bushing is pressed into the knucle, therefore it is difficult. What about loosening the bolt at the other end where it attaches to the frame.

Good job!

I'm going to be starting this soon....you did both rears at same time correct? you had car on 2 jack stands in the rear?

WOW, The cars from backeast have the corrosion from the Salt on the road .....?

Would this be the same on an '05 Ford Five Hundred ?

I got a 06 Taurus Ford and it needs struts! But if I can't do it any easier then you did it forget it!!! I'll sale the dam thing!! 1500$ good motor, transmission,runs and drives good new tires! May have some scratches but no dents! Interior is good! I have kept the oil changed but for some reason I can't get the mileage to show. It has digital mileage readings!!

Great freaking video.

You tube, you are listening in on my phone conversations Aren't you? Seems kind of funny that when i talk to my freind about my rear struts this video pops up. You rotten bastards.

great info.

how do you remove the pinch bolt that the bolt head broke off?

Thanks you very much. Wow! You have to take apart the whole rear seat. Sigh....

Rough estimate/guesstimate over actual cost thank you

Would torching the rust on the cap of pinch bolt, then penetrating oil around it, work on badly rusted bolts? Or is that just a bad idea?

Working on the front of an '04 Mazda 3, which has a similar pinch bolt and attaches to the knuckle/strut mount in the same manner as this Taurus. The passenger side went fine, but the driver side will not go back into the knuckle/strut mount! The angle of the knuckle/strut mount and the angle of the strut are both pointing out and working against each other. Raising the knuckle with a jack under the lower control arm seems to make the knuckle point further out, and thus fights against the angle the strut hangs at. I've even tried wedging a 8mm hex key into the gap for the pinch bolt to open the strut mount to no avail. Any thoughts on how to get the new strut back into the knuckle?

do you have to remove the back seats to get the struts out? Thats what my guy is telling me....

Can you put the year in the video description?

Seems to be a common issue with this generation of Taurus. I love these cars and have replace nearly a dozen different vehicle with the same issue

Do both sides use the same strut?

Is there a replacement rear stabilizer bar? its impossible to buy one, they have all been discontinued

I have a banging coming from the right rear, (I isolated it by alternating manholes). No sway bar on my 2006, and the right rear is noticeably lower, but the spring is not cracked/broken. What could be the cause of the noise?

The suspensions on that design Taurus are a true pain to wrench on. After snapping a few pinch bolts I always heat the spindle up before removal. Front suspension work (ball joints-wheel bearings) is also a chore.

Any chance you could tell me the name of the part holding the strut to the knuckle? I’ve been searching but can’t find anything. Thanks!

I'm having trouble completely removing the strut from the wheel column. Any tips?

Both pinch bolts on my Taurus were seized and the cap broke off when I put "a little bit" of force to it. My car also keep cracking the stab-link rubber bushings, was it because I put those on too tight?

What is the difference on struts with taxi package and without

04 ford taurus ses,My drivers side sway bar link bottom bolt snapped off so i removed it because it was clunking,is it ok just to replace the one thats missing,or do i have to do both??,2nd ?,is there a trick to just putting one sway bar link in??,i tried and there's no room to get it in there,it's too compressed to fit the new link in:(,thx you in advance.

Anyone got recommendations for stubborn sway bar? I'm replacing it and I dont have much room for impact. My nut is on the top and the head is on the bottom. You think I could cut it in half?

Does anyone use spring compression clamps these days to recover the springs, or just more hassle? I suppose ready-made new is the way to go.

Where can I get replacement 18 mm pinch bolts, my mine are so corroded?

What size is the big strut bolt? Would it be the same size for a 2002 Mercury Sable?

did mine on my 02 taurus today that bolt broke lol had drill it out oh and reason i changed my strut went threw sidewall,guys if u can afford to not do it dont doit urself

What size is the middle nut on the strut after you take the 3 13mm ones off

I broke the bolt what do I have to do to get the rest out

So- wire brushed the pinch bolt on rear strut and sprayed the shit out of it with pb blast- used a braker bar and started to come out then the head of the bolt snapped off- this is on a 95 ford taurus no not on other end- pointed large mounting bot with part of pointed threads showing on other side- any ideas- can i heat it up and will it feed thru the other side if i am able to grab and turn it with vice grips or am i shit out of luck- any help is appreciated.

I was told over $950 in repair on this spring

can you put year make and model in video, thanks

What do you do when one of the bolts snaps off in the knuckle holding the strut? Any suggestions would be helpful thanks

Do you have to get an alignment after doing this procedure?

How long did this process take roughly

Fordtech Do you recall what size and thread count the bolt connecting the strut mout to the hub assembly is? I cannot fimd this anywhere and ik I need two new ones

is there a camber adjust on this?

what is the bolt size and lenght?

does anybody know what size bolt I should use for the knuckle? I am replacing rear passenger side strut and I snapped it off and after drill it out I need to replace that bolt. S.O.S. help lol. great video btw

what is the size of the pinch bolt for the back. i bought a used spindle as i couldnt drill out the pinch bolt. parts store doesnt have a "pinch" bolt.

You need to show what you done not say I done this and that and not show anything until you put the strut back

i also didnt undo what u call the strut bar

1. heat up the bolt 2. spray it 3. heat it up again 4. spray it 5. start 18mm bolt still frickon broke.. does anyone know the proper bolt grade and size so I can replace, I'm getting 2 just I'm case

Man even with your video I still snapped that rear stupid ass pinch bolt. Just such a bad design instead of a nut and bolt. Your vid was a nice pregame to what was on my way. Very dejecting outcome but yeah it snapped. Bound up and wouldn’t unbind.

Do you need a power wrench?

But make sure you use genuine Ford parts. Others are shit ... Bad spring rates and they don't last... Go Ford parts here !!