I'm a newbie. We have an "01 LX that I feel needs front struts. I have never done struts before. I am old school, '36 Ford and old pickups. Is it fairly easy? Should I get a Chiltons manual? Any advise or help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance.

 

I would get a Chilton's just in case. The fronts are kind of goofy on the 01+ Civics. You will need a tie rod separator (and possibly some extra boots in case you tear one while separating the tie rod from the suspension). The most important advice I can give when doing this (and pay attention): Before you remove the struts, make a mark with white out or something so you know the EXACT position they were sitting in before you removed them. If you index the upper mounts incorrectly, you will get a popping sound that will not go away until you fix it. Other than that you should be just fine. Good Luck!!!

 

1) I have a Haynes manual on the way. Should I get a Chiltons instead? 2) A tie rod separator? What is it and where might I get one? We do have a machine shop at work if it can be easily fabricated.

 

Haynes is just fine. A tie rod separator looks almost like a fork, but with 2 prongs. It comes to a point at the end so you can slide it between the tie rod and the suspension. Any auto store will have one to purchase, they aren't that much.

 

Then use a small sledge hammer? Anything I should be aware of when trying to seperate the tie rod from the suspension? I'm sure this is all covered in the manual. I'm just trying to get a head start on things. Thanks for all your help so far.

 

This is a daily driver for my wife. Nothing fancy, just stock. Use it for the gas mileage. Any brand or "style" strut to get?

 

DON'T use a sledge hammer. The whole purpose of the tie rod separator is so you can gently separate the suspension without breaking or ruining anything. You can wedge it in there by hand. Worst case scenario, you can get one of those mallets with soft plastic or rubber on it and gently tap it in there.

As far as struts go, don't spend the money on stock struts again. Get Tokico HP's (they're sometimes called Tokico Blues). They have a lifetime warranty (I believe) and they are a high quality strut. They will also cost around the same, if not less than stock struts. If you want a price on them, send me a PM and I'll be glad to help you out.

 

I just bought Tokico struts for about $350 after shipping. I also bought Tein springs. I'm doing an 01 LX as well.
I may get the manual before I do it. Or can a semi mechanical person figure this out easy?

 

I now have my manual and struts. I start tonight, I am a semi-mechanic myself, and I will let you know how it goes.

 

As long as you pay attention to the things I mentioned before, you will be fine. Good Luck to you guys!