Is this really what's going on? I'll try disconnecting the sway bar link.

Both wheels are off of the ground. I had a friend stand on the rotor, but it was nowhere near enough to free the strut.

Is it that bad of a removal/install to take out the lower control arm, if disconnecting the sway bar link doesn't work? Thanks for the replies.

 

Dont remove the a-arm.

Just use a long bar and pry the a-arm down.

 

I just tried prying the arm down, and it doesn't budge AT ALL. I also removed the sway bar link, and there was no pressure on that at all, so that didn't do anything either.

Do you suggest I don't remove the a-arm because it's unnecessary, or because it's something I shouldn't be removing?

Also, would removing the coilover on the opposite side relieve any pressure on the passenger side to allow me to get this strut free? I just don't understand why one side comes off easily, and then the other side is wedged in with a ton of force.

 

when i had to install my springs, i had to jump on the brake, not just stand. took me a couple jumps while my buddy slowly took it off.

 

You won't gain anything by removing the opposite shock if you have already disconnected the anti-roll bar. You should not need to remove the upper a-arm but it's no big deal if you do. Watch the ABS line, don't let it get pulled/stressed. You'll most likely need a second set of hands to control the knuckle and remove the shock.

 

Please help -- my car will be towed if I can't get this fixed in about a day.

My main questions are:
- Is it bad to remove the lower control arm? I have no problem doing that as long as it won't throw anything off.
- Is it safe to say that removing the coilover on the opposite side of the car will have NO EFFECT on the stuck strut? I'm reading some responses that say it will, and some that say it won't.
- Why is this happening? There was almost NO pressure with the opposite side, and was painless. The stock struts have 20,000 miles on them, so probably aren't messed up.

Just to clarify, prying the lower control arm had NO effect. Standing/jumping on the brake disk had NO effect. Removing the sway bar linkage had no effect either.

 

Remove the upper arm like robrob said, just watch out for the abs and brake lines.

 

If you remove the lower the caster and camber will be so far out of whack it will be ridiculous. You do have the two bolts on top off right? shove the strut top bolts into there hole and more the bottom fork toward the dip in the lower control arm (towards the hub) then pull it off. I've probably done 20 sets of changes on mine and some buddies car and never ran into a problem that wasn't resolved in 15 minutes of actual thinking. Have you done the drivers rear yet?

 

Just undo the endlinks on both ends...seriously, it takes 10 mins and will allow you to get it in the correct position. I had the same issue.

YOU NEED TO UNBOLT THE END LINKS ON BOTH SIDES FOR IT TO BE EFFECTIVE

 

Reconnect the control arm then have someone stand on the rotor.. Easy fix