How do you remove the strut tower brace on a 02TLS?

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Old Nov 28, 2011 | 10:03 AM
  #1  
AlanW's Avatar
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2006 NBP TL MT6/ 02TL-S
 
Joined: Jun 2008
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From: Little Rock, AR
How do you remove the strut tower brace on a 02TLS?

Need to replace the rear motor mount. Was looking at getting some things out of the way. One of them being the strut tower brace. The 2 nuts on each strut tower are obvious & easy, but my brace has 2 "arms" that branch off and attach to the firewall. There is no bolt head or nut to remove, just a smooth round-headed rivit-like bolt.

How do you get these out? Do you have to remove some of the upper firewall shield peices to find the nuts for them?
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Old Nov 28, 2011 | 11:21 AM
  #2  
gold2003tl (90)'s Avatar
2003 TL-p
 
Joined: Nov 2008
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From: Reading, PA
There are two small plastic covers you have to pop off to expose the other nuts that hold on the rest of the strut bar. Its the plastic cover that hides windshield wiper assembly, just below the bottom of the windshield.

also a tip when doing the rear motor mount is to remove the rear bank of coil packs to give your arms more room. Its a pain in the butt to change the rear mount, good luck.
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Old Nov 28, 2011 | 01:32 PM
  #3  
AlanW's Avatar
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2006 NBP TL MT6/ 02TL-S
 
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 926
Likes: 47
From: Little Rock, AR
Thanks!. Does the old mount come out & the new mount go in from the top?
Because I don't see any room to do anything from under the car, especially don't see a hole big enough for that huge mount to slide through.
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Old Nov 28, 2011 | 03:11 PM
  #4  
gold2003tl (90)'s Avatar
2003 TL-p
 
Joined: Nov 2008
Posts: 1,587
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From: Reading, PA
everything must come out from the top, unbolt the bracket and remove it, then unbolt the mount and bring it out the top. Then slip the new mount in and bolt the bracket back on to the engine and the mount. you may have to adjust the height of the engine with a jack to get the bracket to bolt holes to line up. pretty straight forward just no room under there to work.
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Old Nov 28, 2011 | 05:51 PM
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Karanx7's Avatar
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From: Phoenix, AZ
I just changed my rear mount the past weekend. I was up late... very late.

However, it wasn't hard. Just a pain in the ass.

For the bracket, there are 3 bolts to get from under the car, and one bolt from the top. The bolt from the top connects the tranny to the bracket, and it is pretty easy to get to once you find it.

The three from the bottom aren't too bad either. Look up at the bracket from next to the flex pipe of the exhaust manifold. You will see them pretty clearly. I hope you have a breaker bar and a 14mm socket that goes DIRECTLY into the breaker bar.

You can't use ANY adapters to convert from the 1/2" breaker bar down to the 3/8" socket. If you do, there will be too much free play, and not enough space to turn the bar.
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