The struts on a LeSabre are key parts to maintaining your safety while driving. They help keep the tires, and the car, in contact with the road, rather than bouncing all around. As struts get worn down, the car will bounce more and you will notice that the steering is more difficult. If you bounce on the front bumper and the Buick LeSabre bounces repeatedly before getting back to a neutral state, you may need to replace the struts.
Loosen the lug nuts on the front tires with a tire iron and lift the front end of the LeSabre with a floor jack. Set jack stands under the frame of the car and lower it on top of them. Remove the lug nuts and pull the front tires off the car.
Locate the struts. Each looks like a skinny tube that slides into a slightly larger tube with a spring around it. Use a permanent magic marker to outline how the strut is oriented on the steering knuckle, the part that turns the wheel hub from side to side.
Use an adjustable wrench to unbolt the three nuts at the top of the strut. Remove the anti-lock brake speed sensor from the strut; unbolt the bracket holding it as well. Unbolt the bracket holding the brake line on the strut.
Unbolt the bottom of the strut from the steering knuckle. Use a wire hanger to hold the steering knuckle in one place and keep it from swaying and damaging the ball joint or half shaft.
Mount the replacement struts and attach the top three nuts. Torque them with a torque wrench to 35 foot-pounds. Orient the bottom of the strut to the steering knuckle using the magic marker marks as a guide and torque the nuts to 135 foot-pounds.
Bolt the brake line bracket to the strut as well as the anti-lock brake speed sensor bracket. Attach the ABS speed sensor to the bracket.
Mount the front wheel and torque the lug nuts to 100 foot-pounds. Lower the front end of the car and get it aligned.
