Strut Top Mount play

[Admiraljp]

Hi

Newbie cab 96 owner....had for a short while now and first MoT due. Checking around with the car up at the front on stands, wheels a danglin'. Thought the slight wheel wobble and stiffer turning to left rather than right may have been suspension strut top mounts....seems I may have been right, but...

What sort of play is permissible with the wheels danglin' and the struts fully extended? The 6 and 12 wheel movement test moves the whole strut up and down, both sides, with the offside showing less movement. I would say the vertical movement is about 5mm nearside and 3mm offside.

I have checked Haynes and think I'm reading it funny - do the springs have to come out to replace these bearings? If so it's down to my local garage - very good blokes - to fix. How long should it take and £££s??

Cheers for now, any help advice greatly apreciated...

Janice

[g40jon]

the struts are a doddle to remove on these, the strut is only held by 2 or 3 bolts. I'm not 100% sure if you need spring compressors when changing the top mount or not though, but you can get them from motorists centres for not much cash, cheaper than paying a garage to do the work anyway.
only other special tool you need is a castle nut socket, to get thew strut out. helps to have a mate to lend a hand too.