Strut rod removal

Can the strut rod be removed without discharging the airbag removing the lower control arm?

Yes, it can but it's a bit of a pain. Just remove the lower control arm bolt to the K member (mark the bolt position first so it goes back in the same ballpark to drive to the alignment shop). Then remove the 3 bolts from the top of the air spring.

This should give you enough wiggle room.

Shoudl I still discharge the air spring?

I would.

I usually do vent the springs when I work on my front suspension.

I don't pull the solenoids though. I leave the air ride switch on, jack the front up just a bit, roll down the drivers window, and key on and off a few times to let the springs vent. For some reason, the gen 2's only vent a little bit at a time, so you have to key on and off many times to vent.

If you don't hear the solenoids click after a few vent cycles, just jack it up a bit more and try some more.

When the springs feel kind of soft, turn your air ride switch off and finish jacking up the car and put your jackstands under the car.

When you are done, just be carefull to slowly let your jack down, so the car is just a little below normal height, turn the air ride switch back on, and key on to let the airsprings fill back up. You might have to cycle this a couple of times.

Got'er done. All the rusty hardware made it a big production. Had to replace the chepos I put in 2 years ago.

Theclunky feel is better, but not gone. It is bassically gone when going over bumps at low speeds, but still a little harsh at higher speeds.

The higher speed clunk could be something else, such as strut mounts or struts themselves.

After reading more and exchanging a few emails with Eddie (at American Air) I am thinking I have some bad front struts. It just seems to ride rougher than normal. I really noticed it when I drove in Badsax's new Mark.

How can the strut mount go bad? Are they replaceable?

Eddie probably said the struts are starting to get "hard" causing it to be more of a harsh hit when you go over bumps. The mounts are attached to the top of the strut assembly..new struts..new mounts.