I needed a new project and my wife wanted and 80's volvo. I have the rare situation where my wife is completely supportive of my project. This led to a rather hasty decision to by a 1987 245. When I got the car home and did a more thorough inspection I realized some repairs that are beyond by previous expertise. The good news is that my wife is on board so I have the rare opportunity to learn some new things about auto mechanics.

Now to the point...To my shock (excuse the pun) and horror I found that the bottom retaining cup that holds the strut spring had rusted completely through and the spring is resting on the tire. I have seen on this board that this has happened to other folks so I am a little comforted by that. I picked up a new strut assembly from a salvage yard and it came "loaded" with the spring and insert, hub and all.

My questions are as follows:

1. With the spring just resting on the tire do I have to worry about anything when I jack the car up and remove the tire?

2. I've read the FAQ section on replacing struts but it seems to focus on replacing the inserts. If, for now, I just use the inserts that came with the assembly can I just swap out the two assemblies?

3. Do I still need to compress the spring if I am just going to swap the whole thing out?

4. What do I need to be aware of if I decide to swap the whole assembly out.

I am assuming if I do it this way I will have to bleed the brakes and get it realigned. Brake bleeding is not a problem and needs to be done anyway since I just replaced the master cylinder. But I would be very grateful for any other cautionary tales. FYI Bentley manual has been ordered and should be in route in time for the job.

Thanks in advanced

Jason