What are the Requirments for changing my struts, New KYB's and S-Techs in the mail Options

[k-weaver]

Ok, so I have been wanting to change my suspension ever since I got my car and the time is finally coming. I just purchased and received some KYB GR-2's and my teins are in the mail. I just had a couple of questions on what is needed for the install.

1.) Can I use the orignal stock mounts that are at the top of the strut? (I'm refering to the piece that holds the spring on from the top end)

2.) I noticed that someone else recently did an install of the same set up and he used what appeared to be a rubber piece on the strut. Right where the spring would sit on the strut (bottom of strut), are these necessary?

3.) How hard are these bolts going to be to get off?

4.) Is there a certain way you need to place the spring onto the strut? Or can you just slap it on there?

[k-weaver]

I actually used my stock bumpers, they seemed to be in good shape with no rips or cracks. As for the bottom insulators, I replaced those. Mine were cracked and looked like they were falling apart. I got the news from the dealer, I think they were about 10 bucks a piece.

One thing I noticed also which I was not expecting was that the stock struts were KYB's? While I was pulling it out my hand whiped off some of the dirt and I noticed it had "Toyota" stamped on it but it also said "KYB Gas Strut". I would have never assumed that it would have had stock KYB's?