kastle

What you'll need:

12mm socket: (Deep one if you have it) To remove seats and strut
tower bolts
14mm socket: To remove seat belt tensioners
14mm open end: To tighten the brace brackets to the rod
6 - 10" extension: For removing seat belt tensioners
Torque wrench that goes to at least 12 ft/lbs. to torque strut tower
bolts.
A stubby ratchet helps if you have one. It will allow you to get a
full swing when removing the strut tower bolts.


Remove the strut brace ends from the rod with the 14mm open end and socket.

Take out the rear seat by removing the 2 - 12mm bolts that hold in the bottom seat. The bottom cushion is held in at the rear by a loop that goes over a hook in the center. Push the seat towards the back, then pull up at the rear and it should come off. Then remove the 3 - 12mm bolts that hold the seat back in place. After the bolts are out just pull up and it will come off. Notice the 3 places it is held in at the top. You'll want to make sure you get them back on when replacing it.

With the seat off, get a 14mm socket on the end of an extension and remove the belt tensioner. I found this particularly tricky to get out. The bolt is held on the tensioner so it won't just drop off. Plus, there is a small arm on the tensioner that holds it in place. Look under there at it and you can see that the arm has a bend in it that goes in a hole in the body. It takes a little inagling but it will come out eventually. Make sure that arm is in that hole before you tighten it back down.

With the tensioner out of the way remove the 3 - 12mm strut tower bolts. This is where a stubby handled ratchet comes in handy. Then place the brace end with the flat side facing you on the bolts. It's a little tricky to get it in there, but it fits. The end that bolts on the bar goes through a hole towards the center of the trunk. The drivers side (LHD) is easier than the passenger side. The passenger side has a wiring harness to contend with. I was able to get the bracket in there and have the wire go
in the center of the arm that extends into the trunk. You can see what I mean in the pic below. Something very important, when you put the strut tower bolts back on do not over tighten them. Lots of people have broken these off. They only requires 12 ft/lbs. My torque wrench dosen't go that low so I just went easy on them. I used the stubby ratchet so I didn't get a lot of leverage on purpose.

Once you have both brackets in then go to the trunk and get all the junk out of there. Get the bar and unscrew the ends as even as you can and get the holes in the end to match up to the brackets. Put the bolts in and tighten them down with the 14mm open end and socket. I put the bolt in forward with the nut on the back, I think it looks cleaner that way.

Then rotate the bar with your hand so it pushes out just a little on the brackets to pre-tension the brace. Don't go crazy just a little force. Now, tighten the lock down bolts to the rod. I used an adjustable spanner on the nuts. Just make them snug, this is aluminum you don't want to strip anything.

Put all the junk back in the trunk and go driving

Peaty

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-K