I’ve got a couple of front Quick-Struts for my wife’s '01 Corolla. Haynes says to mark the strut/steering knuckle interface before removal, so that you can put the strut back in the same position.
So what should I do if I’m putting a new strut in? Take some type of measurement before I remove the old strut, and try to match the new one that way? Or is it something that’s not critical, since it will be aligned later anyway? What would you do? Thanks in advance for any tips you can provide!
For the sake of your tires, I’d get an alignment after you do the struts. The strut is the upper portion of the suspension, and the alignment may be changed with the removal and replacement of the strut.
Many cars like the older Corolla’s didn’t have any adjustments for the strut. If the alignment was off, a camber kit that would allow adjustments would need to be installed. Your 2001 may still be like that.
This is really only a concern if your car has slotted bolt holes in the struts or a cam bolt set installed. Your new struts are most likely not slotted and the only way you would have cam bolts would be if camber had to be adjusted previously during an alignment. If you do discover a cam bolt, push the top of the knuckle in towards the engine as far as you can get it before tightening the bolts down. This will get you close enough to drive it straight to an alignment shop to do it right.
Look at the top hole for the strut. Is it slotted? If it is, that’s the camber adjustment for the wheel alignment. So use the old strut witness marks to position the new struts on the steering knuckle to get it close. Then you’re going to have to take it in to have the camber adjustment checked at an alignment shop.
Tester
First off, I’d like to thank you all for your quick responses. I’m also taking the steering knuckles off to have the bearings replaced. By the time I had cussed out the tie rod end for being uncooperative and tried to remove the ball joint fasteners by turning them the wrong way, you had answers for me before I took out the strut bolts.
No slots, but the Haynes says that the camber from 1996 on can be adjusted by the use of cam bolts (which mine doesn’t have yet.)
Having made all the mistakes on the left side and knowing what tools I needed, I was sailing through the right side nicely…until I tried to push the half shaft out of the hub. It wouldn’t budge. I shot it with some Fastbreak and tapped the end of the shaft with a hammer. No go. I put a puller on the hub and axle, and tapped on the hub. Nothing. Then I had a beer, which didn’t cause the shaft to come out of the hub, but seemed to relax my cramping back muscles. I soaked it again with the spray, and will try tapping again when I get up later. What’s the next step…heat the hub with a torch? I’m supposed to take the knuckles to the bearing guy today, and I’d like to avoid having to take a Sawzall to the half shaft. 
A BFH (big f’n hammer) has always worked for me. And hit it HARD, not tap at it. I’m not worried about the damage to the half-axle, because I’m replacing it anyways. The rust is locking it up all the way down the length of the splines. It needs a good whacking to get it all the way out. You may also need a piece of pipe to continue driving it through once it gets about half way.
Some axles can be a bear to remove from the hub, and you can beat it with a hammer and never get it to budge. Either rent or purchase this tool http://www.jcwhitney.com/hub-puller/p2007833.jcwx and it will make the axle removal a whole lot easier.
Tester
I soaked the splines with Tri-Flow, cranked down the three-arm puller, and hit the bolt several times. After a few “rinse and repeats,” it came around to my way of thinking.
I took the knuckles over to my guy’s house…he’s got a 3000 GT sitting in the garage. Sigh.
It’s hard to believe but after 180K paper route miles, hitting every pothole on the shoulder of the road, the tie rod ends and ball joints are still in good shape. That car is bulletproof, I tell ya.
Now, to get the '97 Prizm running. More questions to follow…