Rear strut assembly questions

[mncontour]

The rear driver side spring broke on my '99 Contour today.
I will probably just find a used strut/spring assembly from a junkyard or craigslist to save money.
I'm probably going to have to tackle this myself if at all possible.
I have a few questions:
1.) Can I use a rear strut assembly from a Cougar? If so, what years?
2.) Can this repair be done with only hand tools? If so, what hand tools will I need and how difficult is it to do with hand tools?
3.) Will I have to replace both rear strut assemblies?
4.) Are all rear strut assemblies for the '98+ 4cyl/V6 Contour's/Mystique's/Cougar's the same?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[jrichardson]

Contour, Mystique, and Cougars have the same suspension, the only difference is V6, L4, and SVT Contour. And you should just go buy a new set of springs, it's only like $250 for a set of 4, and yes always replace the struts in pairs or a full set of 4. if you don't you can cause different responses between left and right turns which can cause instability. You can do it with some hand tools but you will need a spring compressor.
I know when I did the suspension on my car I paid less than $700 for all 4 springs and 4 struts.

 

[mncontour]

I guess I should mention my car is a '99 Contour 2.0L Zetec MTX with 187,xxx miles on it.
The spring broke a half a coil from the bottom.
I would like to replace with new parts. But money is tight right now so I have to get used parts to keep costs down.
From my searching, I have found that some say you need to use a spring compressor and some say its not needed.
Do I need the spring compressor if Im replacing the whole assembly?
Is it true that I don't need to mess with anything in the trunk? To remove the top of the strut assembly, the only bolts I need to mess with are the ones inside the wheel well at the top of the strut which are either 10mm or 13mm, correct?
What do I need to do to remove the bottom?
Are the pre-98 rear struts the same as post-98 struts?

 

[B3NN3TT]

If you're replacing the entire assembly, you DO NOT need a spring compressor. You only need those if you're taking the springs off, or putting springs on, the struts.

All bolts are accessed from the wheel well.

 

[contour_r_us]

mncontour - unless you have purchased/obtained replacement rear upper spring perches (or have complete rear strut assemblies), you will need a spring compressor in order to disassemble your exisiting rear strut assemblies.

 

[SVT-R-US]

I rented a spring compressor from the local auto parts store. I used them to remove the old spring and to assemble the new set up as well. Made it a lot easier. Just my two cents.