<![CDATA[Replacing seat struts]]>About to replace the gas charged struts for the seat recliners. Looking at an E30 repair guide that I have, it says to take out the two screws at the bottom of the seat back panels, and then pull off the handles on the latches for tipping the seats forward. These things seem for the life of me to be made out of sort of a fragile plastic. Can you really just pull these things outward and off without breaking them?

My other questions are these:

Do you really have to completely disassemble the seat to change these struts, or can they be changed by simply taking the seats out, removing the back covers and changing them?

Does the filister screw that secures the top end of the strut require a special tool? My repair guide refers to a special tool when changing the struts.

My only other question is regarding the caps that hold the end of the shock onto the stud at the bottom of the seat. It seems to have a black cap of some sort on it. I assume this just prys off and then taps back on? Or is it shot when it comes off and has to be replaced?

The rest should be pretty straight forward  with regard to dis-assembly and reassembly. Inasmuch as I'd rather not, it looks like I'll have to remove the seats in order to access the hinge covers.

Thanks.

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