Originally Posted by CharlieO

I decided to leave the Crossfire at home for our 150 mile round trip on Saturday, and I knew that I'd have to attack this problem today because I rarely have any free time, even on weekends. I started at about 10 o'clock this morning, and probably spent about 2 hours of actual working time, with beer breaks,bathroom breaks, frustration breaks, and a few trips back to check this thread to try to solve a few problems.

The instructions and photos are a big help, and if I can do it, ANYONE can do it. I did have a couple of problems. Even though I was still able to turn the key, and I could easily depress the locking pin, I had to struggle to get the assembly out. That caused me to consider having the car towed in to my mechanic. Anyway, I kept on tugging, and it eventually came out.

Re-asssembly also was a pain, but I discovered that putting the assembly in the freezer before installing it actually works! After two or three attempts at pushng as hard as I could to get it in, I tried the freezer trick and it slid in easily. I'd suggest that this procedure might be a good idea for anyone who lives in a hot climate.

I did a couple of things that some people might find helpful. Because I really mangled the metal cover over the spring compartment when I removed it, I flattened it as well as I could and re-installed it with a loop of black electrical tape around it to hold it in place. I also wrapped the tape over the locking pin, so it wouldn't get in the way when I was shoving the assembly back into position.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread!