I have just bought a 1998 eclipse gs hatchback and the previous owner told me it needs new struts. I am not good with experience with cars as this is my first car but how many struts do i need for the car?

and what part do i need to buy for them? the """""1995-1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse Shock Absorber and Strut Assembly - KYB - Rear, KYB GR-2/Excel-G, Twin-tube, Strut assembly""" but for every strut i need? how many do i need? how many struts does the car have?

 

As you said that this is your first car, I assume you are young and by your post, have very limited mechanical knowledge about cars and working on them. No slight intended to you here, just trying to get you headed in the right direction. So here are some things you may wish to do (as well as other “novices”) to live a long life and to help you while working on your car.

• SAFETY! SAFETY! SAFETY!! (need I say it again) SAFETY!!

a) Wear safety glasses, you only have one set of eyes.
b) NEVER EVER do anything that would short out a battery, i.e., accidentally grounding the + battery post. It could go off like a bomb showering acid and plastic everywhere.
c) Do not wear loose clothing when working on the engine when it is running.
d) Buy a fire extinguisher if you are planning on using any kind of torch to loosen rusted bolts.
e) Use the correct quality tools for the task.
f) …and finally….. NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER EVER go underneath a car unless it is properly supported by something like quality ratcheting car jacks. Do not use a hydraulic jack (it can blow a seal and collapse faster than you can get out from under the car) to support a car, or a scissors jack for any reason other than only changing a tire. When I was young and immortal, my neighbor across the street just wanted to check out the shocks on his car and all that he used was a scissors jack to just raise the car enough so he could get under and look at the shocks, the tires never left the ground. That was the last thing in his life he did.

• Buy the service manual for your car that the car manufacturer publishes, it is the “bible” from the car manufacturer. Don’t even waste your time and money on those manuals at the auto parts stores. This is possibly one of the best returns on your money. Specific disassembly and assembly procedures, it lists non-reusable parts, torque value for fasteners, electrical wiring diagrams, where sensors and located. I use mine so often, it has tape holding it together. If you can get a hardcopy, I would get that instead of downloading a copy, I am old school about that.
• Buy at least two beam style torque wrenches, understand how to properly torque fasteners, and don’t abuse them. When you have more money, buy higher quality “click” style.
• Buy a thread chasing or re-threading kits.
• Buy quality tools, you get what you pay for, I have a floor jack and a compressor I bought 40 years ago from the place that sells the Die Hard batteries and they are still reliable. Most of my tools are from this same place, I can’t afford the real good stuff but I have some pieces as my first wife bought me some from there. One of the many nice things she did for me.
• If you are going to work on struts or springs, rent or buy a spring compressor.
• Keep a first aid kit around for a few years until you are smart enough not to repeat mistakes.

So once you have the factory manual, you will not have to ask where the struts are or how many your car has or where something is located on your car or how to remove it. Your main gripe will be that the parts store gives you will not fit but they will say is the only part listed for your application. After exhausting all your patience, you will find out that whomever inputted the data for that catalog for that company, either switched a letter or number in the catalog and all the parts stores will use that same catalog and they will all be wrong.