Originally Posted by Mike

well, I can attest that you can remove the strut without removing those three bolts. I hate to admit it, but on my first suspension change, I cross threaded one of the three and didn't notice it until it was too late, so I just torqued it down, thinking, I'm not going to change it again. I have since changed it three times, and its very easy to get the strut out without removing them if you unbolt a lot of other stuff.