No advice needed, just a report on a solved problem. I replaced rear struts yesterday and nearly had to come here for advice but I figured it out. (07 base model).
I got all the nuts loose, but the 14mm bolt head that screws up from below was jammed against the coil spring. I have not done many of these and didn't know how to proceed. I finally realized the spring had shifted along wih its rubber base. Is this common?
I ended up successful with my 2' crowbar, prying the spring a few mm over to make room for a socket wall. That's much easier to say than do, and I have a small forehead cut from the fender skirt .
The new struts are about 50% heavier than the old ones and about 3 cm longer.