[Redog]

Well if you are going to do it yourself, you can rent a spring compressor from Autozone. Actually it's not even renting since they give you the money back when you return it. I didn't do mine myself since I really didn't trust myself to do it I probably still wouldn't do it.

Malibu struts? any strut tthat fits a Malibu or Grand Am will fit the Alero. Mechannaly speaking all the cars are the same

Struts don't give you drop, springs do. It really doesn't matter what struts you use. It's a shaft and tube. It doesn't care if the car sits at stock height or dropped 2 inches. A lot of guys, including myself, are running and will suggest KYB GR2 struts. They are a nice strut and a high quality one at that. I have around 40K on mine and they still hold good.