3 hours?!!! Just use a cheater bar or breaker bar to break loose those bolts/nuts with PB Blaster (GREAT STUFF). Took me under 2 hours to take out my F&F Type 1's and put back the stock suspension. F&F usually glide right in. Their way smaller in comparison to stock.
Don't use a hammer! Use a rubber mallet, and be careful not to mess up the threads. lol...I messed up my strut arm that way because I was a dumb a$$