Thanks for the replies.

I'm not sure yet how to be careful of the residual pressure from the strut. But I'll probably figure that out as I go.

And for replacing the bushings, I plan to drill into the rubber then use a hacksaw blade from inside the hole to cut to the outer bushing metal ring. Then I can compress the outer ring and push it out. I can hammer and/or press the new bushing in. This is how I did it on my E36.