To the best of my knowledge the 124 arrangement is the same at my 201. The strut is very easy to remove. Jack the front up and place jackstands UNDER THE CONTROL ARMS as far outboard as possible. With the weight on the control arms the springs will stay compressed from the weight of the car when you remove the strut, but you want the jackstands as far outboard as possible to maximize available leverage to keep the springs compressed beyond the rebound stop of the strut.

To remove the strut, remove the two bolts that hold the strut to the hub carrier and the nut on the top strut. You'll need a small metric allen wrench to hold the strut shaft, but a replacment bilstein shock I bought had a Torx center.

While the strut if off, remove the top strut mount and carefully inspect it for deterioration or cracking and replace as necessary. Recommend replacing the dust bellows apriori, as they are inexpensive and have a habit of disintegrating long before the shocks need replacment.

Duke