Shock Absorber and Spring Replacement

A Step-by-step Procedure for the Total Novice

By Bob Cohen
with tips from Pete Hodge - phhodge@bigfoot.com
Editor's Note: There is a good writeup on Miata Forum for Shock/Spring
replacement on an NB Miata.
Shock/spring replacement can be a difficult and tedious task, particularly if the
Madza-recommended (i.e., shop manual) method is used. However, a number
of posts to the Miata.net have indicated that this operation can be performed
without changing the alignment or breaking ball joints. The following is a
detailed description of my (first-time) experiences and problems encountered
following the procedure that was originally posted by Sean Archer, and
modified and/or further explained by many helpful netters, including Peter
Balfour, John Bowles, Bill Cardell, Brian Dore, Tom Manson, and Mike
Simmons:
1. Loosen the wheel nuts, then lift the car and support it on jack stands; see
either the Maintenance section from Tips from the Garage Web page, the
Mazda Shop Manual, or the Enthusiast's Manual for further details. I found
that a good light source was often helpful, and that lifting the car within range
of a shoplight and it's extension cord was good insurance (if the car is lifted
outside, and the wheels are off, it gets dark, and you're not finished, that might
be a bit inconvenient - not that it happened to me, of course). Remove the
wheels.
Rear Shocks/Springs
2. To access the rear shocks, first remove the metal trunk guard that protects
the fuel lines (left shock) and the spare tire (right shock). Loosen the shock
absorber upper shaft nut a few turns (it's more difficult to do this after the unit
is out of the car) with a 17 mm wrench and extension, but DO NOT completely
remove the bolt, or the spring will separate from the shock (which is
dangerous, and probably impossible to rectify once it occurs).
3. Remove the upper mounting plate nuts with a 14 mm wrench and
extension. Be careful not to drop the nuts into the sheet metal around the

upper mounting area, or they'll wedge into place against the body in a very
tight area (especially the rear one). I dropped one, and it took about 1 hour to
retrieve it with a pair of curved needle nose pliers. During the process, I
learned that Pep Boys does not carry 14 metric flanged nuts.
4. Disconnect the sway bar's attachment to the lower A-arm linkage (14 mm
socket), to allow the A-arm to swing out of the way in subsequent steps. The
sway bar can be removed either where it joins the A-arm, or at the point
between the main (horizontal) sway bar and the curved link that fastens to the
arm. I suggest the latter approach - it was very difficult to reattach the bushing
to the lower A-arm, much easier to reattach between the main sway bar and
the A-arm link.
5. Remove the lower shock mounting bolt (and keep track of which way the
head of the bolt is pointing so that it can be replaced in the same
configuration).
6. Remove the bolt that joins the upper A-arm to the wheel hub (and again,
keep track of how the bolt should be replaced). This allows the wheel hub to
swing downward, freeing up the shock/spring assembly, and allowing for easy
removal. There is a paint mark on the spring that should be used to return
the spring to the same position after the unit is replaced (if the shocks are to
be replaced and the old springs reused). Alternatively, place a piece of tape,
paint, or otherwise mark the spring to allow for reorientation.
7. Recover the top mounting gasket (a thin, white plastic gasket between the
top mounting plate and the frame).
8. Clamp the shock in a vise (if they're going to be replaced, no need to worry
about damaging them in the vise; otherwise, protect the shock with wood or
aluminum sheets placed between the shock and the vise jaws), and attach
spring compressors. Compress the spring until the top mounting plate is
loose, and the spring can rotate independently of the shock. Remove the top
shaft bolt (loosened in Step 2), the mounting plate, and the compressed
spring.
9. Protect the replacement (or re-used) shocks in the vise as noted above,
and reassemble the compressed spring over the shocks (if new springs are to
be installed, then decompress the old spring and discard (sell?), then
compress the new spring). Place the top mounting plate over the
shock/spring unit, and replace the top mounting bolt. Make sure the unit is
aligned correctly, with the spring seated properly against the shock absorber

and the top mounting plate, then reinstall in the car. Use the OEM paint
marks or your marking tape, etc. to replace the spring in the same orientation
that is occupied prior to removal.
10. Lubricate the lower shock mounting bolt with molybdenum or similar
grease, and replace the bolt. Lift the wheel hub and replace the bolt joining
the upper A-arm to the wheel hub (a short piece of wood to support the hub or
a helper is nice; a little grease also can be used to lubricate the bolt). Make
sure the plastic gasket is replaced on top of the mounting plate (not that I
forgot to do that the first time...), and thread the upper mounting plate bolts
through the chassis holes. Loosely reattach top mounting nuts, and replace
the sway bar linkage bolt/nut. Re-torque all nuts/bolts to specifications (see
below), and replace wheel, spare tire, and metal trunk guard.
Front Shocks/Springs
11. From inside the engine compartment, remove the plastic dust covers from
the upper shock mounting plates (they're loosely attached, and are readily
removed). To obtain easier access, the bolt that fastens the diagnostic
connector and the associated wires to the sheet metal may require removal,
to allow the wires to be pushed a few inches out of the way for access to the
shock mounting area).
12. Loosen the shock absorber upper shaft nut a few turns, but DO NOT
completely remove the bolt (see items 2 and 3, above). Remove the upper
mounting plate nuts with a 14 mm wrench and extension.
13. Disconnect the sway bar to the links on both sides (this will allow the lower
A-arm to drop sufficiently in subsequent steps). Again, remove the sway bar
at the point between the main (horizontal) sway bar and the curved link that
joins the A-arm - this is the easiest point to reattach the sway bar.
14. Remove the lower shock mounting bolt. As above, remember/record the
original orientation of the bolt and nuts. In ABS-equipped cars, a wire will be
attached to the shock via a welded clip. Carefully pry the clip away from the
wire with a large flat-bladed screwdriver and remove the wire from the shock
absorber.
15. Carefully step on the lower A-arm (it now can go down about 3-4 inches)
and pull the top of the shock towards you (i.e., to the outside of the car). This
provides enough room to attach a spring compressor while the spring/shock
assembly is still on the car. Note the orientation of the OEM paint marks on

the spring, or add your own paint or tape to indicate the original position of the
spring, as noted above for rear shock absorber installation. Then carefully
compress the spring.
16. Push down on the upper mounting plate (compressing the shock; the
spring is already compressed) and remove the mounting plate. This provides
another few inches of access. Save the white plastic mounting gasket.
17. Again push down on the shock piston rod. This should provide enough
room to move the top of the shock/spring towards you, then up and out of the
car, while a helper steps on the lower A-arm (it's more difficult, but possible, to
do it as a one-person operation). If the shock becomes stuck in the lower
mount, then gently prying it free with a large flat screwdriver may be helpful
before the final removal.
18. Replace the shocks and/or springs as noted above in #8 and 9, but leave
the spring compressor attached to the (compressed) spring. Reinstall into
the car by reversing the above procedure: step on the lower A-arm, and slip
the unit back into place.
19. Lubricate the lower shock mounting bolt with molybdenum or similar
grease, and replace the bolt. Push down on the shaft of the shock, and
replace the top shock mount. Replace the nut holding the shock absorber
shaft to the mounting plate.
20. Push down on the lower A-arm, and align the top mounting plate bolts in
the holes in the chassis, and replace the mounting plate nuts. Decompress
the spring and remove the compressor. Then replace the sway bar linkage
bolt/nut, and re-torque all fasteners to specifications
21. For ABS-equpped cars, net.suggestions for reattaching the ABS wire to
the shock have included: a) ignore it; it's just to stabilize the wire a bit, it's not
rubbing against anything, and there are two other mounts; b) fabricate a
mount from a metal strip, and epoxy it onto the new shock; and c) secure it to
the shock with a plastic cable tie.
22. Replace the wheel, and retorque the nuts as noted below (or to your
specs).
23. Find a nice twisty road, and take that favorite turn at the speed where the
rear end always would break loose a bit, but see if there's any more grip this
time. Repeat as necessary.

24. (Optional; note that step 23 generally isn't): Consider how much better the
car would handle if new springs had been added as well as the new shocks,
and when that procedure gets done how much easier all this should be the
next time...
Torque Specifications (from the Mazda Shop Manual)
Sway bar links: 36-54 N-m (27-40 ft-lbs)
Lower shock mounting nut: 73-93 N-m (54-69 ft-lbs)
Upper shock mounting nuts: 29-36 N-m (22-27 ft-lbs)
Rear upper A-arm to wheel hub bolt: 46-67 N-m (34-49 ft-lbs)
Wheel lug nuts (OEM): 88-118 N-m (65-87 ft-lbs)
Shock piston rod upper nut: 29-36 N-m (22-27 ft-lbs)
Time Required
Rear shock, first time, no clue: about 4 hours.
Rear shock, second and subsequent time: about 1-1.5 hours for both.
Front shock, after benefit of replacing rear shocks: about 1.5-2.0 hours for
both.
Someone with experience (i.e., Pete Balfour, Toronto Trillium club): both
shocks, "a tad over one hour."
For questions, comments, or anyone I've left out or inadvertently forgot to give
credit to, send email to robert_cohen@sdm.buffalo.edu .
Bob

Tips from Pete Hodge - phhodge@bigfoot.com

I installed new shocks over the past several days using all the information
from Miata.net. In particular, I relied on Bob Cohen's instructions from the
garage section and Bill Cardell's (of Dealer Alternative) detailed explanations
of how to extract the front shocks without upsetting the existing alignment.
Many advised that the replacement would go much smoother with a helper,
but I had to do it alone. Thus, I had to come up with solutions to the problems
of having not enough arms and or muscles.
1. The dust cap on the front shock mounts in the engine compartment are 2
1/4" in diameter. As mine had not been touched in seven years, I was unable

to discern this fact, and spent too much time trying to pry off the entire top of
the shock mount. Yes, you can put a little pinky fingernail in the dust filled and
invisible groove and pop that sucker off. As someone on the list says....DUH.
2. Bill Cardell says to take the cotter pin off the castellated (my spell checker
offered castrated for this one..:-)) nut on the upper ball joint, unscrew the nut a
few turns and then smack the side of the steering knuckle. The drawing and
picture from his website were excellent, but on the first shock I was unable to
determine when the ball joint had popped loose. I kept banging away for about
10 good hits with my mini sledge. Finally, I decided to start unscrewing the nut
anyway, and presto, the ball joint had popped loose. Probably on my second
hit... so the solution is to back the nut off about 1/4". Then when the ball joint
pops, you will see it jump right down, and you'll know the hammering is over.
3. Still on the front shocks, I found it was impossible for me to pull the upper
control arm down, pull the lower control arm down (taking care not to damage
the brake line), and wrestle the shock out all by myself . An octopus I'm not.
My solution after many unsuccessful attempts was to place a prop on the
upper control arm to hold it in the down position. You must be very careful not
to put undo pressure on the inside of the fender...we don't want any dents
from below. First get a small rectangular block of wood about 2x3" and about
1/2" thick. You will also need a prop of about 13 1/2 ". I used a paint roller
extension. Place the block on the inside of the fender, the prop against it and
then push down the upper control arm far enough to push the prop into
position. Presto, now all you have to do is worry about the lower control arm.
Makes getting the shock out very easy. Keep the prop in position while
working on the shock off the car and reinstalling will also be much easier.
4. On the back shocks, I had a similar problem. I was following Bill's
instructions, but was not strong enough to push down on the control arm and
weasel the shock out. After some thought, I decided to use the Miata's sissor
jack. I placed it on the lower control arm on the car side of the end links. The
handle faced the rear of the car. I started cranking away and the control arms
went down nice as you could hope for. Once the top of the shock cleared the
fender, I stopped cranking on the jack and lifted it right out. A baby could do it.
The jack holds the control arm in that position ready for reinstallation of your
new shocks.
Pete

The following tip was received from Phil Yasuhara

One tip for the fronts--in order to compress the springs enough to remove the
shock/spring assembly without breaking the ball joint, I had to put the lower
attachment under the shock spring mounting--no problem as it is shaped like
the bottom of a half a spring but BE CAREFUL to insure it doesn't slip off!
Also, since the stock and replacement (KYB AGXs) shocks were both gas
pressure type, you can use wire to tie down the upper shock attachment after
wedging a 2x4 above it to keep it compressed. It IS possible to hold the rear
shock/spring assembly and attach the upper shock retaining springs on the
rear--just get in a real friendly hug with your rear fender!

Alternate Method from Andy Hollis

Here's the easy way to replace the front shocks and or springs without
messing up your alignment. Its also a whole bunch easier than splitting or
unbolting the ball joints. Credit for this tip goes to Mazda Master Tech, John
Long, of Mazda South in Austin, Texas.
1. Jack up front of car and place on jackstands at the side rail jacking
points.
2. Remove front wheels.
3. Inside the engine bay, loosen center nut holding upper spring mount to
shock shaft (14mm socket w/extension). Only back this off a few turns,
not all the way. This helps get the spring off easier later.
4. Remove the 2 nuts holding upper spring mount to the body (14mm
socket).
5. Remove upper through bolt connecting sway bar end link to sway bar
(14mm socket and box wrench). Note which way the bolt goes.
6. Remove lower shock absorber mounting bolt (17mm socket and box
wrench).
7. Loosen rearmost mounting bolt for front sway bar frame bracket until the
back is flush with the backing nut (12mm socket with extension).

8. Remove upper control arm mounting bolt. Use 21mm box wrench on the
nut and a 21 mm socket on the bolt head. Slide the bolt back through
the big washer towards the sway bar frame bracket. Rock the a-arm up
and down if the bolt is stuck. Once the bolt is all the way out of the aarm, just leave it where it is.
9. Being careful that the rubber brake hose is not in tension, pry down on
(or stand on) the hub or lower control arm until the top of the
shock/spring unit can swing out clear of the shock tower.
10.Disassemble shock/spring unit using appropriate spring compressor. Be
VERY careful!!
11. Reassembly is the reverse of disassembly.
Note: Do not tighten mounting bolts for sway bar end links, shock lower mount
or upper control am while the car is in full droop. Once everything is back in
place but not tight, place a jack under the lower arm as close to the hub as
possible. Jack up until the car just starts to come off the jackstand. Now
tighten those mounting bolts. You should also torque the shock shaft upper
mounting nut at this time.

Alternate Method for Cars With Shorter Springs from Justin Mitchell
If you have aftermarket coilovers with shorter springs and adjustable shocks,
there is a much easier way to remove the coilover assembly from the car.
This method only works if you have shorter springs which become
uncompressed while the car is in the air. After jacking up the car, see if you
are able to move the spring around by hand. If so, then you are golden. If the
spring is compressed and cannot be moved by hand, then this is unsafe and
will not work.
1. Jack up the car, put it on jackstands, and remove the front wheels.
2. Adjust the shock's rebound setting to full stiff. If the shock has
adjustable compression, set it to full soft. Later, when you compress the
shock by hand, it will prevent the shock from decompressing too
quickly.

3. Loosen the shock center nut, located at the top of the shock tower. This
will make make it easier to remove later.
4. Remove the lower shock mounting bolt (17mm).
5. Remove the 2 upper shock mount nuts (14mm).
6. Completely remove the shock center nut, located at the top of the shock
tower.
7. At this point, your shock assembly is partially disassembled. In order to
get it to clear the upper control arm you need to remove the upper
shock mount and spring. Press down firmly on the upper shock mount
to compress the shock as far as possible, then remove the upper shock
mount from the shock. Remove the spring the same way.
8. Now, that the clunky stuff has been removed from the shock, compress
the shock rod all the way and remove the shock from the car.
9. Reassembly is the reverse of disassembly. Be sure that the shock is set
to full stiff (rebound, not compression!).