How long should it take to replace front struts/bearings?

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Dave88LX

Member

• Jun 22, 2015

• #1

I have the rear work done on my '08 Mz5, and wanted to get the rear aligned but found the front and rear has to be done together. $80-$90 for a 4-wheel alignment, $70-$80 for just a 2-wheel alignment. I haven't replaced my front struts yet or checked up there for looseness in anything, so it would be a waste of money to get an alignment before I replaced the struts/bearings.

How long of a job is it for a decently skilled person to swap those out?

Anything else typically go wrong up front by 80K miles that I should be looking at?

 

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kw_da

:

2006 Mazda 6 - auto

• Jun 22, 2015

• #2

Dave88LX said:

Anything else typically go wrong up front by 80K miles that I should be looking at?

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Front sway bar bushings :-(

 

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Dave88LX

Member

• Jun 22, 2015

• #3

OK I'll keep an eye out there. Thankfully they won't affect alignment.

 

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Secondtyme

:

2006 Mazda5 Touring

• Jun 23, 2015

• #4

Be absolutely certain you have the right strut mounts before you proceed. My local VatoZone sold me mounts for a 3 and they were NOT the right part. They were too thin and allowed the struts to bang on the sheetmetal making the most godawful racket. I have done struts on a few cars in the past and found the Mazda to be about average in terms of difficulty. You want to have some means of spreading the knuckle to get the old strut out and the new one in without resorting to brute force, which works, but causes other issues LOL. I used a crowbar and a hammer which was crude but got the job done, it took me about five hours to do both sides. GL

 

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diamonddragon

Member

:

2012 Mazda 5

• Jul 14, 2015

• #5

Hey guys what is a good replacement brand for both front stuts and rear shocks? I have a 2012 Mazda 5. I am looking at KYB G-2 anyone sporting these babies?

 

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thaxman

Mazda5 the Anti-Van

• Jul 30, 2015

• #6

diamonddragon said:

Hey guys what is a good replacement brand for both front stuts and rear shocks? I have a 2012 Mazda 5. I am looking at KYB G-2 anyone sporting these babies?

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GR-2 up front and Gas-a-Just out back. Do it. The 1st solid step above crappy OE. The next step is Koni Yellow or Bilsteins.

 

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flcruising

:

2008 Mazda5 Touring

• Aug 4, 2015

• #7

I replaced with https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned) struts January 2014 and they are still going strong.
Better than OEM performance, cheap, lifetime warranty.

The main reason I changed them was because of a persistent clunk like something was loose in the front suspension. I've replaced the sway bar bushings multiple times, so I knew that wasn't it. I then moved to struts. When I was installing them, I noticed that the sway bar end-link was loose. Tightening this back up fixed the sound, so the new struts were a bonus. The wife noticed improved ride and handling right away.

 

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Secondtyme

:

2006 Mazda5 Touring

• Aug 5, 2015

• #8

I went with OE Spectrum for the rear, but used Koni Yellow in the front (as this was not a job I want to do again any time soon) So far the cheap-ish Spectrums are holding up just fine in the back, although i did a fair bit of parts replacement back there while I was also doing the shocks...

 

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MarkVII88

Member

:

2012 Mazda5 Sport AT

• Aug 19, 2015

• #9

I replaced the rear shocks on our 2008 with KYB gas a just and the front struts with KYB GR2. Much improved ride and smooth over bumps. Not too expensive via Rockauto.

 

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myfeng

Member

:

2009 Mazda 5 Sport a/t

• Aug 24, 2015

• #10

My right front strut was leaking oil this spring when my car had around 60k miles. Both front struts were replaced with KYB. Rear struts were replaced under warranty in the first 3 years.