On the pinch weld, there are markings to tell you where to place them. It is also described in the owner's manual.Where are you guys sticking the jack stands in the rear for this job?
I know where the jack points are, I just wasn't sure if I could physically set the jack stands on the pinch weld. My Miata has similar markings on its pinch weld, but also has a raised pad at each corner just inside of the pinch weld to rest jack stands on. The Mz5, of course, does not have this, so I was confused.On the pinch weld, there are markings to tell you where to place them. It is also described in the owner's manual.
I know where the jack points are, I just wasn't sure if I could physically set the jack stands on the pinch weld. My Miata has similar markings on its pinch weld, but also has a raised pad at each corner just inside of the pinch weld to rest jack stands on. The Mz5, of course, does not have this, so I was confused.
I ended up just going for it last night anyway. The pinch weld doesn't seem to have any damage from me resting the jack stands on it.
The job was pretty easy, especially because I have a workbench with a vice. I did wait until I got the car actually back on the ground to torque the lower shock bolt. The improved ride in the rear highlighted that the ride up front isn't as good as I remember it being! I'll wait until one of them blows to replace, most likely. I've replaced shocks on the Miata at least 3-4 times between my car and others', but I've never done struts.
I'm sure it'll be a nice difference. I only changed the rears because the left rear blew out on me and was making an awful racket over bumps, not to mention throwing handling off to an alarming degree.I was skeptical about the pinch weld too, but mine are holding up fine after having the car up on jack stands several times. The fronts made more of a difference for me, you will be happy when you finally change out the fronts.
As a heads up to folks with higher mileage 5s. When replacing your rear shocks take a minute to examine your lateral links and rear control arm bushings. These two components are made more prone to fail by driving with blown rear shocks. On my 06 which has 167k on the clock my bushings were completely shot. Just an fyi...
This!
I replaced my blown rear shocks and noticed that the trailing arm was moving around more than I thought it should...
About 126kJesus. How many miles on that?
Well that explains it. It was slammed for about 2 years, back to stock now.Is your van lowered at all? That bushing has a twist at anything lower than stock height and won't last long.
i did bilstein all aroundSorry to dig up an old thread, after about 5.5 years and 40k miles, I think the Monroe rear shocks are done (still no leak), the 08 MZ5 bounces quite abit now.
Looks like Bilstein has B4 for MZ5 now:
rear:
Bilstein 19-197302
front:
Bilstein 22-112880
Bilstein 22-112811
The front are still stock, so will probably do all 4 this time. The van is at 68K now should I replace all the springs as well? How about tie-rod, sway bar bushings/end link? Thanks.