2006+ Mazda5 Rear Shocks Replacement

I am a new mazda 5 owner,and I would like to say that this site is very helpful especially for this forum,i have a bad leak on my right passenger rear shocks and took my mazda at the dealer to have an stimate how much it will cost to fix they said they can take care of it for $398,as the economy right now its quite costly so I thought what if i do it my self so I went searching online see if i could find anything helpfull and this site pops as second best click it and study it.it sure was easy to understand.so the next day went to a shop ordered a pair of shocks.that afternoon did it for 2 1/2 hours.I cant believe how much I save for this project. $33 a piece for parts and my 3 year old handing me tools...its priceless.thanks for posting this very helpful.
 
I am a new mazda 5 owner,and I would like to say that this site is very helpful, especially for this forum. I have a bad leak on my right passenger rear shocks and took my mazda to the dealer to have an estimate of how much it will cost to fix. They said they can take care of it for $398. As the economy right now it's quite costly, so I thought what if i do it my self? So I went searching online see if I could find anything helpful and this site pops as second best. Click it and study it. It sure was easy to understand. So the next day went to a shop, ordered a pair of shocks, that afternoon did it (the shocks I hope) for 2 1/2 hours. I cant believe how much I saved for this project. $33 a piece for parts and my 3 year old handing me tools...its priceless. Thanks for posting this. Very helpful.

I'm glad that the information here has been helpful.
 
Just ordered a pair of GR-2's from rockauto. (I always go to retailmenot.com for a 5% off coupon too...)

I didnt notice a problem with the right rear shock until there was a slick of oil running down my driveway. Ugh.
 
As with other posters, I've suffered through suspension issues with the Mazda5. Mine is a 2008. The problem seems rooted in the car design, which modified the platform for the Mazda3 to a larger, heavier, higher center-of-gravity Mazda5 design.

Most of us won't change a shock absorber over the life of a car (we're not racing drivers), but shocks are designed to perform to manufacturing specs for between 50,000 and 80,000 miles. The shocks on the Mazda5 might get 50,000 KILOMETRES before they start dropping oil all over your drive way.

Here is what I see - 1) The rear end has a manufacturing issue related to where the spring seat is welded to the car body. The bead of the weld sits up too high, and causes the rear springs to bind under compression. The binding causes the springs to distort, generating a lateral load on the shock (imagine what happens to a bow when you pull on the bow string). That lateral force is what is causing the premature shock failure. The problem can, in part, be solved in the factory by addressing the weld issue, and by installing heavier-duty shocks.

Mazda seems happy to replace the shocks on warranty, but only to get the car beyond the warranty. I'm not willing to pay for shocks every 50,000km, and shouldn't have to. So the suggestion? Until Mazda comes clean and engineers a real fix to the problem, dump the car before your warranty expires.... its a lot of money to pay for a car that is only good for 3/80,000.
 
The springs are completely independent from the shocks. After replacing them myself, I don't see how a spring binding issue (if that were to actually happen) world ever cause any lateral pressure on the shock. I think the real issue is that the OEM shocks are just cheap. So of Mazda replaced oe with oe, them they wool probably fail again.
 
Yeaaah.... I don't see how the springs would cause weird lateral forces on the rear shocks either. The rear shocks don't determine any of the geometry in the rear suspension at all- just the up/down motion of the control arms. If the rear suspension is pushing laterally on the shocks in a way that's damaging the structure of the damper itself, something is loose or you have bad bushings.
 
Yeaaah.... I don't see how the springs would cause weird lateral forces on the rear shocks either. The rear shocks don't determine any of the geometry in the rear suspension at all- just the up/down motion of the control arms. If the rear suspension is pushing laterally on the shocks in a way that's damaging the structure of the damper itself, something is loose or you have bad bushings.

....I'm crawling away with my tail between my legs... you guys right... me wrong... just OEM equipment not up to the job. Do you have recommendations on what is a better replacement... experience with them in service for more than 50,000 miles?
 
As below... don't know what I was thinking... trying to be too smart by 1/2. The two shouldn't be directly related. My bad. Suggestions on replacement shock for OEM that will handle normal driving on city streets.
 
I just had the same thing happen (94,000 km). After complaining, Mazda fixed on warranty it even though I'm out of the normal warranty period (part of the drivetrain?)... they also covered the cost of the shocks, but not the service on my rear end shocks that failed again after only 50,000km

...anyhow, there is some stuff about this on discussion boards... and Mazda has a redesigned replacement part. There is probably a TSB on this if someone has it.
 
I got the kyb gr2/excel. They are a known good product, and the ride is better than stock imo. I found the best deal on them at rockauto.com plus you can find 5% off codes at retailmenot.com
 
I've got the Excel-G as well for the rear...and more, but I've only had them for a month. They feel good so far but I do have a bit of a clunk.
 
How long have you guys had your Excel G's?

I'm pretty sure the clunk isn't comfing from the shocks.
 
Yeah, clunk sounds unrelated, unless something on the upper mounts is loose or broken.
My new shocks have been in for about 3 months I think.
 
Just throwing this out there but Bilstein offers a twintubed replacement (Bilstein 19-138411) for MS3 and Mz3 rear (no front option for some reason) that goes for ~$73 shipped. Technically it is not available for the Mz5 but I would choose this before GR2s. I believe lifetime warranty applies too.
 
Just throwing this out there but Bilstein offers a twintubed replacement (Bilstein 19-138411) for MS3 and Mz3 rear (no front option for some reason) that goes for ~$73 shipped. Technically it is not available for the Mz5 but I would choose this before GR2s. I believe lifetime warranty applies too.

Where were you with this info 4 months ago!? Lol is that 73 each or for the pair?
 
LOL. If it's $73 for the pair, that would be cheaper than GR2! ;) I did mention this shock, indirectly, before. I just though folks who go with GR2 or the cheaper Chinese stuff are looking to penny pinch and wouldn't' consider anything else ;P


Oh, there's also the entry Koni SRT rears too ($150/pair), again for Mz3 and MS3. I mentioned these a couple of times in different posts but no one seem to pay mind to it. Internet hearsay but I read that the SRT has the same internals as the Yellows but set at a softer (or was it softest) setting and non adjustable, lifetime warranty also. Seen post on not to be mentioned forum mention sale price of $315 shipped for a set of 4! Prices have come down, down, down.
http://classicgarage.com/marekostshab.html
 
....I'm crawling away with my tail between my legs... you guys right... me wrong... just OEM equipment not up to the job. Do you have recommendations on what is a better replacement... experience with them in service for more than 50,000 miles?

No biggie. :)

Recommendations- I've used the KYB GR-2/Excel in the past on quite a few cars (like some others have recommended) and they served me well with stock springs. If you're willing to spend more, Koni Yellows are nice, but some people think they're a little too stiff compared to stock.
 
If you're willing to spend more, Koni Yellows are nice, but some people think they're a little too stiff compared to stock.
That stiff ride is probably b/c the yellows were not pair correctly. Yellows are really meant to be pair with lower and stiffer springs, while the FSD is meant for stock application. A lot of folks tend to jump on Yellows thinking they are ‘adjustable’ so they must be better or can be set to a softer/softest setting but fail to realize they are not valved the same. The adjustability is mean to accommodate different stiffness of lowering springs.

http://www.koni.ie/technology/faq/
Q: What is the difference between KONI FSD and KONI Sport (yellow)?
A: The KONI FSD adapts itself to the driving conditions (driving speed and road surface). The result is a very smooth ride under an very wide band of circumstances. The KONI FSD valving performs best in combination with the car’s factory springs. The KONI Sport offers a sportier, more responsive feel to the car under all circumstances and work on vehicles with higher performance parts. The higher initial valving baseline and the possibility to adjust the damping offers better compatibility with any aftermarket sports or lowering springs.
 
No, the Yellows are definitely paired correctly- just not meant for a factory ride. You want the damping style of the Yellows on the track.
 
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