rear shocks gone again at 52k

Does your car bounce a lot after going over a speed bump, if they are they're gone. Have a look at them, does it look like oil is leaking out? If it is, they're gone.

Get Konis, they're $240 for a pair straight from Koni direct. The ones specifically for Mazda 5 have heavy duty valving to handle the weight of the 5.
 
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DKaz said:
Does your car bounce a lot after going over a speed bump, if they are they're gone. Have a look at them, does it look like oil is leaking out? If it is, they're gone.

Get Konis, they're $240 for a pair straight from Koni direct. The ones specifically for Mazda 5 have heavy duty valving to handle the weight of the 5.
Click to expand...

Am I reading correctly that you have to take the freakin' shock off of the car to adjust it? WTF?
 
yes it bounces a lot after a bump. :( the ride feels a bit wobbly lately and i couldn't figure out what the problem is. if oil is leaking, will oil be found to accumulate on the floor below the inner sides of the rear wheels? during my last routine service i told my mechanic about this liquidy substance that i found on the floor beneath my car, he checked everything and said nothing was leaking. is this a lot of work to put in new shocks? is it harder than putting in new horns?

DKaz said:
Does your car bounce a lot after going over a speed bump, if they are they're gone. Have a look at them, does it look like oil is leaking out? If it is, they're gone.

Get Konis, they're $240 for a pair straight from Koni direct. The ones specifically for Mazda 5 have heavy duty valving to handle the weight of the 5.
Click to expand...
 
Um, I'm not talking about installing it, but yes you will need jacks to install and adjust them, if they are in fact adjustable like I found on Koni's site. You have to take the shock off of the car and use a vice to adjust it.
 
Yeah that's the downside but they are high quality shocks otherwise. Thankfully rear shocks are easy to do on our cars.
 
OK, so we are talking about the same shocks. I'm wondering if you could detach the top and turn it with a wrench maybe.
 
I have done a little research about which shocks thats avaiable for the 5.
And concluded there is only 3 manufacturers that makes shocks for it.
Kayaba stock maker also sold under other names for example KYB, Monroe and might other brands but the same S...
And german sachs sold in europe for about the sam price as Kayaba
And so the yellow Koni, and as i read it on www.koni.com is it only the front shocks from koni that is adjustable.
So when i have to change then i will go for sachs.
Jens
 
sorry to interrupt with an entry-level question again... how easy is the installation? i plan to put in the rear bar so i might as well do it at the same time, just need to get a pair of jacks if the wheels have to be off the ground.
 
I really think you need to find a local friend to help guide you? I do not know what your skill set is as far as wrenching on cars, so please do not take it the wrong way. However some of your questions concern me.

If you have all of the right tools, and have done it before a few times, the install would take about 15min per corner. A newcomer would take about 3 hrs for the first corner, and another hour for the second corner. Plus don't forget to add some time in for the busted open knuckle or stripped out or broken bolt.
 
Koni Yellows- Fronts adjustable on the car. Rears have to be taken off. Used them on my ITA CRX I used to have.
 
^^ I really appreciate that clarification. How did you like them? Were they as good as you could ask?
 
sigh, none of my local friends are into this stuff, i am the odd one out. don't worry though, if i can't figure things out by researching and asking around here, i won't do it. :)
 
Robotaz said:
^^ I really appreciate that clarification. How did you like them? Were they as good as you could ask?
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I really liked them. They were consistent, and durable. I never had an issue with them the whole time i had that car. There are no graduations to tell you how hard or soft, so you have to count turns.. IIRC, 2.5 to 3 turns from soft to hard. On the rears you need an extra pair or pliers or something to hold the shaft while you adjust, or the shaft will just spin as you turn..fading memory also says Koni has Reds that do the same thing, but the Reds were for "Vintage" applications..
 
petitevan said:
sigh, none of my local friends are into this stuff, i am the odd one out. don't worry though, if i can't figure things out by researching and asking around here, i won't do it. :)
Click to expand...
If you have the tools and the service manual, there's no reason why you can't do it. You have to take your time. If you've NEVER worked on a car before then maybe not, (or have a spare car handy in case it takes you a while). We all had to start somewhere. I still remember the very first oil change I ever did on my first car. It took three hours...LOL
 
Yep, the Koni Yellow fronts can be adjusted from soft to hard with a knob while it's on the car. The rears have to be taken off and turned five half turns (or 2.5 times) from soft to hard. Soft is about the same as OE Mazda I heard, so I'd probably try half turn from soft.

The rears require nothing more than appropriate size wrenches, deep socket wrenches, etc. Check the sticky in the How To section. All you have to do is lift the car, take the wheel off, and you have full access to the rear shock. Shouldn't take more than a couple of hours.

http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123748385-2006-Mazda5.-Rear-Shocks-Replacement

The fronts require everything above plus spring compressors, and you have to remove some brake line brackets and ABS sensors. For a new person, could take eight hours+ to do.

There's a How To in the Mazda 3 section of this forum:
http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123750882-How-to-Change-shocks-and-struts!

Another car club I'm in had semi-annual install meets, a team of three guys installed lowering springs on all four corners in my Corolla in under an hour.
 
Sounbwoy said:
If you have the tools and the service manual, there's no reason why you can't do it. You have to take your time. If you've NEVER worked on a car before then maybe not, (or have a spare car handy in case it takes you a while). We all had to start somewhere. I still remember the very first oil change I ever did on my first car. It took three hours...LOL
Click to expand...

Exactly! We all start somewhere!!! In fact it just might be the place for you, as the rears are alot easier than the front strut. I don't want to keep anyone from working on their own car, as it is one of those things that you can save yourself some money by doing it yourself and enjoy doing it at the same time.

One of the great tools out there too is the infamous youtube. I believe there is also a writeup in the howto section of the mazda5 forum on how to perform the rear shock swap. (^^^ Seee link in the post above by DKAZ)
 
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Originally Posted by petitevan
sigh, none of my local friends are into this stuff, i am the odd one out. don't worry though, if i can't figure things out by researching and asking around here, i won't do it.
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Where in the bay area are you?
 
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dude, i just realized that you are as local to me as it gets! i am in san mateo, about 200 miles south to where you are. the farthest i have gone north is to fort bragg. once i get the rear sway bar and the shocks on, you and i should take our 5s down SR-20 towards the ocean (saw a team of Corvettes doing that when i went last month). SR-29 or HWY 49 would be nice too.

mazdadude said:
Where in the bay area are you?
Click to expand...
 
petitevan said:
sigh, none of my local friends are into this stuff, i am the odd one out. don't worry though, if i can't figure things out by researching and asking around here, i won't do it. :)
Click to expand...

You should work safe, never trust the jack alone, use jack stands always backup the jack before crawling under the car. If you do not have them it is a good time to buy them now. A set of rams are also very useful.

stand.gif


0090021450cc3443dbk9.jpg


CarRamps_7383.jpg
 
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