Struts?

Jfunk

Member
:
02 protege5 5spd- wrecked rip. 03 protege5 5spd (parts)
Hey guys. I blew my driver's side rear strut out on my car the other day. I knew it was gonna happen sometime because when I bought the car I knew the struts were getting pretty worn. Now I'm wondering what I should replace them with. I kinda want lowering struts but I live on a pretty rough gravel road so I thought that would definitely be a bad idea. So basically I'm looking for struts that are cheap (I'm a low budget high school student so no higher than 300CAD preferably) and around the the same quality as stock. Im going to do all four at the same time because my front ones are starting to creek and make "weird noises". I was looking online and there are plenty of cheap struts but I'm not sure if I should trust the quality... Any suggestions or recommendations?

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Hey guys. I blew my driver's side rear strut out on my car the other day....

I did the same thing... My strut Mount rotted out.



I went with Monroe,... They have original ride quality and are a trusted name.


I don't know how bad your car is for rust but you might want to go with "Quick Struts",.. They come completely assembled with new bellows, bump stops, strut mounts, and spring coils... They just bolt right in.

It saves a lot of work and you're not reusing any rusty crap.

You may want to consider the economy cheap "Quick Struts",... I'm sure you'll get at least a few years out them.

Here's my thread on my struts (and bearings)


https://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123854731-Ooops-I-broke-it-again&highlight=
 
I just replaced stock with KYB/Excel-G + Monroe Strut Mounts from RockAuto, drove NYC/Boston over plenty of bumps afterwards and the ride was much better. I suggest putting in new end links as well since they were rusted and I had to saw them off (the internal allen key threading will strip). I also recommend replacing the coil spring insulator (rubber was looking pretty sad after 15 years). I used a spring compressor and hand tools which completed 90% of the job... but the self-locking nut at the center of the strut mount required an air impact gun from my local mechanic. If you have a friend you might be able to use vice grips on the strut cylinder while using the the old (non-locking) nuts if you dont have access to an impact gun.

These two links will tell you everything you need to know:
https://www.mazda3club.com/how-tos-96/3g-protege5-rear-strut-spring-removal-install-46066/
https://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?123674157-HOW-TO-Protege-5-Strut-and-Sway-Bar-install
 
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