Strut mounts white dots

[MiltonOS]

I learned that the strut mounts on top have white dots that have to be oriented a certain way for camber/caster to be right. I know the previous owner 10 or so years ago messed around with the suspension and I thought I pretty much reverted back to stock at least as far as ride height goes by having a shop replace the springs. That was maybe 9 years ago I guess. Now my front struts are worn out and one is leaking badly so I am trying to learn what it takes to replace them. So I went to look at the white dots. My driver side mount has the dot towards the driver door (rear left), but the passenger side mount has the dot to the front right. They are both on the side where the gap is the biggest, but I was expecting them to be the same, meaning the passenger side dot be on the right rear, mirrored from the driver side. If I replace the struts, should I rotate the mount? I need new tires and an alignment so I guess this would be the time to change it, but I'm really not sure. I can't find a good explanation (or one I understand) for the orientation. Can someone educate me a bit on this?

Thanks!

 

[JazzySP20]

Your driver side top mount is at the factory position. However, the passenger side has been rotated for maximum positive caster. This is a mod that most do for better cornering stability. It does however make the steering heavier at car park speeds. And you are correct in that it should be mirrored.

Have a look at the image below taken from the factory workshop manual. The arrow indicates factory position of the dots.

 

[MiltonOS]

Okay thanks, I will rotate when I install new ones. I got some tools and jacked up the car and took off one of the wheels to see what bushings etc need to be replaced. It looks like I'll need struts, lower control arm, sway bar end links, and also tie rod ends at least the outer ones. I don't know how to tell if I need inner ones. All these things have worn/cracked/etc bushings or whatever those rubbery things are called that are supposed to hold grease etc. I only checked the front left but I want to do it in pairs.

While looking at the struts more I noticed that there is no dust boot or bump stop on any of the struts that I can tell at least. Aren't they supposed to be there?? I really think the previous owner jacked around with the car so I don't know if the struts are stock or even the springs at this point. The front left strut is all wet. In the rear I noticed that there's a cylinder shaped thing about 2 or 3 inches tall that sits around the strut shaft and on one side it's at the top and on the other side it's at the bottom of the shaft, as if it broke and fell down.

I'm browsing for parts at rockauto and since my current struts don't have that dust boot and bump stop I don't know what all accessories I need to get with new struts. I want to get the mounts and any other rubbers/seats etc but I have a hard time figuring out what I need to do a full replacement. I don't feel like I can look at the my current part and be sure it's all there. It's turning into a big job for a first timer but I'm sure I can get it done if I can get some questions answered.

 

[dragosurf88]

Yes, there should be dust boots and a bump stop on the struts for sure. When I replaced my struts I put in new mounts (which didnt have the white dots sadly). I read somewhere that Mazda sets the Caster as negative as possible (-7 degrees) is what I read. Not sure if this is accurate. I also read if your caster is different from one side to the other (driver vs passenger) the steering will pull one direction.

Just my two cents, a replaced the mounts, struts and rubber bushing between the strut and mount on all 4 corners just to be certain everything was at the same wear point.