Technical Rear suspension axle weight

[Danoid]

Hello,

After changing all the front suspension recently it’s clear as day now the rears are fubar.

What method to you use to change the rear springs and strut?

1. Change one side at a time and pry down axle so there’s just enough room to remove rear spring (obviously after strut is out/unbolted

2. Remove both struts at once so real axle “drops”

With number 2 I understand it’s best not to put a trolley jack underneath in case it bends the axle, and would I have enough oomph to pull down one side of the axle using method 1, as it’ll be done on my drive and not on a ramp

Thanks

 

[chris3234]

Hello,

After changing all the front suspension recently it’s clear as day now the rears are fubar.

What method to you use to change the rear springs and strut?

1. Change one side at a time and pry down axle so there’s just enough room to remove rear spring (obviously after strut is out/unbolted

2. Remove both struts at once so real axle “drops”

With number 2 I understand it’s best not to put a trolley jack underneath in case it bends the axle, and would I have enough oomph to pull down one side of the axle using method 1, as it’ll be done on my drive and not on a ramp

Thanks

Put body on stands remove bottom shock bolt on both sides and axle will just swing down
Very little force needed to pull it down enough to be able to remove the rear springs

 

[Danoid]

Put body on stands remove bottom shock bolt on both sides and axle will just swing down
Very little force needed to pull it down enough to be able to remove the rear springs

Is it a lot of effort to swing it back in the up position once springs removed? That’s my main concern doing it that way, not being able to swing it back up

I’ll try the first way first if there’s not a lot of force needed, I’ve got a crow part somewhere and will insert it in the gap near where the bottom strut mount is bolted.

 

[John202020]

Drop the whole axle down replace springs use trolley jack to lift up again no issues

 

[jrkitching]

Is it a lot of effort to swing it back in the up position once springs removed? That’s my main concern doing it that way, not being able to swing it back up

No.

This is one of the easiest jobs on the car, with no unexpected surprises. You'll likely find there are no corrosion issues removing the bolts, and they're conveniently different sizes top & bottom so you can't reassemble it incorrectly.

Changing the rear shocks takes about 5mins a side.

 

[chris3234]

Is it a lot of effort to swing it back in the up position once springs removed? That’s my main concern doing it that way, not being able to swing it back up

I’ll try the first way first if there’s not a lot of force needed, I’ve got a crow part somewhere and will insert it in the gap near where the bottom strut mount is bolted.

Very easy
Anyone fit enough to changes the springs and other bits on the car should be able to lift it back up into place 1 handed and use your other hand to fit the bottom shock bolt to hold in it place
But if you struggle a bit use your trolley jack to lift it back up into line

 

[Danoid]

thanks, I was expecting it to be super heavy

 

[Mike1alike]

Careful, it's not quite that easy of a job as these guys make it sound like.
First of all you gotta not forget to block the front wheels. Because handbrake blocks the rear wheels and with both of them lifted, when you take the second rear wheel off, the car will slid off on the ground if front wheels aren't blocked.
Then, the bottom bolts of the shocks you will struggle to unbolt. They are really tight and their tip that goes inside that mount is really really rusted making it really hard to take down. So use lots of WD40 and put some real force on the first twists.
After that it will be an easy job, when you put the springs back make sure to place them correctly at the down side support, you gotta place those 3 clips on the 3 holes.
I did my Punto's last week and when I put everything back I also made nice protection for those bolts to prevent them go rusty like that again. I made it from old leads silicon protection, cut it on size, put grease into it and placed it over the bolt. This is the right hand side, made the same for the left.

I used the same springs, just got new supports for them and cleaned the rusty parts and painted them. And new shocks, of course. Looks really nice and feels very nice, much much better than before. Next I'm doing the front shocks.

 

[John202020]

It is heavy yes ( lighter than the Mazda exhaust back boxes) but we're all assuming you're using a trolly jack, then no issue's

 

[rmjbn1]

The general advice regarding jacking the rear axle would be:

Don't jack up the weight of the car by the axle as it can bend it.

If the car is supported on stands it's fine to use a jack to raise and lower the axle.

You'll need to raise the axle a little, compressing the springs, to get the lower shocker bolts out and back in.

I used a length of timber to spread the load.

Final tightening of the shocker bolts should be when the car is back on the ground.

It's a good opportunity to clean out the spring pans, coat them with grease / rustproofing treatment

 

[Mike1alike]

Here's Andy's video on how to do it:

And definitely use a trolley jack to lift the axle. It's not impossible to do it by hand but... don't! Just use the trolley.