2004 3.5L V6 AWD rear shock absorber change (pics)

[Swebner]

So in preparation for my road trip at the end of the month I had a few things i wanted to do to make the trip go as smoothly as possible.

I changed the oil then went to work to change the rear shocks. The vehicle has been using the OEM shocks and is now at 93 000 Km so it was well overdue.




As you can see the OEM shocks were absolutely shot! Picked up a couple Monroe Reflex shocks for 130 bucks for the pair on sale. They're about 80 bucks each normally.

I took off the old shock from the one side and cleaned up the bracket on the control arm with some WD-40 and a wire brush. Looks pretty rusty in there so i wanted to get it decent before putting new hardware in.



The shock absorbers have to be oriented properly. They have a top and bottom end, and the way the ends are turned is also important.

If you look carefully, the bottom bracket of the shock absorber will slightly bent. this is to ensure that it lines up properly with the upper mounting bracket on the vehicle.

One of the inside edges of the mounting bracket will have a shallow recess for the bolt channel to fit into. Its important to make sure that you snug the bolt channel on the shock into that recess.

I put the bottom bolt back in first and hand tightened it before compressing the shock to line up the top bracket. I then began to torque down the bottom bolt to the proper amount ( 81 foot pounds in this case ).

As I was tightening down the mounting bolt, the bolt SNAPPED! I was shocked.



I determined that it broke because I was supporting the control arm from the SIDE when i should have been supporting it dead center, right beneath the bump stop and I probably should have raised the control arm up a bit more to help line things up.

The manual states that the control arm must be in normal operating height and position before tightening the bolts.

The one side of the shock absorber mounting bracket has a nut welded onto it and if that becomes bent when tightening down the bolt, it can put lateral strain on the bolt and snap it off so pay attention when you are tightening it to make sure that everything stays in line. If it is beginning to bend the bracket on the control arm, ease off the bolt, line things up again, maybe raise up the control arm a bit more and try torquing it again.

During the process of snapping my mounting bolt I also slightly bent the bolt channel on the shock absorber and had to replace the shock! Expensive mistakes indeed.

Not a single dealership or hardware store in my province had a NEW bolt but luckily a local junk yard had a VUE with pristine shock absorber mounting bolts that were the same specification as the one I broke.

so after driving around with only one shock absorber for 2 days I was finally able to finish the job.



Driving around with one shock absorber was kind of sketchy. As I approached 50Mph (100km/h) I would begin to feel vibration coming from the one wheel so i had to avoid going too fast.

In the event I had to perform an emergency stop or evasive maneuver I could have rolled my vehicle or been unable to stop in time. driving without shocks, good or bad, should be avoided at all costs.

All in all it was a massive learning experience and i hope my mistakes will help someone do a better first time on their shocks!

[Leonard1818]

Thanks for sharing!

Now do a DIY for the front end including top strut mounts

I just got a quote of almost $1,000 parts/labor to do front struts (including upper strut mounts which are going bad and squeaking) and rear shocks. I lube'd the strut mounts to shut them up and said "meh..."

I wish I could just pay my tech friend to do it on the side but I hear the whole job is a huge b**ch without a lift. He didn't act like he wanted to touch it unless he used a lift which he doesn't have at home.

[BobbyP]

Didn't you notice how much better controlled the rear is with the new shocks?

Especially after you got both of them installed... IMO the OEM shocks were spec'd too weak, even when they were new...

[Swebner]

My ride quality is definitely nicer and feels much more smooth during braking+maneuvering instances.

My prime concern was reducing harmonic vibration when I was towing and I didn't notice anything out of the normal with the fresh shocks, which is exactly what I wanted.

Who knows how it might have turned out with the dead shocks...

[vasy]

Originally Posted by Leonard1818

Thanks for sharing!
I wish I could just pay my tech friend to do it on the side but I hear the whole job is a huge b**ch without a lift. He didn't act like he wanted to touch it unless he used a lift which he doesn't have at home.

I've not done on VUE but did on a 02 Ford Focus on the side of the road one day. Took me a out 2 hours to do one side first time out. I was actually an easy job. Mostly removing nuts. Here is a video on the process.
rear once are easy, should be 30 minutes or so at home.