Replacing Rear Springs

Neuner

Member
:
'02 Protege ES
I need to replace the rear springs on a 2002 Protege ES. Just stock, no lowering. Done a search on the forum and internet and haven't found anything specific. Doesn't appear too difficult. Believe I need to remove the plastic cover behind the rear seat where the speakers are to access the bolts however I've never been good at removing plastic panels without having them all torn up. Is there a thread anyone knows of that already covers this? Is there a special tool I'm missing for better removal of plastic panels?

Thanks,
Neuner
 
it's not too hard, i've done it several times in a parking lot. If you pull down the rear seats you'll see a bunch of plastic pins across the vertical plastic area. Pull those out with a flat-head screw driver. You might break some, but it's not a big deal. Then pull the whole plastic panel up and towards the front of the car. Before you take the top nuts loose, take the wheels off. Remove the sway bar links from the strut, you can leave them on the bar. Take off the clip holding the brake line to the strut and move it out of the way. There's 2 big bolts that hold the strut to the hub assebly. Take the nuts off, but leave the bolts in. Now you'll need to remove the 4 nuts that hold each strut to the body, they're under where the seatbelts roll up. Make sure you support the bottom of the strut before taking them off or just reach around and hold it. Knock the lower bolts out with a hammer, wiggling the strut around while hitting them may help. You should be able to pull the strut assembly out. Put the spring compressors on the spring and tighten them down SLIGHTLY. Loosen, but DO NOT remove the nut on the mount. Tighten the spring compressors until the spring is loose, then remove the nut. Take off the strut mount and remove the spring. Be careful, the springs hold up 1/4 of the car weight and can seriously injure you if it comes out of the compressors!
 
Wow, thanks for the heads up. How much do you think it took you the first time to replace both sides?
 
Went by Autozone to order standard OEM springs. The gentleman said that I most likely don't need to replace them since I'm only at 130k. Said that the struts might be an issue.

The ride isn't bad. No more than a 1-1/2 cycle bounce in the back. Was in an accident and the two front wheel assemblies where replaced and it really improved the ride. Do you think it might be the struts?
 
What makes you think that you need springs or struts at all? Noise, ride, vibration, mileage? Recommended replacement for struts is around 50-60k miles. Springs will lose some tension over time, but not anything drastic. Honestly, OEM springs should last the life of most vehicles. Unless they are bent, broken or sagging, you shouldn't have to replace them. First time removing the strut assembly it took around 60 min per wheel(out and in) with hand tools in a parking lot. I can do it now in probably 30, lol.
 
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