Suspension Question for a Noob

[opieshuffle]

Hey everyone,
Is is safe to assume that every time I hit a bump in the road and it sounds like my whole rear axel is about to fall off that I need new struts?
Thanks!

Chris

 

[hornsfan10609]

There is no rear axle lol, it's a FWD car. But you probably need new sway bar bushings and endlinks. The struts and strut mounts may also need replacing depending on mileage.

 

[opieshuffle]

LOL Hornsfan... yeah.. I know... it just sounds like I'm going to see the whole backend of the car in my rearview mirror when I hit bumps!

 

[kms1990]

does it recoil alot or float like a boat when you hit the bumps? if so yes definitely time, i am doing mine as soon as my (just ordered today) struts and mounts get here. here is a link to the struts i bought (best deal i could find, other than SenSen brand for $50 less, but seeing as i know nothing about sensen i spent a little more. and kyb i think are our oe part on the car) here is a link:

sensen (cheapest deal, dont know about brand supposedly big in china and been around):http://www.ebay.com/itm/01-03-Mazda...da|Model:Protege5&hash=item4d1564f1ad&vxp=mtr

kyb(ones i ordered earlier today, best deal i could find, autopartswareghouse.com was next at $249 for all 4): http://www.ebay.com/itm/KYB-Excel-G...d=100033&prg=1011&rk=2&rkt=4&sd=331071418797&
and www.rockauto.com for mounts $94 total shipped, to me, it maybe a little less or more depending on their shipping to your locality. but best prices i could find (none at autozone or oriellys ect come with a bearing in the kit) which you do want to replace. The bearings wear as well as the rubber in the mount so dont buy good struts and cheap out on the mounts without bearings. and i skipped on my 20% autozone employee discount on the mounts to get ones with bearings so they are important.

 

[Nocturin]

part # on those mounts with bearings? That's the first I've heard about the shock/strut mounts having bearings.

 

[kms1990]

here is a link to all of them with descriptions from monroe detailing they include everything the application would need for a complete mount replacement. the mounts at autozone dont have that little open circle thing in the picture beside the mount on the fronts and the metal thing below the mount on the rears. neither did oreillys or kyb so im guessing they dont see it as needing to be replaced but i figure if im gonna do the mounts im gonna do the whole mount and do it right.

front: http://catalog.monroe.com/catalogPa...atalogCode=monroe&locale=EN&loadStatus=ACTIVE

rear left: http://catalog.monroe.com/catalogPa...atalogCode=monroe&locale=EN&loadStatus=ACTIVE

rear right: http://catalog.monroe.com/catalogPa...atalogCode=monroe&locale=EN&loadStatus=ACTIVE

 

[Nocturin]

here is a link to all of them with descriptions from monroe detailing they include everything the application would need for a complete mount replacement. the mounts at autozone dont have that little open circle thing in the picture beside the mount on the fronts and the metal thing below the mount on the rears. neither did oreillys or kyb so im guessing they dont see it as needing to be replaced but i figure if im gonna do the mounts im gonna do the whole mount and do it right.

front: http://catalog.monroe.com/catalogPa...atalogCode=monroe&locale=EN&loadStatus=ACTIVE

rear left: http://catalog.monroe.com/catalogPa...atalogCode=monroe&locale=EN&loadStatus=ACTIVE

rear right: http://catalog.monroe.com/catalogPa...atalogCode=monroe&locale=EN&loadStatus=ACTIVE

Thanks! Please take some pictures when you get the job done. Don't forget to check on those endlinks and the boots!

 

[kms1990]

i know my boots are good, we did the clutch in november and the rack and cv boots were in great condition, the whole suspension seems like its in great shape, struts just starting to show their age so i figured better to replace now instead of when they cause more issues.

 

[rit14623]

Hey everyone,
Is is safe to assume that every time I hit a bump in the road and it sounds like my whole rear axel is about to fall off that I need new struts?
Thanks!

Chris

Press down on the rear bumper with your hands to compress the struts and then let go. If it comes up and stops, your struts are fine. If it goes up and down and up and stops, then you need new struts.

 

[kms1990]

Press down on the rear bumper with your hands to compress the struts and then let go. If it comes up and stops, your struts are fine. If it goes up and down and up and stops, then you need new struts.

not a 100% thing, my car started bouncing bad just recently and i do this test on my car and it seems fine, but when driving it bounces awkwardly hard over bumps, and makes noise, i think my mounts maybe more worn than the struts, but i figure if im pulling them out to do mounts i might as well do the struts too, mine as far as i know, are factory with 150k miles on them so if im fixing 1 problem might as well do some more maintenance to prevent more work in the future. the rest of my suspension seems tight and problem free. but as with any repair while making one look at the parts that interconnect to it and are around it, in this case end links, mounts ect. for wear or damage and replace as needed when doing repair, as i will do

 

[03protolx]

With a car that has a stiff suspension, the "bouncing" trick doesn't apply as it would with other vehicles. The spring is stiff enough that it will just recoil back to its position and "appear" that it's a good strut.

If you're starting to feel every bump, crack, and crevice in the road and your ride quality starts to degrade....along with bump steer and the famous protege "strut clunk" in the rear, it's time for new struts. the factory struts are great but around 80-100K miles they will start to show their age. If you find a higher mileage protege that's mainly seen highway life you can expect 120-160k miles out of the factory struts.


The Sensen struts are a great replacement strut IMO, I have them on both of my proteges and have vastly improved the ride quality of both of my cars.

Don't forget to replace your endlinks and sway bar bushings as well. they're probably toast.

 

[kms1990]

i got the kyb struts and mounts, stiffened ride but it holds road better and no "clunk" noise from struts now. no rockin like a boat anymore either. i got 148k out of factory struts and all my bushings ect all looked good