ED NOTE (Jan 2017) – We just came back from a 6 week, 7500 mile trip, the new shocks made a big difference.
While reading posts on how to improve handling, other than performing the CHF, someone mentioned they replaced their old shocks and this helped a lot. My Mirada is 15 years old and has 70,000 miles on it. The shocks are probably original, so worn out shocks could be contributing to handling and ride issues.
I ordered new Monroe shocks from Rock Auto, at $50 each. I wasn’t to thrilled about spending $200 to replace something that I didn’t know was bad, but several mechanics told me that if they are 15 years old, they are probably worn out.
Access to all four shocks was easy. I didn’t need to jack anything up. I’d recommend spraying a little liquid wrench on the bolts to help with any rust buildup.
WORN OUT
After removing the old shocks I gave them the ole push pull test. All four were worn out and weren’t doing anything to dampen shock loads. There was very little resistance pushing the shocks down or pulling them up. There was a significant difference between the old ones and the new ones.
I wasn’t able to test drive after the replacement,. I’ll get a better idea of any ride and handling improvement when we head out west in a few weeks.
ED NOTE: We went out for a short trip , yes, there was a noticeable difference. The ride is smoother and the handling is better. New shocks made a difference.
REPLACING THE SHOCKS
I used a 1 – 1/8 inch impact driver to get the nuts off. On one of the front lower nuts, I had to use a torch to heat up the nut to get it to break lose.
On the upper fronts, there isn’t room between the nut and the engine to use the impact driver on the nut. So I broke the nut lose with a socket, then held the nut with a breaker bar while removing the bolt with the impact driver.
On the rear uppers, the nut is hidden up inside a cross member and the only way to get it off is use a wrench to hold the nut, and the impact driver to loosen the bolt.
IMPORTANT – front shocks. On the top of the original shocks, they use a plastic accordion cover to protect the shaft. On the new shocks, its a metal cover. This cover would hit the top shock mount, so I installed a thick washer between the shock and the top bracket to move the shock away from the bracket. See photo
ALSO On the front upper bolt, I reversed the bolt so the nut sticks out toward the wheel and not the engine, made installing easier.
