In order for the car to be conveniently and comfortably moved, proper operation of the suspensions is necessary. In addition to comfort, it is also necessary for road safety. If the suspension system is malfunctioning, this can lead to accelerated wear of parts of the entire suspension system and steering. This, in turn, affects the safety of car operation. Therefore, such repairs can not be postponed for a long time, it is better to immediately take care of replacing defective parts.
It is not necessary to contact a car service to change shock absorbers. The motorist can do all the work on his own, even without much experience. For this, first of all, desire and elementary skills of working with a home repair tool are necessary. By the way, independent work will significantly save the family budget, and the experience gained will be useful in life in the future. So, how is the shock absorber replaced? First, let's decide on a
set of tools.You will need the following tools: a set of wrenches, a jack, a balloon wrench, a screwdriver, a device for removing the suspension springs and the wheel support so that the machine does not fly off the jack. Pumping shock absorbers is necessary after their installation.
Replacing the shock absorbers both rear and front is needed for such malfunctions:
If even a little oil leaks from the shock absorber itself.
Signs of corrosion are noticeable on the spring supports of the shock absorbers. There is a very big risk that the spring plate will simply come off, which is especially dangerous during the movement of the car.
When corrosion is visible on the piston rod of the shock absorber. If the stem begins to rust, then the stuffing box may fail - there will be a risk of oil leakage.
If the shock absorber body is deformed, then this will either block or slow down the shock absorber piston.
Shock Absorber Technology
Replacing the rear shock absorbers and the front is in many ways very similar. If any difficulties arise, they are related to the type and model of the car. And in terms of the complexity of the work, of course, it is more difficult to change the front shock absorbers than the rear ones, because the design of the front suspension is much more complicated than the design of the rear.
Shock Absorber Replacement do it yourself:
Remove the wheel from the side we need. Do not rely on one jack, as personal safety is most important.
It is better not to disconnect the brake hoses from the calipers if necessary.
Do not pump the brakes afterwards .Next, it is necessary to dismantle the upper mounts of the struts of the shock absorber.
Then untwist all lower mountings of shock absorbers.
Using a special device, we compress the spring, but in such a way that it does not warp.
Replace the shock absorber with a new one.
Assemble in the reverse order.
The characteristics of an individual vehicle should always be taken into account and the operating manual should not be neglected. Do-it-yourself replacement of shock absorbers does not take much time, except for the first time.