1989 Mercury Villager Replacing rear shocks

CMILANAK

MEMBER
1989 MERCURY VILLAGER
6 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
107,000 MILES

My husband would like to save money by replacing the rear shocks on my 99 Villager himself. Would like to know how much is involved with this repair, i.E, how hard are they to get to, tools needed, etc. (He is has done minor repairs on our vehicles over the past 25 years and also maintains a '66 Pontiac GTO.)

1 Reply

JACOBANDNICKOLAS

MECHANIC
108,328 POSTS

It isn't too hard. Here are some directions I found. If, however, the vehicle has rear struts, let me know.

Raise and safely support the rear of the vehicle securely on jackstands. Position the jackstands under the rear axle housing. Please refer to the graphic in General Information and Maintenance, Jacking for the underside view of floorjack and jackstand points.
Remove the lower shock absorber nut and washer. Discard the nut.
Disconnect the lower end of the shock absorber from the mounting stud.
Remove the upper shock absorber nut and washer. Discard the nut.
Remove the shock absorber from the vehicle.

To install:

Install the shock absorber onto the upper and lower mounting studs of the vehicle.
Install the washers and new nuts. Torque the upper and lower nuts to 22-30 ft. Lbs. (30-41 Nm).
Lower the vehicle.