Miata Mailing List: March 1994, Message #78
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   From: sling@dseg.ti.com (Steven Ling)
Subject: Installing shocks
   Date: Mon, 7 Mar 1994 09:54:33 -0500

A few months ago I installed adjustable shocks on my Miata. I have
since learned that I left out an important step during the
installation. To get the shock/spring assembly out, you have to 
loosen the bolts on the A-arms. Of course, you also have to remove
the end link bolts on the sway bar. Now here's where I screwed up.
When I put it all together, I torqued all of the bolts while the
car was still on jack stands and the suspension was hanging free.
This resulted in a very bouncy ride because of the torque on the
bushings after the suspension was loaded. The step that I left out is
to leave the bolts a little loose and drive the car onto jack stands
before torquing them. When I finally did this, it made a big
difference in the ride. It also lowered the ride height slightly.

Other hints: (1)Mark the adjusting cams on the lower A-arms so you
can put the alignment back in the same ballpark when you're done. 
(2) Buy a small tie rod end remover tool to separate the upper ball
joints. Don't try to use a pickle fork on the ball joints. Mazda
sells a special ball joint tool, but my dealer said it had to be
ordered from Japan and would take 6 months.


Now for something non-technical: I got my confimation for Indy Miata! 
                                  [][][]
     Steve Ling                                Texas Instruments, Inc.
     sling@dseg.ti.com                         P.O. Box 655012, m/s 31
     214-995-1378                              Dallas, Texas  75265