[watkinsti]

Replaced rear shocks today on 2003 Ody 51K miles.. I really appreciate the help from this board.. Got several good ideas on best way to do this and to safely jack car up.. First shock took me about 30 minutes and second shock about 10 minutes. Replaced with KBY shocks.

Will probably be selling this vehicle in next year as my family has almost finished up with High School. I am really going to miss this board when I get a new car.

Excellent service from the van. Been very reliable vehicle. Thanks again for the board and postings

 

[sarasube]

do you mind saying where and how much
were the kyb's purchased.
did you do anything to the fronts.
doing mine soon.

thanks

 

[watkinsti]

KYB Cost

I paid $40.85 per shock at Advance Auto parts included shipping. Think you can actually get them a couple of dollars cheaper at Amazon but Advance shipped regular freight but had them to me the next day.Van only has about 50K miles on it. Was really suprised that the right rear was leaking already.. Just replaced the rears and think the struts are ok..

I personally would not attempt the front strut as DIY but read where lots of folks on the forum have done so.. Good luck with the changeout.. Pretty easy job and save you quite a few dollars.

 

[gregersonke]

Rears are easy to replace. Fronts require some basic tools to remove and then take it to a shop to swap the springs. You could probably do them all for less than 250 if you DIY and take the fronts to a shop to swap.

 

[brandlj]

Just replaced my rear shocks on my 03 Odyssey with 120,000 miles on it. Driver side was blown and leaking, passenger side was fine. Replaced with KYB from Rock Auto. $78.00 a pair with shipping included. Dealer here wanted $570.00 to replace rear shocks. I was in shock.
I have a 4 ton Jack and 4 ton jack stands and it was a piece of cake to change them.
I have an Odyssey repair manual from Honda and it showed me step by step including where to put the jack and where to put the jack stands.
One hour later and I saved about $500.
WIN WIN!

 

[watkinsti]

Couple of pointers I learned from the forum and when I actually did the work..

1st - spray the upper and lower bolts the night before with some penetrating fluid. Mine came off with no problems however I live in SE so we dont have some of the corrison problems that the NE does.

2nd - I have a manual as well and followed the directions.. After you get the upper bolt off.. Use the jack on bottom of suspension to compress the shock a bit. Also manually just push down on the shock to compress it and it will come right off bottom after you have removed bottom bolt.


Didnt know dealers are getting $500 for this service.. Literally a 45 -60 minute job..

 

[sarasube]

will do the rears myself.
fronts will remove myself and have a shop do
the springs as i don't own a spring compressor.
should the front strut mount be replaced also ?
found tire rack to have pretty good prices.

thanks

 

[Vanguard]

Just curious why people are changing their shocks/struts? Is it required (i.e. leaks), or otherwise? I have thought about changing my shocks/struts to see if it improves ride. However, my dealership tells me that they are fine and only need to be replaced if a problem develops. There is no predetermined service life for these items.

I would assume that at 295,000 kms, mine have had substantial wear and tear. Would I be correct to expect great things if I swapped for new components?

Also, do you need an alignment after doing the shocks/struts?

Thanks

 

[watkinsti]

I had to replace my read shocks because they started leaking. I found a puddle under right rear of car one morning.

Don't think you would need a new alignment for rear shock replacment.

I have only done the rears.. Will let some of the others reply on the front strut work

 

[gregersonke]

If your rear end is sagging at all its time for new shocks. Don't know how you've managed to make it this long without replacing them. It don't affect your alignment and you can get it done within an hour

 

[OdyinNH]

I'm replacing my struts/shocks because the nice ride over bumps has turned into more of a jouncyness if that's a word. Big bumps are still fine but the little ones feel awful. At 10 years old and 125k I think it's time. I have the strut assemblies and am waiting for the shocks. We'll see how it rides after, I'm hoping like new.

 

[SuperDad]

Except for some spring-assisted(coilover) shocks, the shocks should do nothing to hold the van up.

In theory, you should be able to remove them completely and not have the ride height change.

In practice, new shocks usually have >some< pressure in them, but can be compressed by hand.

 

[Vanguard]

I just read the "Front Damper/Spring Replacement" and "Rear Damper Removal and Installation" instructions in the Honda Service Manual for the 99-04 Odyssey. Both seem relatively straight forward, except for the spring compression. However, both sets of instructions conclude with "check the front/rear wheel alignment, and adjust it if necessary".

I guess that means an alignment should be done even if you just replace the rear dampers...

 

[watkinsti]

I saw that in the manual as well but there is no reason to do a rear alignment if you just change out the rear shock.. Now if vehcile was in an accident or you ran over curb or something and it caused the shock to fail that might be another story.. For just routine shock replacement dont see any reason an alignment would be required for rear..

 

[SuperDad]

Yes, the rear shocks being replaced shouldn't require a realignment.

 

[jperdoch]

i have on 02 - how do you get to the upper shock bolt in the rear ? It looks like the inner fender well prevents access to it ??

ty in advance..

 

[watkinsti]

Jack up the car properly and remove the rear wheel you should be able to get to the top bolk with no problem

 

[jperdoch]

Jack up the car properly and remove the rear wheel you should be able to get to the top bolk with no problem

Thanks - I jacked it up and everythign is right there - looks EZ except for the rust)

 

[OdyinNH]

It is easy. I did my 2nd rear one in under 5 mins, the first one took some looking at it to see if it was harder than it looked. Yes my impact wrench helps a bunch but I also used a dremel to clean the threads first plus a bit of penetrant. If I recall correctly, the nut is actually tack welded to the support so only 1 tool needed.

 

[watkinsti]

Highly recommend you put penetrating oil on the bolt the night before you plan to do your work... I picked that tip off this forum.. Put it on the night before and everything came off no problem