Look here for help first!here is what you get.....
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removing the old shocks.....
* jack the car up at the diff and use some stands under the front link supports (in front of the rear axle).
* leave the jack under the differential...since the shocks keep it located and you don't want to drop it too much. But you do drop the diff far enough to fully extend the shocks.
* using a screwdriver....pry the plastic caps that are over the top of the shocks.... UP at the INSIDE edge (middle of car)...careful these are brittle plastic.
* you will probably find 2 nuts on the end of the shocks...might have to use a very small open end wrench or ? to keep the shock from turning as these are taken off. Best to do the tops first.
* then you can remove the bottom bolts...might need some torque here.
* you will then need to pry the lower ends off the stud...this is rubber on steel...so they stick. DON'T mess up your brakelines!
installing the new ones....
* first you will need to extend the shocks to thier full length....takes some muscle.
* for the bottom attachment...you use the same stud and bolt as before
* for the top...they only provide one nut...which is supposed to be snugged until it stops turning & locks. I added an extra nut to each shock to lock the first one.
* be sure the rubber insulators face the right way...the small raised area fits the hole in the body...also the washers face one way.
* for the bottom stud...I used some grease on the stud AND some on the bolt...a rust area here.
installing the air lines.....
* there is only one way the shocks will fit...and that is with the air outlet facing out towards the tire.
(as was mentioned before...this is probably why they are not sold for use with the Tercel 4WD...a good hit with a stone or branch MIGHT crack the plastic cover over the metal fitting...and there goes the air pressure...but this might never happen also.)
* I used some silicone tubing to cover the nylon lines until they get out of the wheel area and also taped them as close to the top of the shock as possible to avoid having them caught by sticks/stones/ice etc.
* when inserting the nylon tubes...you have to be sure they are fully into the fitting...they WILL hang up. The o-rings are very small and easy to loose.
* I snugged these as tight as I could by hand. I removed them a few times and saw no evidence of the tube collapsing.
(After the car sat for a week or so...when the nylon line was removed it was collapsed to some extent...but not enough to keep it from inflating.)
* I ran these more or less along and to some extent over the top of the gas tank...meeting at the gas tank strap that is centered at the back. Then using a couple of cable wraps (plastic) to tie them to this strap.
Couldn't see much of any place to drill a hole....but didn't look too hard.
* mostly just need to keep them up out of harms way...espec around the tires and at the back bumper where they might hit the ground offroad. Also avoid the exhaust.
the installed shocks....
results.....
I put 33 lbs of air in them (they need a minmum of 20 lbs) and had the back sitting pretty high...though I do have boosters in the rear springs. Will probably drop them to 20 lbs when the wagon isn't loaded.
cautions.....
* one of the rubber bladders had some cuts in it that looked to be about 1/2 way thru the material...there was a place on the lower part of the shock where the metal was nicked and this probably caused the cuts. I filed this place down. They hold air now...but who knows?
* now in the process of ordering another pair of MA700s...printing out a prepaid return shipping label...to get credit for the first pair of shocks.
* would recommend that anyone buying these check the lower half of each shock for sharp "nicks" and also check the condition of the rubber BEFORE starting the job....you need to extend the shocks full length...very difficult to do without using some air pressure.
* the bladders have a rough surface...just need to look for cuts or blemishes.
Real-world offroad test results:
After starting out with the MA700 shocks on the back on a 4K mile camping and offroad trip...I can't recommend these shocks for serious offroading.
* the nylon air tube ruptured where it enters the right rear shock 3 days after starting the trip....thinking this was a one-time thing...I cut the end of the tube clean and reinserted it...and aired them up to 25-30 PSI.
* about 3 days after this they lost air again...this time the plastic "nut" that holds the nylon line was seriously worn on the end from rubbing on the tire...so it wasn't useable again.
* I bought a couple of "rubber doughnuts" to add some boost due to the loss of air pressure...and found that unlike with the OEM shocks, it was very easy to get them in the coils and had to wire them in there to keep them in.
* Seems the MA700s have a greater extended length than the OEM shocks...this allows the 4 tires to stay on the ground a lot better on rough ground...and there isn't any chance the rear spring will come out. There will be extra stress on the rear linkage though.
* So....IMO a regular shock with a similar extended length would be a good replacement for the OEM shock....the MA700s are OK for street and occasional offroad use...not the serious stuff though.
