How to Replace the Shocks and Struts in a Geo Tracker

To keep your little Geo Tracker running at peak performance, you should replace your shocks and struts after 60,000 miles under normal driving conditions. Do it yourself to keep down the cost and eliminate the hassle of having a mechanic repair your suspension system.

Instructions

Replace the Front Struts in a Tracker

1

Lift the front end of the Tracker with a floor jack, and support it by the frame with jack stands. Use a tire iron to loosen and remove the nuts holding on the front wheels and set the wheels aside.

2

Locate the brake hose, which is the only hose running into the wheel hub, and follow it to where it clips to the strut. The strut looks like an assembly of parts with a spring coiled around them. Remove the clip from the strut with pliers. Support the lower control arm with a floor jack where it meets the wheel hub, and use a ratchet to remove the nuts holding the strut to the steering knuckle, which is the arm that turns the wheel hub from the steering system.

3

Pop the hood open. Look at where the strut connects to the frame from the bottom and then orient yourself to that position from the top side. Remove the upper mounting nuts from the frame of the Tracker. Go back under the SUV and pull the strut out from the undercarriage.

4

Repeat Steps 2 and 3 on the other side of the Tracker.

5

Slide the new strut assembly into the same position that the old one occupied and through the open hood, hand-tighten the upper mounting nuts to the frame. Set the dial on your torque wrench to 15 ft-lb, and tighten the nuts until you feel the wrench slip. Install the bolts to connect the bottom of the strut to the steering knuckle and torque them to 53 ft-lb. Remove the jack stand holding up the suspension from behind the wheel hub.

6

Reposition the brake hose, and secure it to the strut with the clip you removed earlier.

7

Repeat Steps 5 and 6 on the other side of the Tracker. Mount the front wheels. Lower the front of the car and close the hood. Have a professional align the front end of the Tracker.

Replace the Rear Shocks in a Tracker

8

Block the rear wheels to keep them from moving while you work, and lift the rear end of the SUV. Support the frame with jack stands, and slide a jack stand under the rear axle to keep it from lowering.

9

Locate the shock, which is the tube right next to the coiled spring with a tiny stem at the top, right behind the rear wheel. Use a wrench or a ratchet to remove the upper nuts holding the stem in its supporting bracket. Follow the shock to the bottom, and remove the bolt and nut holding it in the housing on the axle. Pull out the shock absorber and repeat this step on the other side of the rear of the Tracker.

10

Position the new shock, and insert the lower bolt through the mount and the housing to the nut. Make sure the head of the bolt is on the side closer to the center of the SUV. Torque it to 51 ft-lb. Install the upper retaining nut on the stem and the lock nut above it, and torque them to 16 ft-lb. Repeat this step on the other side of the Tracker.

11

Remove the jack stand from the axle and lower the rear end of the Tracker. Remove the wheel blocks.