How to Replace the Shocks and Struts in a Mercury Villager

Your Mercury Villager once provided a smooth and comfortable ride for your family, but after 60,000 miles under normal driving conditions, the ride is bumpy. It's because your shocks and struts are worn, and you should replace them. Save yourself some of the hassle and expense by doing it yourself.

Instructions

Replace the Front Shocks and Struts in a Villager

1

Pop the hood on the Villager, and use a wrench to disconnect the negative battery cable from the terminal. It's marked either black, blue or with a negative sign. Lift the front end of the minivan 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 struts under the front end of the minivan. The assemblies look like a series of pieces of hardware with a spring coil wrapped around them. Mark the outline and orientation of the struts both in the tower on the frame at the top and against the steering knuckle on the bottom with a permanent marker. The steering knuckle is the arm that moves the wheel left or right from the steering system.

3

Follow the brake hose back from the wheel hub to the strut, and remove the bracket holding it on and the bracket holding the anti-lock brake sensor. Slide another jack stand under the lower control arm, which is the part actually supporting the wheel hub. With a ratchet and a wrench, disconnect the bolts holding the strut to the steering knuckle. Hold the strut with one hand, and use a ratchet to remove the nuts holding it to the chassis. Pull the strut out of the suspension system.

4

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

5

Compress the spring, and loosen and remove the strut top nut. Lay out the pieces of the strut assembly in order so it's easier to reassemble the strut: upper mounting bracket, strut bearing, bearing seat, the upper coil spring seat, dust cover, coil spring, coil spring insulator and jounce bumper. All that's left is the shock absorber. Replace the shock and any other parts showing wear and reassemble the strut. Repeat this process with the other strut assembly from the front of the Villager.

6

Set the dial on your torque wrench to 43 ft-lb, and tighten the top strut nut until you feel the wrench slip around the nut. Orient the strut to the chassis and the knuckle from the marks you made, and torque the upper mounting nuts to 29 ft-lb. Insert the lower strut-to-knuckle bolt, and torque it to 101 ft-lb. Attach the brake hose bracket to the strut, and reinstall the anti-lock brake sensor bracket. Repeat this step on the other side of the minivan.

7

Mount the front wheels, and lower the front end of the car. Reconnect the negative battery cable to the negative terminal on the battery, and close the hood. Have the front end aligned by a professional.

Replace the Rear Shocks in a Villager

8

Raise the rear end of the Villager, and support it by the frame. Remove the rear wheels and set them aside, and support the rear axle with a jack stand. Locate the shocks under the minivan. They look like two tubes that slide in and out of each other running from the frame to the axle.

9

Use a ratchet to remove the nuts holding the upper shock bracket to the frame, followed by the lower mounting nut and washer. Pull the shock out with the upper shock bracket. Repeat on the other side of the rear of the minivan.

10

Replace the shock and bracket. Torque the nut securing them together to 26 ft-lb. Torque the upper nut securing it to the frame to 26 ft-lb and the lower nut on the bracket to 19 ft-lb. Install the lower washer and nut on the shock, and torque it to 28 ft-lb. Repeat this step on the other side of the rear of the Villager.

11

Mount the rear wheels, and lower the rear end of the Villager.