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How To: Replace the rear shock absorbers on the 4.3

137K views 134 replies 63 participants last post by  JerryIrons 
#1 · (Edited)
Don over at Toyota Owners Club (user name anchorman) has written up an excellent tutorial on replacing the rear shock absorbers on the 4.3. Although the version sold in the UK has a shorter wheelbase, the job is essentially the same. The OEM part number for the shock in N. America is 48531‑42130. Also, remember a few terms are different i.e. spanner = wrench and wheel nuts = lug nuts:

Difficulty: Easy-ish
Time: About 1 hour
Tools: Two 17mm spanners - ring and open. Long spanners may help.

As the chart below shows, it's quite normal for a shock absorber to have traces of oil around the top. However leaks like level 3 to 1 mean the shock absorber (SA) needs replacing.



Probably a good idea to replace in pairs.

As always, apply hand-brake, chock the opposite front wheel and without the vehicle raised, slightly slacken off the road wheel nuts.

Jack the vehicle up and place on an axle stand:



(note to self - it's a good idea to secure the stand with the split pin on the chain!)

2009 and beyond models are fitted with superdooperGoFasterAerodynamicFuelSaverGizmos to the rear suspension arms on each side. It makes things a bit easier, by removing this. Easily done with a 10mm socket.



Support the suspension arm with the jack and remove the road wheel. Place a piece of wood between the jack head and the suspension arm, to prevent damage to the arm:


(No the drive doesn't slope, must have had too much vino, picture is on the tilt).

The vehicle should feel firmly supported now. Don't gamble with this - it's not worth it.

The shock absorber is attached top and bottom with bolts and nuts. Shown here with nuts and bolts partly and fully removed.







The bottom bolt is not too bad to access, the top is the worst, which is where you may need the open ended spanner. Obviously hold the bolt head with one spanner, while releasing the nut with the other.

The bottom bolt attaches through a carrier, which in turn is attached to the wheel "hub" assembly.

The bottom SA bolt will not come out unless this carrier is removed. The suspension arm is in the way and prevents the bolt coming fully out. If the bolt was inserted the opposite way around, there would be no problem and the bolt would come out, without removing the carrier. I suspect it is done like this so that if the bolt should come loose, it cannot drop out completely.

Look underneath the "hub" and you will see two bolts:



These attach the carrier to the "hub".

Although I couldn't see how there could possibly be any relative movement, it's not a bad idea to place match marks before removing anything suspension related. It can save a whole heap of re-alignment later.



In fact, the carrier doesn't have to be removed, slacking the bolts off a little and lowering the carrier, as shown, is enough to remove the bottom SA bolt.

Once you have the top and bottom SA bolts out, the SA itself should come out easily:



At time of writing part number is 48531-42240. Same part is used for both sides (no surprise really). Always check that the part number hasn't been updated.

When refitting, the piece of metal welded to the lower part of the SA, goes towards the front of the vehicle. Some out of focus, installed SA pictures:





Replace the top and bottom SA bolts and nuts.

Torque up the SA carrier bolts to 80lbft. The top and bottom SA bolts are also 80 lb ft. The bottom SA bolt is easy, but the top one is difficult to get a torque wrench to (At least with my kit), so I used "mechanical judgement" on that one.

Replace the road wheel and the superdooperGoFasterAerodynamicFuelSaverGizmo. Lower the vehicle. Road wheel nuts are 76 lbft.

If you, can bounce the suspension a bit.

Toyota procedure calls for the rear suspension alignment to be checked at this point. Unless there is other suspension damage repair, or tyres are scrubbing, I don't see that it is necessary. It's quite an involved process too.

So, there you are. Next time the spotty "youf" in Kwikfit or wherever, tells you your shocks need replacing, thank him kindly for the advise, then check yourself and if necessary, replace them yourself. :thumbs_up:
 
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#2 ·
Nice breakdown. While shocks typically are very easy, and many might think - I need a pictoral post on changing shocks?" Toyota did a nice job with that top bolt (NOT). Did mine a few months back and thought the same thing about the position of the bottom bolts...AFTER I put them back in the easy way. I think maybe I should climb under and check.
 
#3 ·
Thank you JuneBug and shcm for the great info. I have to replace the shocks, rear stabilizer links and exhaust, (not the convertor), and need mm wrench sizes and most importantly, the torque specs, and then deal with the most recent 'possible recall' for the alignment issue. I'll let you know how this works out.
Meanwhile, I'm looking for any tips, especially torque values for the rear stabilizer links
 
#6 · (Edited)
Rear Shock Replacement - Tried and Died

I've got a 2008 RAV4 Base Model V6 with 120,000 miles. Decided it was time to replace the shock absorbers. I looked at the rear shocks and decided I could do that job. Read Junebug's post (quite a good explanation) on how to do it. I had all the right tools so nothing new was needed.

The left rear shock took me 4.5 hours to replace! Now, I'll admit I'm very methodical and double check everything I do mechanically especially if it's something I haven't done before, so I go slower than most. But, 4.5 hours!?!?! The lower bolt connection and carrier were relatively straightforward to remove, difficult to break the nuts free though (rust, high torque installation - I don't know). It was the bolt holding the top end of the shock that was one of my worst nightmares. I could get nothing but an open-end wrench on the nut. There was NO room available in that area so that you could adequately apply force. Took me a good hour just to break the nut free, and it was a MAJOR struggle, penetrating oil and all. It took another hour to get the nut off because I could only move the nut 1/3 of a turn because of the lack of space to move the wrench. Move the nut 1/3 of turn, stop and realign the wrench. Repeat this process for the next hour (there are other annoyances that arise along the way). By the way, the upper nut and bolt showed almost no signs of rust anywhere, very clean. It was just torqued on that tight.

The next day I went to do the right rear shock. Things were going much quicker because of the experience I gained doing the left rear shock. However, when I went to undo the dreaded nut at the top of the shock, I was completely and thoroughly bested. Nothing I did, none of the tools I had, none of the penetrating oils I used could break that nut free. I quit after 2.5 hours. It was just impossible to get a secure enough bite with an open-end wrench and no room to get any torque on it. I'm taking it to my mechanic tomorrow.

I have no idea how the Japanese could tighten those nuts so securely. I know of no tool that could get into that limited space and apply that much torque. Would I attempt this again? Absolutely not. Other's have had better experiences than mine, however they all complain about the upper nut and bolt. I have plenty of quality tools and am not afraid to take on more car projects than most. But this was insane. I normally applaud Toyota for paying attention to design issues that make good mechanical sense, but the placement of that upper bolt and nut is reprehensible. This should have been a walk-in-the-park replacement. This design oversite needlessly adds to the expense (labor cost) of what should have been a routine swap out.

I post this merely as a cautionary warning. Just be aware that should you try this yourself, don't put yourself into the position of needing your car quickly. I've seen posts where guys have reported replacing both shocks in 1.5 hours. Could be done if no problems are encountered, definitely not my experience though. If you can't get the upper nut off, you'll have to reassemble or call a tow truck to get your car to a mechanic. Stay safe out there.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Replacement Shock Absorbers

I've done a lot of research regarding shock absorbers that are available for the 4.3 series RAV4. Searched a lot of forums, looked at a lot of technical specs, tracked down anything I could find on the internet as well as talking to my car mechanic buddies.

If you look as long and as hard as I did, you'll find somebody who has a complaint with every brand out there. Kind of like the Apple vs PC crowd, both have their diehard supporters.

So, regarding my criteria for shocks, price was not a major concern. Quality of construction and reliability however are significant to me. I will pay extra to get these two features. Excluding some esoteric German shock absorber (I forget the name) that was about $200-$300 a shock (at this point price does matter to me), here are my top three choices. There is no one perfect choice and I guarantee you someone will have had a bad experience with all of them. The trend I saw, however, was that these three seem to have fewer complaints, an overall reasonably good track record, good design/reliability, and recommendations by mechanics I talked with.

1) Bilstein - currently they only have them for the rear
2) KYB
3) Tokico

I would have bought Bilstein's (my first choice) had they had struts/shocks for the front. Currently they don't. I did buy KYB as they had both front and rear replacements and were easily available locally. Tokico (I believe these are OEM parts originally put on RAV4's) seem to perform quite adequately on balance, but were only available through my Toyota dealer at significant cost. Good shock, but not good enough that I thought they were worth the extra expense above say KYB. I could not find enough documentation that clearly indicated that any brand of shock was significantly superior to all others in the market. Did I look at other brands than the three above? Yes, I researched Monroe, Koni, Rancho, Goodyear, and a couple of others. Not a lot of companies make shocks for the RAV4. So, the brands I mentioned above made my short list of shocks I would be willing to buy.
 
#8 ·
I installed the Bilsteins on our '11 base model and am quite happy with them. They provide mostly an OEM quality ride but seem to be just a little firmer when subjected to full jounce bumps. Of course my OEM left rear had barfed out most of its oil so that may be the difference I'm feeling.

I could not remove the bottom bolts without first removing the carrier. Even with the top bolt removed and the suspension lowered as far as I dared, the head of the bolt would not clear the suspension arm. When I reassembled I put the bolts back in the other way around with a dab of blue Loctite to make subsequent replacement a bit easier if I ever have to do this again.
 
#10 ·
The flex-head wrench theoretically would have been a great help. However, I don't think it will work for this job because of the placement of the top bolt and nut. The nut end of the bolt is about 3/16", maybe a smidge less even, from touching the metal frame inside the wheel well. The physical thickness of wrench's metal is too wide to fit through this narrow space and allow you to get the closed-end side of the wrench around the nut. It's so close, but there just isn't quite enough clearance. So frustrating that maybe just a millimeter or two of additional space would have allowed you to use a much better tool, such as the flex-head wrench, and made this job a very reasonable task.
 
#11 ·
Shocks/struts?

After reading OP's how to I noticed the vehicle was a two wheel drive,I had a conversation with a installer today and he said their were struts front and rear. I bought a 2006 V6 with 4wheel drive vehicle has 100,000.due to mileage I was considering new struts.any info would be appreciated,manual is generic so nothing there.
 
#14 ·
Say No to Monroe

A little over a year ago I had the rear shocks replaced on my Sport. Recently, one blew out and the other started leaking. I'm not a stunt driver. Even my shop was amazed and they kept asking me if I towed a lot, if other people drove the car, etc., etc.. No, no, no. The brand that was put in was Monroe and I believe it was their sensa-track model. Stay away from these.

Luckily, even though they were just out of warranty, I'm a long time customer so they're taking care of it for me and upgrading me to KYBs. Do not go with Monroe's, spend the extra few bucks. Take it from a guy who's learned his lesson :).
 
#17 ·
Replaced both rear shocks a few weeks ago at 105,000 Kms on my Rav 2010 as the passenger side shock was leaking fluid. Replaced both with OEM shocks from Toyota that were competitively priced with such as Monroe etc. If I get another 100,000 kms out of them I will be quite happy. Anything else will be a bonus. Replacement as previously described is pretty straight forward.
 
#18 ·
Rear Schocks

My wife has a 2008 Rav4 w/ 150k miles and I decided it was time to change the shocks. I bought a couple of Bilsteins and this week went ahead and attempted to change them.

I started with the rear driver side and spent about 4-5 hrs trying to change it....the uppermost bolt and nut are impossible to reach and were VERY tight...ended up loosening it by the bolt side but In order to do it i went and unbolted the upper control arm and suspension arm? In order to have enough space to use an open spanner and lever ( another closed wrench) to loosen that bolt...:wall

When I did the passenger side rear shock I unbolted the suspension arm and upper control arm bolts first and then took off the upper shock bolt and nut..again by the bolt side because the open wrench kept slipping of the nut...all withing 1 hr...:)...:)

I wonder what procedure they use at the dealership :confused:
 
#19 ·
06 Rav 4 with 91K miles. Had it in the dealer for a number of issues for my extended warranty to take care of. They told me the rear shocks needed replacing which the warranty replaced the front struts. I chose to go with OEM and purchased them online for $35 apiece. Install was a lot easier than I thought. The top bolts was a pain but just put the box end wrench on it and tapped it with a hammer and they broke free no problem. Thank you for the well documented procedure in the post. I had both shocks replaced within 2 hours. That was with running back and forth to the toolbox as well.
 
#20 ·
So if the extended warranty covered the front struts, why didn't it cover the rear shocks?
 
#22 ·
My truck's in the dealer, they said rears were leaking, which I had suspected. I forgot the quoted price, but ended up taking to my usual independent. KYB, lifetime warranty. Although, if I did it at the dealer, they would have aligned it free as part of the recall. I declined as I'll be getting a lifetime alignment plan elsewhere.
If Tokico are oem, why don't the usual places I buy parts from carry it?
BTW, by the book, it's supposed to be a 1hour job to replace both rears, and that's "severe".
Dr J
 
#23 ·
just completed both front struts and rear shocks yesterday. i read a lot before attempting to DIY, and was prepared to be extremely frustrated with the rear's top bolt. others said they spent 4-5 hours working on that top bolt, but i was very lucky and was able to complete both sides in about an hour.

my tips: break the nut with an open-ended spanner. once broken, i used a small vice-grip to hold the nut. the nose on the vice-grips was narrower than the head on the spanner, which made the loosening process easier (long-nosed vice-grips would be even better). with the vice-grip on the nut, i used a wratcheting wrench on the bolt. i was then able to quickly remove the top bolt by turning both the wrench and vice-grip in opposite motions (really speeds up the process when the small confines of the space only allowed for the nut/bolt to be turned 1/8 turn at a time). same process for installation.

vice-grips did not have to be locked on with a lot of force, just enough bite so that it would't slip off the nut.
 
#24 ·
Did mine your way, took me about 3 hours including a tire rotation, seeing I already had 2 tires off. When replacing the top bolts you can get quite a few turns in before you need the ratcheting box end, so that saves some time, but removal seems like that bolt is about 10 inches long.
 
#25 ·
Thanks for the writeup.
My shocks were at level 1 with only 57k miles on it. I bought some KYB shocks and went to remove them. I just had the second recall on the rear suspension done and thought they put the bolts in backwards.


I found this thread and see it is not the case. It still made a 10 minute job into an hour job though.


I couple things that made it go quicker is I used a cordless impact to remove the tires and the lower nuts. As for the top nut I used an open end wrench and a 1 foot long piece of 1 ¼ tubing as a cheater and the nuts came loose without a problem.
 
#26 ·
Tubing? Over the wrench?
 
#27 ·
Yes it's an old mechanics trick. It extends the handle length giving more leverage. Hence "cheater" Warning may cause bashed knuckles if done improperly. ;)
 
#31 ·
The front end uses McPherson struts. This design has the shock absorber inside the spring so there is more labor involved to replace them.
 
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