I knew it was too good to be true!
Steve dropped in to his favourite auto parts supplier and ordered a full set of Ultima shockies. Yes, they make them to fit a ’95 323 Protegé, they’re made in Australia, the distributor is local and they’d be available the next day, and they are considerably less expensive than other brands. I went in, paid for and picked them up on Friday. $500 for the full set – thanks Mr Rudd!
Next stop, the library. After applying for a whole new library card – apparently my previous one was too old to be reactivated, even though my details hadn’t changed (WTF?), I borrowed a repair manual that covers Ford Lasers from 1990-1994 and Mazda 323 Sedan and Astina (hatches) from 1989-1994. Now, I know I’ve got a ’95 323, but I figured that, as the repair manuals from ’95 onwards seemed to only cover BA and later models, I’d take my chances that my ’95 BG was pretty much the same as the ’94 BGs. So far, so good.
So, after reading the manual and explaining it all step-by-step to Steve, he removed my front shock absorber and spring. It really was as easy as the parts guy said it would be… until we took the new shock absorber out of the box and discovered that the diameter of the spring seat was not as large as my original, so my spring wouldn’t fit! It was clear to me that, although they were for a ’95 model, they were probably for the BA and not the BG. Here we go again...
Damn Mazda and their 18 month model crossover period! I’m seriously over this! If I ever find the person/s responsible for compiling after market parts databases and leaving out my year model, I will belt them over the head with my old struts!
Well, the first lot were going back to the shop! To be on the safe side, we also removed the rear shock on the same side, so that I could take my originals in to compare them. Just as well, since the brackets on the rear shock they’d given us weren’t the same as my originals, either! I was more than prepared, if all else failed, to go directly to the actual distributors at Albion, show them my originals and refuse to leave until I had the correct replacements!
These are supposed to be the same diameter!
That's more like it!First thing Monday morning, Steve got onto Robert, the parts guy, who said he’d order some to fit a ’94 model and we’d see if they fit my ’95. A few hours later they’d arrived so I took the first lot back (along with my originals) to swap them for a second lot. I walk in, carrying the boxes and he looks at me and says “Ah, shock absorbers for a car that doesn’t exist” Yep, you said it mate!
Second time lucky, I hope. At least this second lot look exactly the same as my originals and my spring fits nicely into the spring seat! Promising start… now let’s see if they go back into my car properly!
Monday night, Steve’s Dad came over to give him a hand to fit the shocks to my car. It all seemed to go together smoothly, and after a test drive, Steve labelled it a job well done.
Finally, success!Now I just need to get new tyres and a wheel alignment…
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