Shock bolt tightening .... when on the ground
 

I found this picture regarding tightening shock bolts (where applicable) and it made me wonder:

Should the rear lower shock bolts of the 201's and 124's only be tightened when the car is on the ground?

I know that the links must be, but that is not my question here.

Haasman

A way to tell is to loosely bolt on the bottom of the shock from whatever position is easiest to do the final tightening. Make an index mark across the shock bushing barrel and over to the suspension attachment point however that is convenient. Lower onto all fours and check if the index mark has rotated to another position. Or, do the same thing with the old shock in reverse, before removal.

Steve

Good idea. Thanks.

All suspension bushing bolts on any car should be torqued with the car at normal ride height so the rubber bushings are under minimum strain in the position they will spend most of their life in.

It can sometimes be difficult to get a typical 150 lb-ft torque wrench on the fastener with the car on the ground. If so I tighten the fasterner as much as possible with a suitable combination or socket setup to what I think is near the final torque spec, then raise the car sufficiently to get the torque wrench in position to do the final torqueing.

Duke

Duke-

But I assume the top of the shock on say a 190e or 300e doesn't make any difference?

Haasman

If the top connection is a nut over the shock shaft (like a strut) then it probably won't make too much difference because the angular change of the shaft as the suspension moves between the stops is so small. Is this the thrust of your question?

Typical sleeve bushings, such as those used for the various suspension control arms, should always be tightened/torqued at normal ride height.

Duke

P.S. Today is "car swap" day - place the '91 MR2 in storage and take the '88 190E 2.6 five-speed out of storage for yeoman service in our nasty Southern CA winters. The MR2 has never been on a wet road!