Ford 7E5Z-18124-LH
Strut, Front Driver Side

You must start the front shock absorber and spring assembly replacement by removing the three upper mount nuts on the discarding step and using an exact replacement part with the same part number because suspension fasteners determine both vehicle performance and safety. Twenty metric units of torque (22 foot-pounds) should be applied for tightening the new nuts. Install the vehicle onto a hoist in NEUTRAL position before you remove the brake line bracket bolt and place the brake line securely out of the way. Reinstall this line and secure it with 23 Nm (17 ft. lbs. Of torque). During wheel speed sensor bolt and harness bolt removal keep the sensor on a safe side and reinstall them by tightening both bolts to 23 Nm (17 ft. lbs.). A proper jack supports the wheel knuckle at its lower ball joints before you uninstall the stabilizer bar link upper nut. The new nut requires a torque of 40 Nm (30 ft. lbs.) when you reinstall it. The procedure then necessitates shock absorber lower bolt and flag nut removal along with damper removal before discarding the bolts and flag nuts and installing the new bolt to 103 Nm (76 ft. lbs.) torque while the suspension remains at bushing fastener tightening position. While disassembling the shock absorber from the damper fork you must remove its bolt which we should tighten to 48 Nm (35 ft. lbs.) during final reassembly. Lower the wheel knuckle to access the shock absorber with its spring assembly. The suspension needs to be lifted by a suitable jack until the center of the hub stands 15.83 inches (402 mm) from the fender lip to proceed with bushing fastener torque adjustments. The reverse installation procedure should complete the replacement of the new assembly.

Start the repaire of FWD and AWD shock absorbers by first removing the upper arm. The shock absorber needs compressing before tying it down with straps in this position. Once the brackets holding three shock absorber bolts are removed you can take out the shock absorber unit together with its upper bracket. Discard all bolts from service. At first mark the shock absorber position to the bracket then remove the upper shock absorber bolt and nut and bracket component from the assembly. Rephrase the index mark from the original shock absorber onto the newly installed one. Install the new shock absorber upper bolt and nut in a loose state but do not complete the tightening procedure yet. Tighten the upper nut by maintaining the shock absorber's current angle to the bracket and while doing so ensure the index marks are positioned correctly to reach a 118-degree alignment with the bracket's alignment tab. Torque tightness for the upper nut must be set at 90 Nm (66 lb-ft) on AWD vehicles whereas FWD vehicles require 103 Nm (76 lb-ft). Position the shock absorber and its bracket before installing their three mounting bolts and setting torque to 40 Nm (30 lb-ft). Finally, reinstall the upper arm.

Ensure that the angle between the shock absorber and bracket remains unchanged while tightening the upper nut, aligning the index marks.