Is it possible to take the spindle off the strut itself for the front??? or the strut come with the spindle.

BTW this is an 84 GSL-SE

TIA,
Omid

 

I'm pretty sure the spindle is part of the strut.

 

I got it off. There is a big nut on top of the housing that when u twist it off, the dampner comes out.

 

Oh, sorry. I thought you meant the spindle that the hub goes over.

So you're changing the inserts? Is it a pain?

 

YES IT IS A PAIN. Why do Mazda have to do everything the hard way. It take like 6hours to change the inserts.

 

If it was easy to work on our cars then it would be no fun. Mazda knew this and thats why FB's are a pita to work on.

 

Lots of cars use inserts.

Changing Mazda struts is BEAUTIFUL easy, if only because you don't have to realign the suspension afterwards if you're not changing springs at the same time. Unbolt the caliper, unbolt the bottom, unbolt the top, compres the spring and zip the upper mount off, swap the cartridge, throw it all back together, and you're done!

 

Well yeah, but how easy is it to swap the cartridge?

 

That IS how to swap the cartridge

 

It get real easy when you don't have to worry about compressing the stock spring (when you switch to coil overs with short stuff springs)

I can take the whole strut assembly out in about 10-15 minutes per side.

 

WHOOO HOOOOO!!!! im doing my springs and struts this week... have the last auto-x this weekend. will I need to do a front end alignment?

 

i own a 81 and i decided to buy the rear-end and the brakes of a gsl-se, from a friend of mine, in order to get the lsd and the bigger brakes.
could i keep my old struts,inserts and rear shocks?
in conclusion what are the differences between 81 and se suspension?

 

If the height is changing at all or you are changing spring rates, you should get a front alignment.