rear shock replacement

This guide will give you an idea of what to expect when doing the job with instructions and diagrams below.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/replace-shock-absorber

Yours will be a little different here is a guide with diagrams BELOW

The electrical power to the air suspension system must be turned off prior to hoisting, jacking or towing an air suspension vehicle. Failure to do so can result in unexpected inflation or deflation of the air springs, which can result in shifting of the vehicle during these operations.

Turn the air suspension service switch off

Raise and support the vehicle.

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/jack-up-and-lift-your-car-safely

Use the special tool 014-00942or equivalent to support the rear axle.
Vehicles equipped with air suspension

WARNING: Do not remove an air spring under any circumstances when there is air pressure in the air springs Do not remove any components supporting an air spring without exhausting the air.
Release the air pressure from the air springs.

Diagrams BELOW

Suspension problem
1990 Mercury Marquis V8 Two Wheel Drive Automatic ?? miles

How do I remove the Rear Shocks on a 1990 mercury Grand Marquis? It seems impossible. There is no room to fit a wrench.

Hi there, See text for removal, access is often tight working on many makes of car, often you just have to do the best you can, designers often pay scant regard to those who have to repair what they design, thi sis a problem we face every day in the trade, and i have plenty of scars on my hands and arms to prove it, basic hand tools should be enough to do this, just be patient and don't rush.

mark (mhpautos)

How do you remove the top bolts on the rear shocks of a 2002 Mercury Grand Marquis?

see diagrams

Found it easier to take a "saws all" with a 12" blade and cut the top nuts off. Shock fell off and new one installed in no time.

Brutal but effective

See PDF attachment.

I saw your procedure but it does not make any sense to me.
https://www.2carpros.com/questions/2002-mercury-marquis-rear-shock-replacement

See details in my PDF document.

Paul

You might need a special thin wrench to sneak in there. The nut could be square or a hex head, and the size can vary depending on the manufacturer that supplied the shock absorber and whether these are still original or if they've been replaced once already. Sometimes the upper cover is steel and you can just hold onto that to keep the shaft from spinning as you try to unscrew the top nut.

Dear Sir,

1. Did you see my PDF file?

We can't figure out any way to "unscrew the top nut". This is the biggest problem.
The 14mm wrench will not stay on the nut and even if it does stay on the nut there is no room to operate the wrench left and right. On the left those pipes are in the way and on the right is the car body is in the way, and the nut is way back under the car body. Also the is not room to get a socket on it.

Did you see my PDF file?

Do you need more pictures?


Paul

The cover is steel.

There are two slides in the PDF file.

Not only did I look at your photos multiple times, as a suspension and alignment specialist I've replaced a lot of these rear shock absorbers over the years. Some took me almost three hours to do a pair of them, and they always involved muttering under my breath that an engineer could design something so miserable to work on. To add to the misery, the top nuts usually are rusty, so wrenches won't grab well. My best approach was to grab the top nut with a Vise-Grip pliers, then grab the steel cover and turn it with my hands. In the '80s and '90s they didn't even have the thin nuts on top of the covers.

Some of these shock absorbers had soft plastic covers. On those you can cut the covers off, then grab the shafts with another Vise-Grip pliers after grinding some flats on them.

I have never had one of these where I was able to unscrew the top nut, as you are hoping to do. At one shop I worked at, we weren't allowed to have a torch because we were attached to a shopping mall. Most of my success came with using a cutoff tool with a 3" metal-cutting wheel to cut through the shaft just below the upper mounting plate. Later, when working at a very nice dealership, the torch made quick work of the upper nuts, as long as there wasn't the typical leaking gas tank.

By the way, those upper nuts started life as 15 mm nuts. If you're trying to get a 14 mm on there, the nuts are already rusted away and the threaded shaft is going to be the same. You're never going to get those nuts unscrewed, so you can resign yourself to looking for a different way.

How much air pressure should be in rear air shocks?

it varies by load on car. it depends on what ride you want hard or soft. 30-35 psi should be okay if not lower the pressure.