So the other day I was underneath the car tightening my exhaust pipes when I noticed my passenger rear shock had been leaking fluid. The car has over 60,000 miles on it so I guess it's time to replace the rears. I'm thinking of getting the KONI STR.T Rear shocks to replace them with. Does anyone have these on their ride and if so, how do they handle and what kind of tools do I need in order to successfully replace them myself (besides the jack and jack stands).

Also, does anyone with a 2010+ model know what causes the rear to make noise when traveling at 70mph+? It's beginning to worry me.

 

The koni's are nice they are a little stiffer than stock....as for tools I used an impact driver to get the bots off (there's only 2) but thats just because I have one...you could probably get it with sockets/wrenches.

 

I personally would not use the impact wrench on the nut that is in the trunk, as tightening that nut too far can damage the internals of the shocks (a friend is an engineer with Koni, his words, not mine). Just use a pair of combination wrenches (9mm and 15mm I think, it has been about a year), and it can help to put the back seats down, then just lay in the trunk, or the angle will get old quickly.

 

I'd also consider the Strange 10-way adjustable shocks. They're a great value at 89/ea.

http://www.uprproducts.com/strange-m...-shock-05.html

What's the rear end noise you have? Gear noise?

 

I had issues getting the bolts off the top so I wound up using an impact wrench while my uncle held the shaft from the wheel well. I don't think they're tight enough now though because it sounds like there's a squeaking coming from back there..... I tried tightening them some more but I can't seem to get the shaft to stay still while I tighten the bolt. Oh well.

As for the metal sound, I finally figure it out. There's some metal plates under the carpet where the backseats are anchored in up top. They apparently vibrate when driving down the road.

 

I installed a rear strut brace and had to remove these nuts also. What worked for me was a pair of locking pliers at the very top of the stud and then used an adjustable wrench to tighten the nut while holding the pliers firmly.