Oh man!. What a day yesterday was. I have replaced shocks on so many vehicles I have lost count but yesterday I replaced shocks on my 93 F150 and boy was it a chore. The truck has 214000 miles on it so I suspected that the shocks had been changed in the past and the front had been replaced at least once. However the back were the factory ford shocks. When I took them out they did not even open up, front or back. I mean you could push them down with 2 fingers but they did not decompress. That's bad.

Now for the rest of the story. I went back with KYB Gas-a-just. The front ones were easy to install except you had to use one of the washers on top to make sure you had enough space or the nut would hit the end of the thread and it would not get tight. However, the back shocks were a nightmare. I knew that KYB put the straps on the shocks for a reason so I installed them on the top bolt and then slid the bottom into the shock holder before I cut the strap. Its about this time I learned a lesson. Do not screw around with KBY shocks because they will kick your ***. I had to take them back out and put a tie down on them and then only release them enough so that the bottom lined up with the bolt hole. A half hour job took me 4 hours. I went into the house and took a shower and went to bed until all of my muscles stopped cramping. Oh, it made a hell of a difference in the ride, I would recommend these shocks for any vehicle but damn, do not let them loose. LOL

 

Just wait until you see what shocks for medium duty trucks are like.

You basically have to shove it into the ground to get it started then stay there leaning on it with your whole weight on it for the next 3min while it compresses.

 

The super coil over shocks that were on the back of my '95, I had to jack the truck up and then drop the axle as far as I could to get enough pressure off to unbolt them. They quickly got replaced with nice, stock, soft, easy riding Monroe matics. The PO tried hauling a tandem axle utility trailer and found the 1/2 ton truck wasn't up to the task and tried to stiffen it up. Ya, not til I bought it. If I need to haul something heavy, I just open the other garage door and get the ol Mack out. No issues with its weight carrying capabilities!!

 

My 7100s are fun to install/remove. You have to use all your weight to collapse them, then get them mounted before they fully extend again. It took me a few tries the first time...

 

I need to replace my shocks too, 95 F150. Are they all this difficult to replace or just certain brands?

 

No. The front are super easy. Just remove the tire on the side you are working on. If you jack them up then let them down on the shock by using a stand under the front its very easy. The back ones may give you a bit of trouble but if you use a large screwdriver and are careful its not a problem. Buy you some cheap tiedowns just in case you have to compress it and install it. Do not remove the plastic binder until its right. Talk about a serous workout, even my butt hurts today.

 

I installed Monroe gas magnums a couple of months ago. They were fairly easy to install. My only concern was the top bushing on the front shocks. It was a pressed in one piece bushing, and the hole is close to an inch in diameter. The bushings that came with the shocks were two piece. I'm still kind of worried that they might shift around in there.

I installed Monroe Sensatrac's with the coil over spring on the rear of my old '69 F250. I had to use a ratchet strap to compress them enough to install them. The strap slipped on one of them, and scared the **** out of me.

 

What is the large screwdriver used for on the rear?

 

When you have the shock in the cup on the bottom you will need to compress it a little so that you can align the bolt holes. There may be a better way or you can use that tie down like I did the 2nd time and just release it slowly so it goes to the hole. Otherwise its going to kick your ***.

 

Most of the time a monotube style (that has a high nitrogen gas charge) can be a bit tricky. They are can be tough to compress.