installed my new bilstein 4600 series shocks on the rear yesterday with no issues, and without removing spare or wheels.
as to my front shocks, do the wheels need to be removed? Have seen instructions showing both approaches.

 

Only if you feel the need for more space while working on it. I wouldn't.

 

When I installed a set of 5100's, all I did for the fronts was turn the tires for better access.

 

I just turned the tires

 

turning the wheels helped a lot. if I had been set up right at home, would have pulled the wheels. might have sped things up.
a very thin 21mm end wrench would have been nice. found some other things bicycle tool in my collection of stuff that provided suitable backup on removing the top nuts.
had a nice tool that helped with tightening the top nut on the new shocks. little quarter or 5/16 wrench that held a hex head.
Geez 30 minutes on the rear and about 2 hours on the back.

 

I just installed 5100’s on my 450 and did not remove the wheels. I turned the wheel all the way to the opposite direction to allow access behind the tire and used a bottle jack on the frame in front of the tire to jack up the truck to allow even more access.

 

The shocks seemed to make a nice improvement in the ride of the truck. Not f150-quality ride, but somewhat less jarring.
It appears to be worth the labor. Maybe not the costs, but that's subjective.
Going back under the wheel and make sure I tightened up the passenger side front shock well enough.

 

now add a single or dual steering stabilized. you can feel the difference.

 

What is torque spec? Thinking about doing mine.

 

As much as my half-inch ratchet allowed on three of the four bolts. The upper bolt on the front shock has its own limitation based on the threaded shaft area.
Guessing about 100 pounds. I would suggest loctite as I don't see these bolts working loose easily if tightened reasonably well.

 

I can't say for sure, but the information in this thread should be applicable to '17-'22 Super Duty.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...rque-spec.html

 

same....................