Shocks...
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New User
Joined: Jan 2004
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Shocks...
HOW EASY, (ON A SKILL LEVEL OF 1 AND 10), IS IT TO REPLACE OLD SHOCKS, FRONT AND BACK, FOR NEW ONES? WHAT I'M WORRIED ABOUT IS, NOT GETTING THE OLD SHOCKS OFF, BUT GETTING THE NEW SHOCKS ON. OUR THESE NEW SHOCKS GOING TO EXTEND AND I'M NOT GOING TO ABLE TO COMPRESS THEM? OR AM I OVER THINKING A SIMPLE TASK?
Senior User
Joined: Jul 2003
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From: Oregon-Take me wheeling..
you are definately over thinking a simple task. i give it a 2.7 on the 1-10. the front upper mount is the toughests, only because you cannot fit the air ratchet, or any ratchet for that matter on it, you have to use an open end. other than that. it shoudlnt tak eyou more then 30 min to do all four. and they are not all the same shock, so look out.
Idiomaticman
Idiomaticman
Postmaster
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 2,711
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From: Pittsburgh
Here's a tip for when you replace the front shocks. After you get the lower mount loose, just grab the shock and start pulling the bottom away from the truck. 9 times out of 10 the upper stud will snap off and save you the hassle of having to try and loosen it. Then just pull the stud and nut out through the top.
Justin
Justin
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Joined: Feb 2003
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It's not hard. I did it with regular hand tools, and yes, some of the old rusty bolts were tough, it took an afternoon to do all 6, but if I did it again it wouldn't take long at all. I had little supplies and did it with the wheels still on. I tore the bottem mount of the one of the front shocks, had to have a grade 8 bolt welded in to replace it. Put some liquid wrench on the bolts in advance. Other than than, you're talking about an 8 bolt project. Yes, you can compress them by hand, it can take a little muscle if you have a bad leverage angle.
Elder User
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 887
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From: MN
The only difficult thing to deal with is when the bolts rust to the bushing sleeves. I had to cut 3 out of 6 bolts. hoxiii's trick works well, mine sheared off when I put the wrench on them. If you are getting Bilstens, compression might be an issue. I put a set on my dad's G30 moterhome, and had to use my whole body weight to compress them, and a bar clamp to keep them from expanding.
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Postmaster
Joined: Dec 2002
Posts: 3,959
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From: USA
I just put Billsteins on the front of the F350 last week. They sure ride alot better than what was on there. It was pretty easy, none of my bolts were rusted and it wasn't difficult to compress the Billsteins. The most difficult part of the whole project was finding the right size wrench: some of the bolts were 18mm, some were 7/8, and some were 3/4.
What I did was put in the bottom bolt first, then compress the shock waaay down and quickly stick in the upper mount so as it was extending back up, it seated itself into the upper mount and I quickly stuck a pin punch in one end of the hole to keep it from going too far and then stuck the bolt in the other end. Worked great!
What I did was put in the bottom bolt first, then compress the shock waaay down and quickly stick in the upper mount so as it was extending back up, it seated itself into the upper mount and I quickly stuck a pin punch in one end of the hole to keep it from going too far and then stuck the bolt in the other end. Worked great!
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Post Fiend
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 14,947
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From: Topsfield, MA
The stock bolts are 18mm...I bet someone replaced some of the hardware.
The hardest part I think is when the bolt rusts to bushing sleeves. Sometimes you need a lot of rust eatter and a good size hammer and punch.
The hardest part I think is when the bolt rusts to bushing sleeves. Sometimes you need a lot of rust eatter and a good size hammer and punch.
