I could not believe how easy the shocks are to change on this truck. before i did anything i gave all the bolts a shot of CRC Knocker loose and tapped on them with a prybar, then about 10 minutes later started taking bolts off. after taking the shock bolt off the top i took the shock tower off (3 bolts) then the big bolt that holds the bottom then pushed the shock down and pulled it right out from the top. and the installation was just as easy. then the back was just the two bolts on each. just had to lower the spare tire to get to the top bolt on one of them. I couldn't believe the ride difference either, i always figured it was just a bouncy ride because its a truck, but i saw a post on here a while back about how to check the shocks and one guy said to grab the back corner of the bed and yank down diagonally. when i did that it looked like my truck was a little jon boat that just got hit by the wake from a slow moving pontoon boat.

 

How many hours did you put in on it? I've been going back and forth on if I should do it, or just pay a guy $80 to do it, still undecided. Just got shipping confirmation that the Bilsteins I ordered last week are now in stock, and will be here for the weekend.

And ditto on how to check for shocks. Probably read the same thread as you did about how to test them, and just got around to doing it a week ago. Felt the same way about the ride, and now can't wait to get new shocks in it.

 

it took me like 2 and a half because i wasn't in a hurry but if you go right to it it shouldn't take longer than an hour to an hour and a half. make sure you hit all the bolts with a good penetrating spray and tap on them right after the spray to work it into the threads, just in case they are stuck. if you can't find crc knocker loose then pb blaster is the second best. you need a 21mm socket and a 21mm combo wrench or a big crescent wrench for the big bolts on the bottom (both on rear shocks and the bottom of the front) , and a 18mm for the top bolt on the front shock, and i can't remember the size for the tower bolts. but i think it'd be a waste of money to pay someone to change them because they're so easy. you may need to give the bottom of the new ones a smack with a hammer on the bottom bushing to make them fit, on mine the paint made them too wide for the bracket so i had to flatten out the paint and use the narrow end of a prybar as a line up tool to get the bottom hole lined up. and the rear shock i hooked up the top bolt first and clipped the strap holding it down and guided it into the bracket and shoved the bolt in before it went past the hole, otherwise i would have had to get the line up tool to get the bolt through because the new ones are pretty tight. i went with the sensatrac from advance, but thought about bilsteins. i've heard the bilsteins are pretty good and heard that rancho gets pretty bad after a couple months. one thing i forgot to mention is that i had stock shocks, and i figure 9 years and 124000 miles is a little long to run on the same shocks, what do you think? oh and don't forget to leave the straps on them till you're ready to bolt them down. i got the tower bolted back on before i cut the straps on the front because i didn't want to have to muscle the shock back down to bolt it on.

 

im looking to do mine , thanks for sharing

 

Yes, I love to change the shocks on these Rams. It took me, a buddy of my dad's and my dad about 4 hours to do the shocks when we changed them to Bilistein Heavy Duty(Yellow) Shocks. Hutch- Which Bilisteins did you get? The 5100s or the Heavy Dutys.

 

Took me an hour. Its an easy job definitely worth doing yourself.

 

It took me about 90 minutes to do mine. It was the first time I have changed shocks on any vehicle.

 

Looks like I'll go ahead and try it. I did soak the bolts down last weekend with pb blaster. I ordered the 5100's, it was my understanding that the heavy duty's were more for a lifted truck? Got them with shipping for under $220, so not going to be too picky. Ordered them because of the reviews I saw of other forum members, so if they stink, blaming ya'll ..lol

And that is awhile on the factory shocks sheriff. My truck only has 62k on it, but they are already shot.

 

Changing shocks on a pickup is so easy, especially the rear. I can do the rear in 15 minutes, you dont even need to take the truck off the ground, just change them where it lies. If you lay on your back you can compress the shock with ease and bolt her right up.

Trucks are so much easier to work on. Its all the extra room to work i guess.

 

The 5100s are the model line more suited for a lifted truck. The Heavy Dutys are the more mainstream truck shocks.