Hey people, Im on the road on my BB but wondering if someone can chime in on whats involved in changing the front shocks??? Do I have to take the front Hub and bearing out or can It be dont without taking it apart? OR can someone just let me know what i need to take apart??? lol thanks

 

Easy as pie man, just jack up the side of the truck you're working on, take off the shock tower nut which is at the very top, take off the 3 15mm nut's holding the shock towner on, two are in the wheel well, and one inside the engine bay, take off the bottom bolt which you will see, it's kinda a pain in the *** to get too but with a wratchet and a wrench you can get it loose.

Once you got the old one out, reverse the process and put the new one in.

 

Jack the truck up and remove.

 

You don't need to jack the truck up.
Take the top shock bolt out while holding the top of the shock with a wrench (normally 3/4"). The top of the shock, under the shock tower should have flats for a wrench on it.
Take the three shock tower bolts out.
Take the bottom shock bolt out, it is 21mm and the nut has a lock tab on it so you don't need to hold it with another wrench when you remove the bolt.
Then slide it out through the engine bay.
Installation is reverse of removal.
You might need to put a pry bar under the old shock and give it a little pressure to get it to pop out.
The bottom shock bolt should be torqued to 100 ft. lbs.
I believe the shock tower bolts and the top shock bolt are supposed to be 30 ft. lbs.

 

i had to use a wrench on the bottom bolt cause the dumbass PO spun it over.

 

awesome, thanks guys. I've done tons of struts and stuff before but never anything with a separate shock up front. didnt know if I had to get a spring compressor (not that i ever used one before cause i always build myself a "contraption" to get er in) or if i had to pop the ball joint or anything. I gotta start with the drivers side Ujoint this week. not looking forward to that gonna do some research now


Blake

 

look at my wheelbarring thread all the pic's you'll ever need

 

I just checked it out. I did my pass. side bearing a month ago. It wasnt that bad really except for loosening the bolts and nuts that the incredible hulk put on!! Im mostly worried about the seal when I'm sliding my axle back into the tube. is it a pain in the kiwis??

 

it wouldnt have been nearly as big of a pain in the *** if i had known the right size socket from the start, i basicly spent one full day trying to find the right socket for the axle nut and the right size U joint.

 

its a little bit easier if you jack up the front end a little by the body. this extends the shock. so when you remove those 3 bolts holding the shock tower, the shocks not pushing up on it. it also makes it easier to reinstall that stiff new shock.

or.... unbolt the bottom first and remove the bolt. this also lets the shock extend. when reinstalling, bolt in the top first, then put a floor jack under the bottom of the shock to compress it into place.

tighten the **** out of the lower bolt to 100 lbs or it will rattle and thump under your feet.