Hi, I just started driving and working on my truck. Im replacing the stock shocks after 105,000 miles with four new bilsteins. My questions are about jacking the truck up and a couple about the actual installation. I have two jack stands but I may not have access to a floor jack so I am borrowing a friends bottle jack which i can get sooner than the floor jack, Is this going to be a problem? For the back and front shocks, do I jack up the entire rear/front of the truck, or one corner at a time? For the rear, do I jack it under the axle or somewhere on the frame. For the front end do I also jack it up by the frame? My question regarding the shocks is with the bushing. I got some urethane grease and was wondering where on the bushings i put it and how much. Should i coat all over the bushings? Thanks a lot and sorry for the simple questions but I do not want to be running to the PC in the middle of working on my truck. this will really help!

 

at the back, jack it up under the rear end housing. change both the back shocks, they are super easy. at the front, jack it up on the plate just bhind the engine, just dont jack it up by the oil pan its always a mess. the jack stands go on the frame, dont jack it up by the frams, it could slip off too easily. and for the grease, ive only ever put grease where ive got grease fittings.

 

i jacked mine up from the front axle.. just jack it up real high and put the jack stands under the frame.. should need atleast 6 inches under the tires when the suspension is all the way down.. and remember to disconnect the sway bar when pulling out the coil.. i didnt know you had to do that so it took me a good 3 hours to do my lift

 

h/o do you even have to jack up the front?? cant you just un-bolt the shock mount from the engine compartent (the shock tower with the 3 bolts) and unbolt it at the bottom and just pull it out threw the engine compartment?

 

Thanks a lot. Thanks 20dodgeram...but its a two wheel drive so i dont have to worry about the coils

Like i said, im kind of new to cars, when you say rear end housing do you mean the differential? As far as the grease, I watch that show Trucks and whenever he installs somthing with polyurethane busings he says to grease them or they'll squuak. Thanks for the help!

Edit: Just wondering how much does a 1500 2wd weight? I remember reading something on the smog test report of it being around 4000 pounds. Also, what can be used as chaulks? I have just been using blocks of firewood. Thanks!

 

I wish I could watch the show trucks... But I'm too poor to afford cable, and not home enough to watch it... Maybe I'll get some clips off the net or something to ease my pain

As for the shocks, I never heard of greasing them but I dont see it hurting anything

 

yea your second method is better!!!!! an easier faster way to put the front shocks in is unbolt the shock tower from the frame... its really easy... under the hood youll see the shock towers on each side.. the shock has its single bolt that runs up the middle and bolts with a bushing ontop of the tower..well the tower is held down w/ three bolts around the lower ring... you can jack the truck up but its not really required... you can extend and retract most shocks with your hand so the tension is horible like coils are lol ... unbolt the shocks from underneath where they bolt to the axle and slide them directly up. install is backwards!

if i were you id DL the stick called Mery chrismass at the top of the thread...a PDF version of the 2000 service manual and would do you alot of help!

 

took me an hour alone trying to get those damn bushings in the shock... thats a really tight squeeze.. i'd grease the bushing just to make it easier to put it in

 

agree,,,, the bushings are wider then the oem compressed ones and make it a PITA to get them to slide between the two peices of steel that the sit between... a nice deadblow or rubber mallet will help to get them in

 

Thanks for all this help guys... just wondering if you realize i have two wheel drivenot 4 so i dont have to worry about coil springs and cant get to the shocks through the engine compartment. (i believe)