Hi everyone, thanks for the help with the jacking, all of that went perfectly except that the jack couldnt lift the truck very high because the handle was short. I am pretty pissed off because now I am gonna have to take my truck to get the shocks installed professionally and have to owe my dad even more. I tryed both the front and back shocks and none of the nuts would budge. In the front the nut on top of the shock no matter what i did just spun the top of the shock around. My evaluation is that a combination of how weak I am, and that maybe 105,000 miles later all of the hardware for the OEM shocks just wont budge and I dont have any sort of power ratchet. Thanks for the help

 

hold on man... dont rush and take it in yet1!!!.. get to the store and pic up some PB blaster (prefered..usually found at NAPA) or some WD 40 and spray the snot out of all the bolts you want to get out..and let it soak over night.. then have a go at it

my jack is only 2 1/2 tons and it also has a short *** handle... get a cheater bar and lengthens it so its easier.. a peice of pipe or something that fits over the handle..i have to use a bar like that evertime i want my truck in the air!!!!!

your gonna get charged a load for labor for a job you really well can do yourself... assuming your dad or yourself doesnt have air tools? get a long bar (again) and cheat that nut or bolt off!!!!!!!! the top nut on the front shocks will make it spin like that... what you gota do .. is at the very very tip of the threaded rod that that nut is on there should be some kind of indent or formed metal to resemble a head of a bolt...you ahve to get a wrench of the proper size(cant remmeber what is is) and put it on the top then another wrench that fits that nut that holds the shock down and spin it off that way... i wish i had a pic for ya but i dont .. ALSO you gotta remember... that ALOT of the nuts that hold the shocks inplace are "stay free" nuts.. meaning theres a peice of metal .. like really thick sheet metal welded onto the nut... it acts as a flange so that when the bolt spins the nut spins with it and that flange will hit the surounding metal and wont let it spin off... most of the bolts hold in the shocks wil have to be undone by the bolt side and the nuts will not spin untill they are completley free of the bolt... so youll have to back off the bolt not the nut!!

hope this helps... give er a nother shot and dont give up so quick!!!! come back here if you ahve any other questions...

PM sent for more info

 

ok found some pics i forgot i had..maybe htis might help maybe not

ok the first pic is of the front shock mounts... at the VERY top of the shock "bolt" youll see where the threads stop and therse a little bolt head looking think at the top..thats where i was talkin about where you have to get a wrench on it and keep it form spinning..then use another wrench on the nut directly below it..

the second is of the rear shock.. the top bolt nut setup is what iw as talkin about with the flange and crap... also the lower bolts for the front shocks IIRC are the same wway... kinda PITA but also nice at the same time.. the lower bolts for the rear shocks should be easy .. just takes some *** behind it.. liek i said..wouldnt hurt to use a cheater bar if you got something that will work well like a pipe or some thing



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Okay, thanks for helping. Okay the rod part is 9mm. So i loosen the rod with the one wrench and tigthen the nut with the other to keep it from spinning and that should do the trick? Thanks

 

an impact gun would make it 10 times easier to get the bolt off the rear shocks.. maybe you can borrow one from a friend or something.. or rent one from an auto shop..

 

As a rule of thumb, any planned mod's like shocks, you should spray bolts down good with penetrating lube at least couple weeks prior to changing them out.


2 cents with no change required

 

hah.. on my old truck i didnt do that when i had to change out my rear axle.. snapped all 4 u-joints off impact gun wouldnt get them off so me and a friend put a 3 foot breaker bar on it plus a 5 foot pole and pulled at it haha

 

I'll describe as best as possible for the stubborn front upper nuts...


Break them .

With your long extension, socket, and rachet on the top nut, rather than try to loosen the nut, push on it like your trying to snap it off...like standing on the drivers side, looking down at the nut, push towards the center of the truck (can't remember if there's room with the master cyl. in the way)...if the m/c is in the way, stand at the front of the truck and pull toward youself a bit...you should feel it bend a little...now pretend to loosen it, 90 degrees...pull toward you again...after 4 or 5 of these (usually) the shock stud will snap right off. I do most of these like this at work, saves alot of time fudging with trying to not hurt the shock when it's going to the trash anyway.

Of course, only try this if you plan on junking the old shocks :P.

 

I may try your way fivelite... for future ref, mine is TWO wheel drive fyi. Thanks for all of the help

 

Well, I f**king give up with this truck. I've managed to break a wrench and nothing has been accomplished. Instead of being patient and just taking it to Midas tomorrow, after all the other suggestions i tried clamping down on the shock with a big adjustible wrench and all that did was smash the weird oem shock boot. Will I be able to drive the few miles to Midas tomorrow with the shock like this? Will Midas install the shocks I bought or will I have to go somewhere else? Thanks for all the help.!