I can no longer stand the fact that I cannot tow a simple 2300lb pop-up (about 250lb tongue weight) camper without my truck practically scraping the ground in the rear - SO - I bought Monroe load levelers for the rear.
my question - how complicated is the swap? is it simply a bolt on the top and bottom, no spring compression? I assume by jacking up the truck that the weight of the wheel and/or rotor should be enough to give clearance for the new shock... please correct me if I am wrong.

FYI, I found swapping the EGR valve was a relatively easy job, so I'm somewhat mechanically inclined. And I have a decent tool collection, so I'm thinking I'll be OK.

Thoughts?

 

If you found the EGR easy, the rear shocks should be no problem. It takes me longer to change my oil than it did to change the shocks. I recommend soaking the 4 bolts in some penetrating lube the day before. But other than that, jack up the rear end and throw some stands under the axle to give you some added clearance, and unbolt the 2 bolts holding each one in. No need to jack anything up other than the axle by putting the jack under the pumpkin, but you dont even need to do that; it just makes it a little easier.

 

I did mine last month. It took me 20min and i didnt jack up the rear end.

 

ditto, no jack, but with my impact wrench it took like 15 mins....hardest part was getting back up after laying on the ground...(I'm old)...

 

 

Well I guess I will be the first to address this.. If your only putting 250lbs of tongue wieght on your truck and it's close to bottoming out then the shocks are NOT your problem. Shocks only stop the truck from bouncing all over the place. Sounds like either you got spring problems on your truck or there's more then 250lbs on the tongue.
PLUS...putting those monroe load levelers on will give you a harsh ride when you dont have anything on the back.

 

I was thinking the same thing. 250lbs of tongue weight should not be pushing the back of the truck down much. You aren't trying to tow off the bumper are you?

 

^^^ What he said ^^^

Your OEM-style shocks don't do ANYTHING when the truck is at rest. The entire weight of the truck is being supported by the SPRINGS. And if 250 lbs on the bumper causes you to bottom out, drag tail, etc., then your springs are shot.

Your choices are to replace them, get them "re-arched", supplement them with additional leaves inserted into the spring pack, etc.

Air bags can temporarily and adjustably change the "spring RATE", but they really deserve to be installed atop springs that are healthy in the first place. ("Spring rate" is how much the spring deflects under a given load.)

A stiffer, higher-rate spring will carry more load (by deflecting less), at the cost of some ride comfort when unladen. (That's where adjustable air bags come in. You can install appropriate springs for when the truck is empty, but stiffen them up on demand when needed.)

The role of the shock absorber is just to SLOW the deflection of the spring -- in both directions: the initial deflection AND the rebound. When the spring isn't being moved (as when you hit a pothole, a curb, etc.), the shock isn't really doing anything at all. (Coil-over shocks excepted.)

A "coil-over" shock plays the role of BOTH shock and supplemental spring.

 

A 2300 lb trailer with only 250 lb tongue weight should be no problem, even from the bumper hitch.

 

hmmmm...guess I need to be paying more attention here. Of went off on the wrong tangent...this forum rocks. Thanks guys for reeling us back in.