Hey all - I spent a number of hours looking over the forums and some youtube videos on a concise how-to, to replace my shocks - a DIY approach. A lot of the threads here, lack the truck information so it made for a lot of wading through threads that I couldn't use.

My truck:

* '07 Ram 1500
* Crew Cab
* 5.7L Hemi
* 4X4


I'd like to do the shocks on the front and rear, and am looking for something that will be good for the occasional forestry road, and highway, as this is my daily driver.

So - what I am looking for:

* Suggestions on shocks
* If anyone has posted a how-to, or instructions.

I see on some of the other RAM's that you can take the 3 bolts off the tower, below the air filter, as well as the bottom bolt, pull the shock out the top and go from there. I've also seen some threads that allude to that not being the case and it requires some compression tools for springs.

Thoughts and thanks in advance!


Cheers from Canada.

 

Aren't these struts, not shocks? Your "... three bolts ..." reference would indicate so. If so, they're WAY harder (and more dangerous) than shocks. The rears might be just regular shocks. I used Monroe Reflex all 'round on my 4x2.

 

The rears are simple: Jack up/support truck frame. Remove wheels if desired. Remove the lower bolt and nut (both are 18mm i think). Remove upper bolt only (nut is retained but you may still need to support it). Remove shock. Clean bolts, coat them with antiseize. Reinstall new shocks (rotated away from the frame), torque to mfr. specs.

Here is a good write-up for the fronts:
http://www.ramforumz.com/showthread.php?t=123205 My only substitutions would be to change the WD-40 to PB Blaster, or an actual penetrant, and to do less hammering.

Bilstein 5100s are a popular choice (I am installing some next weekend). Rancho Quicklifts would be a lot easier to install as you do not need to remove, compress, and reuse the factory spring and lower seat.

According to the service manual., this is a coilover shock. It connects to the upper control arm, not the frame as a strut of a FWD car 4th gen ram.

 

Well we did the front shock install this past weekend. It worked well to follow the writeup I posted above. The lower shock both was stuck, but the secret weapon was an air hammer with about a 1/8" end punch. We drilled a small receiver hole in the middle of the forward end of the bolt, and rammed that with the air hammer. It hits w/less force than the BFH but hundreds of times per minute. Walked the bolts right out after 1-2 minutes. The bolts could have been reused but were corroded bad and thin in the middle. I got two socket head cap screws at fastenall. (Grade 12+ equivalent metric) 16mm X 120mm, two washers and a nylock nut for each side. 5/8" bolts will work, too.

I replaced KYBs with only 13k miles on them, and I'll tell ya, it is a night/day difference in steering response and tracking, even with a 2" higher nose. I hope you can find the means to do this swap. It's well worth it!

 

Get your nomenclature correct. The front are struts, not shocks. Yes, there is a difference.

Also, I always recommend hitting the lower bolts on a wire wheel and coating the shaft with Anti-Seize before reinstallation. That way, removal for the next set will be pain free.

 

So the factory service manual is wrong, then? They are referred to as "coil-over shocks" throughout the manual. Wouldn't a strut attach to the steering knuckle and pivot as the truck is steered, like in a FWD car? These do not pivot in normal operation. Just trying to get it correct. Cheers.

 

how hard was it to remove the lower spring seat on the old shock?