Is there anythingI need to look out for when changing the front and rear shocks? I looked and the front shock are coil-overs, I have never changed this type below but remember hearing to be careful due to the coils. The rear look to be fairly easy.

1999 Ram Van 360 engine 1/2 ton

Thanks for all the help.

 

For the front, if the top nut is rusted on, the shaft of the shock will spin. You might have to cut the shaft with a cut-off wheel or a sawzall if you cannot get some vise-grips on it to hold it from turning. Other than that, the rest is a piece of cake.

 

The front shocks are not coil overs, but a regular shock which fits within the coil spring.

You will need to pull the shocks down through the lower control arm, so the front of the Van must be lifted slightly. and removing the wheel, while not absolutely necessary, sure makes it easier to reach what you need to reach.

Hit the 2 nuts on top with penetrating fluid well before trying to torque them off. Same with the lower 2 bolts. The two nuts on top are tightened against each other. The top nut is thinner than the bottom one. You need to hold the bottom nut, and remove the top nut, so the 1/2" wrench cannot be too thick. Trying to loosen both nuts at the same time will have you throwing tools and cursing.

There is a little flat spot above the threads. You can try to grab this with vice grips or a 6 mm wrench to loosen the bottom nut, but since you are replacing the shocks, just get a bigger set of vice grips and grip the shaft between the coils as tight as you can.

DO not try this without first hitting the nuts with a good penetrating fluid. and the Bottom bolts, try to get a small wirebrush on the threads. You do not want the bolt to break off in the control arm.

Trust me.

 

Thanks for the info guys, I will try this this weekend if its not raining. I hate it getting dark at 6 pm.

 

Got both front shocks changed. The only problem was the top bolt. The shaft turned with the nut. A vise grip would not bite into the shaft due to it being a ground finish and harden steel, so I had to cut the nut off. I used a 90 degree die grinder and had to grind the part off wheel (abrasive wheel) on the concrete to get it the size right. Tight spot with no view. Took about an hour for each shock.