Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
After having the shocks sit in my garage for a couple of weeks, I finally sat down and installed them. I'm always looking on TDR for hints and even some instructions on how to do stuff, so I figured I'd throw my 2 cents worth out here...
Tools needed: 21mm wrench and socket and extension at times, 15mm wrench and socket, some penatrating oil for those rusty bolts, zip ties, jack, jack stand, screwdriver, 3/4 wrench, 3/4 socket.
I didn't have a 21mm wrench or socket, so off to Harbor Freight to pick up a set.
1) Go around and spray all the bolts on the shocks and the three bolts that hold the bracket on the front shocks so they all have some time to soak in.
2) Lower the spare tire and remove it.
3) Take your socket and maybe use an extension to get to the bolt head on the top of the shock on the driver rear. Don't worry about the nut, it should have a tab on it that will rotate around and hit the frame to allow you to only have to loosen the bolt. Quite interesting to find this out after working like crazy to get a wrench on that nut! All the hard to reach nuts will have this feature (Top bolts on the rears and bottom bolts on the fronts)
4) Remove the bottom bolt and nut on the shock - of course you'll have to use wrench and socket on this one.
5) Take out the shock and get the new one. Put on the rubber boot on first and zip tie the boot on. Put the adjustable knob towards the back, hopefully it won't get full of road grime this way. Make sure to put the knob the direction you want it for all the other shocks too!
6) Line up the shock up top and put the bolt through, but just enough to poke through on the other side. Take the nut and line it up and start threading the nut onto the bolt.
7) Line up the shock on the bottom and put the bolt through it.
8) Tighten up both bolts.
9) Now switch to the other side of the rear shock. Go to the outside, using a long extension and the 21mm socket, wrench away on the top bolt - the muffler and such are in the way to get at it from below.
10) Remove the bottom bolt and remove the shock. For those with a sway bar, you'll need a 15mm to loosen the bolts that hold the sway bar. I was able to loosen just enough to clear the bolt. After removing it, tighten the bolts back up since you will be putting the nut on the other side so you don't have to do this in the future.
11) Put in the shock and tighten up the bolts like the other one.
12) Go up to the front driver side and remove the tire - PUT THE JACK STAND IN PLACE SO THE TRUCK DOESN'T FALL ON YOU!!!
13) Take the zip ties and put one around the bottom of the shock and the top of the shock - don't tighten down yet. Now with other zip ties tied together, hook the top and bottom togeather. Once you have the zip ties in place, tighten the top and bottom zip tie so it is tight around the shock. Tighten the zip tie loop that hooks the bottom and top ones togeather until it is snug.
14) Now loosen the bottom bolt with either a wrench or a socket.
15) Loosen the three nuts that are holding the bracket down. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE SHOCK ZIP TIED DOWN!
16) Now the fun part, I was unable to get the bolt loose on the top of the shock so I could remove the bracket (honestly it was too tight in there!), so I pulled the whole thing out altogether. Another pair of hands might be good, but I was able to do it. Take a screwdriver and put threw the bottom of the shock to hold it up and compress the shock down - if your shock is poor shape, you should be able to do this, if not, why are you replacing your shocks? Tighten the zip tie loop to keep the shock from opening up. Keep compressing the shock as much as you can. I got mine down to 3-4 inches of the bottom.
17) After getting the shock compressed, you should be able to wiggle the shock and bracket out of there, take this slow since you don't want to pull some wires loose or break something!
18) Now take the nut off the top of the old shock and save the bracket, you won't need anything else but the bracket.
19) Take the boot for the shock and put it on and zip tie it down now since it will be near impossible to put it on when the shock is inside the spring.
20) Now feed the shock down through the spring.
21) Put the bolt in on the bottom and get it finger tight.
22) Put on the steel washer, followed by the rubber bushing, followed by the bracket, followed by the other bushing, followed by the steel washer and finally the nut.
23) Take a 3/4 wrench and put into the bracket where there is a 3/4 nut to hold the shock. Using the bracket to hold the 3/4 wrench, go on top and use the 3/4 socket to tighten down the shock to the bracket.
24) Tighten the bottom bolt off the shock.
25) Now is a good time to set the setting of the shock before you put the tire back on.
26) Now put the tire back on and head over to the other side.
27) Remove the air box since it will make life easier with it off.
28) Remove the tire.
29) Do pretty much the same steps as before, but I had to use a socket with an extension on the bottom bolt - a short 21mm socket would work better than a long one, but it did work with a long one.
30) Now go around all the shocks and double check to make sure all the bolts are tight!
31) Start up the air compressor and check the tires - since the spare is off, this is a good time to make sure it has the correct pressure in it!
I wish I would have taken pictures of this process, but my hands got really dirty and that wouldn't go good with the camera.
I hope this is useful post for those that are wanting to replace their shocks soon. I'd highly recommend taking the time and do it yourself. It really isn't that hard of a thing to do, just takes some time and muscle to do it.
Michael
Tools needed: 21mm wrench and socket and extension at times, 15mm wrench and socket, some penatrating oil for those rusty bolts, zip ties, jack, jack stand, screwdriver, 3/4 wrench, 3/4 socket.
I didn't have a 21mm wrench or socket, so off to Harbor Freight to pick up a set.
1) Go around and spray all the bolts on the shocks and the three bolts that hold the bracket on the front shocks so they all have some time to soak in.
2) Lower the spare tire and remove it.
3) Take your socket and maybe use an extension to get to the bolt head on the top of the shock on the driver rear. Don't worry about the nut, it should have a tab on it that will rotate around and hit the frame to allow you to only have to loosen the bolt. Quite interesting to find this out after working like crazy to get a wrench on that nut! All the hard to reach nuts will have this feature (Top bolts on the rears and bottom bolts on the fronts)
4) Remove the bottom bolt and nut on the shock - of course you'll have to use wrench and socket on this one.
5) Take out the shock and get the new one. Put on the rubber boot on first and zip tie the boot on. Put the adjustable knob towards the back, hopefully it won't get full of road grime this way. Make sure to put the knob the direction you want it for all the other shocks too!
6) Line up the shock up top and put the bolt through, but just enough to poke through on the other side. Take the nut and line it up and start threading the nut onto the bolt.
7) Line up the shock on the bottom and put the bolt through it.
8) Tighten up both bolts.
9) Now switch to the other side of the rear shock. Go to the outside, using a long extension and the 21mm socket, wrench away on the top bolt - the muffler and such are in the way to get at it from below.
10) Remove the bottom bolt and remove the shock. For those with a sway bar, you'll need a 15mm to loosen the bolts that hold the sway bar. I was able to loosen just enough to clear the bolt. After removing it, tighten the bolts back up since you will be putting the nut on the other side so you don't have to do this in the future.
11) Put in the shock and tighten up the bolts like the other one.
12) Go up to the front driver side and remove the tire - PUT THE JACK STAND IN PLACE SO THE TRUCK DOESN'T FALL ON YOU!!!
13) Take the zip ties and put one around the bottom of the shock and the top of the shock - don't tighten down yet. Now with other zip ties tied together, hook the top and bottom togeather. Once you have the zip ties in place, tighten the top and bottom zip tie so it is tight around the shock. Tighten the zip tie loop that hooks the bottom and top ones togeather until it is snug.
14) Now loosen the bottom bolt with either a wrench or a socket.
15) Loosen the three nuts that are holding the bracket down. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE SHOCK ZIP TIED DOWN!
16) Now the fun part, I was unable to get the bolt loose on the top of the shock so I could remove the bracket (honestly it was too tight in there!), so I pulled the whole thing out altogether. Another pair of hands might be good, but I was able to do it. Take a screwdriver and put threw the bottom of the shock to hold it up and compress the shock down - if your shock is poor shape, you should be able to do this, if not, why are you replacing your shocks? Tighten the zip tie loop to keep the shock from opening up. Keep compressing the shock as much as you can. I got mine down to 3-4 inches of the bottom.
17) After getting the shock compressed, you should be able to wiggle the shock and bracket out of there, take this slow since you don't want to pull some wires loose or break something!
18) Now take the nut off the top of the old shock and save the bracket, you won't need anything else but the bracket.
19) Take the boot for the shock and put it on and zip tie it down now since it will be near impossible to put it on when the shock is inside the spring.
20) Now feed the shock down through the spring.
21) Put the bolt in on the bottom and get it finger tight.
22) Put on the steel washer, followed by the rubber bushing, followed by the bracket, followed by the other bushing, followed by the steel washer and finally the nut.
23) Take a 3/4 wrench and put into the bracket where there is a 3/4 nut to hold the shock. Using the bracket to hold the 3/4 wrench, go on top and use the 3/4 socket to tighten down the shock to the bracket.
24) Tighten the bottom bolt off the shock.
25) Now is a good time to set the setting of the shock before you put the tire back on.
26) Now put the tire back on and head over to the other side.
27) Remove the air box since it will make life easier with it off.
28) Remove the tire.
29) Do pretty much the same steps as before, but I had to use a socket with an extension on the bottom bolt - a short 21mm socket would work better than a long one, but it did work with a long one.
30) Now go around all the shocks and double check to make sure all the bolts are tight!
31) Start up the air compressor and check the tires - since the spare is off, this is a good time to make sure it has the correct pressure in it!
I wish I would have taken pictures of this process, but my hands got really dirty and that wouldn't go good with the camera.
I hope this is useful post for those that are wanting to replace their shocks soon. I'd highly recommend taking the time and do it yourself. It really isn't that hard of a thing to do, just takes some time and muscle to do it.
Michael
