Shocks...how difficult is the front??

[steved]

OK, forgot to look yesterday, got sidetracked... how difficult are the front shocks to replace in a 3rd gen... I have done a lot of 2nd gens, but this will be the first 3rd gen...



I know they are bolted in the same as the 2nd gens... that's not what I'm concerned about. I'm wanting to know how hard the shock is to get out of the truck once it's loose... I remember the driver's side being really difficult on my 94 and 99s... with the batteries and airbox reversed... does that make a significant difference??



I have about 4-5 hours to do this, don't want to not have a driveable truck...



Ohh, and the air bags made a huge difference in the sway in the rear... they really stiffened that up with no weight and only a minimum amount of air in the bags... really liked that. The only thing I didn't like was the universal bracket that half-arsed fits the driver's side... one of the ears sits on a bracket and not flat... with a little more engineering, they could have made a correct bracket...



Thanks in advance,



steved

 

[WUnderwood]

to me, the fronts were a pain, but once I figured out how to do it, it wasnt bad. I think I am a very slow mechanic, because I want everything done perfect. you need a long extension for the bottom bolt, and plenty of penetrating oil. I bought my truck from up north, and there was plenty of rust.



I took the bottom bolt out, and then worked on the top shock tower, with the 3 smaller bolts(16mm, I think) Be sure to have a hex key set to get the factory shock out.



hope this helps

 

[Turbo Kidd]

The fronts were a pain in the *** for me... . I live in Chicago, so I had some rust build up (Winter and road salt). While trying to get the bottom bolts out I broke the J-Nuts... then it got harder trying to get a wrench in there on the back side to stop the bolt / nut from spinning around. I would suggest spraying the bolts several times for a few days before you try changing the shocks... . It will make your job easier.



Oh yeah, the rear shocks took me about 20 minutes! :-laf

 

[BNH4221]

Steved,



Sure doesn't look too hard from a quick check under the hood. You may want to remove the tube from the air cleaner to the turbo to give yourself some more room. Looks like the towers will clear the batteries no problem.



Don't forget to let the front axle drop on each side when installing the new shock. Makes installing the top end much easier. Wish I had remembered before I did mine the last time The compression on the new shocks is a bear!



For a definitive answer to your question, wait about 5 months until I decide to do mine. I only work on the truck when it is about 3 degrees out. :-laf



Good luck -



Steve

 

[steved]

Thanks for the replies...



My truck should literally spin apart as I oil under coat it every fall... I just took the bump stops off the rear to install the airbags and found oil between the bumper and frame. While it might make a mess and be miserable to work on from a dirt aspect, it makes life so much nicer when I can spin every bolt out.



Hmm, the airtube is off the truck right now (gutted the tube), so I might take a peek and see how hard the driver's side is... I remember that being a jungle over there... that's more of a concern to me than stuff coming apart...



I tried to buy a set of ProComps ES9000s from Summit the other day and was told they have more returns on that manufacturers shock than any of the others... he recommended skyjackers so I bit... guess we will see how they fair... anything is better than the 90k stocker I have now (I can actually grab the shock and pull it back and forth... it makes a nice clunking noise when I do that!).



I did find out that Monroe makes Rancho... the local NTB has an advertisement from Monroe that shows both shocks and the discount (from Monroe) for either shock.



steved

 

[abranz]

What do you use to oil undercoat your truck and how do you do it?

Anthony

 

[WUnderwood]

also, I forgot to mention that I disconnected the intercooler boot from the turbo on the pass side off, to make the shock tower come out easier



hope this helps

 

[TAbbott]

OK, forgot to look yesterday, got sidetracked... how difficult are the front shocks to replace in a 3rd gen... I have done a lot of 2nd gens, but this will be the first 3rd gen...



I know they are bolted in the same as the 2nd gens... that's not what I'm concerned about. I'm wanting to know how hard the shock is to get out of the truck once it's loose... I remember the driver's side being really difficult on my 94 and 99s... with the batteries and airbox reversed... does that make a significant difference??



I have about 4-5 hours to do this, don't want to not have a driveable truck...



Ohh, and the air bags made a huge difference in the sway in the rear... they really stiffened that up with no weight and only a minimum amount of air in the bags... really liked that. The only thing I didn't like was the universal bracket that half-arsed fits the driver's side... one of the ears sits on a bracket and not flat... with a little more engineering, they could have made a correct bracket...



Thanks in advance,



steved

Regarding the air bag bracket that didn't fit, I took mine down to a freind w/ a bandsaw and a welder and took an inch out of the front leg. I had to grind a little bit on the bottom side of the "foot" that presses against the frame rail to clear a weld that was interfering but then it fit perfectly in the space between the brackets and fit flush against the rail.

 

[JacksonH]

Did mine a while ago, first time ever for this model. First shock was a little hard but once done, the 2nd one flew no problem. I added Rancho/ adjustables makes for a nice tight ride, as the stock one seemed like mush. The rears look reallt easy, next time around. have fun

 

[makelemen]

Did all 4 shocks in about 3 hours. Had to use a 2 foot step stool, the old milk crate isn't quite tall enough. Had to turn the tires to get to the bottom right shock bolt. Didn't remove anything.

 

[CMorton]

shock removal

Just removed a leveling kit from my 2500 this weekend. Obviously the shocks had to be removed. My recommendation is the passenger side can be removed with the shock tower still attached to the shock. The driver's side is much tighter. You need to remove the shock stud from the shock tower prior to removing the shock. This is hard to do with battery and master cylinder in the way but it's do'able. Living in California, rusted nuts aren't a problem. I had to worry about which shorts to wear and what radio station to listen to. Good luck

 

[steved]

What do you use to oil undercoat your truck and how do you do it?

Anthony

Responded to your PM...



steved

 

[steved]

Regarding the air bag bracket that didn't fit, I took mine down to a freind w/ a bandsaw and a welder and took an inch out of the front leg. I had to grind a little bit on the bottom side of the "foot" that presses against the frame rail to clear a weld that was interfering but then it fit perfectly in the space between the brackets and fit flush against the rail.

Mine's only hitting on the one leg... if I would have had a grinder (or a vise), I would have simply ground the foot down slightly or bent the entire leg slightly to clear the bracket and rest flat...



I might still do that since I just put it on there...



steved

 

[steved]

The driver's side is much tighter. You need to remove the shock stud from the shock tower prior to removing the shock. This is hard to do with battery and master cylinder in the way but it's do'able.

Yeah, after looking at the driver's side, I decided not to tackle this before my trip to Tennessee... probably get to it sometime this week.



The driver's side on mine looks like a PITA to get out of there... the passenger's side looks easy with the intake hoses off.



steved