front shocks

Discussion in 'Technical' started by 73curtis, May 17, 2015.

  1. 73curtis

    73curtis Member

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    are they hard to change? Replacing with kyb gas a just, did the rears and had a little trouble with the right rear,was hard to push it up enough to clear the bottom mount,they are so much better than the Monroe shocks that were on there. So I was wondering what was the best way to change the front , thanks
     
  2. Craig Selvey

    Craig Selvey Indiana State Rep - MCCI

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    With the weight of the car still on the suspension, remove the bottom inside nut first, then the outside bottom nut. You will also need to completely remove the top shock mount and pull the shock up through there.
     
  3. Crazy Larry

    Crazy Larry Member

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    They are super easy to replace. Leave the car on the ground and turn the wheels all the way outward on the side you're working on. There are 2 nuts on the bottom where they bolt to the upper control arm and 2 bolts on top. There are 3 bolts that hold the top mount on. Easy stuff.
     
  4. 73curtis

    73curtis Member

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    thanks, it just seems that for me a lot of the simplest jobs end up being hard, so it seemed like a easy job to do but just wanted to ask, I was going to to start by jacking the car up and removing the wheels, so I'm glad I asked , going to work on it today , thanks guys .
     
  5. 73curtis

    73curtis Member

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    got them changed your right ,very easy and a major difference in the ride, it had Monroe on it when I got the car but they didn't feel right , one was bad it would go down really easy and could barely pull it back out the other one was fine.
     
  6. ForrestMav

    ForrestMav Member

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    I have a similar question to the original post. I replaced all the front end suspension and steering. I have the car on jackstands and the engine and tranny are removed. Now the shock does not reach all the way to the spring perch to mount. Do I have to wait until I put the eng/tranny back in to have enough weight to compress the springs? Or has anyone done anything else, so I can install them now as it sits? I tried putting a jack under the LCA to compress the spring but it was not enough.
     
  7. dyent

    dyent Member

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    best to wait until engine/tranny back in car so there is enough weight to compress the coil springs to install your front shocks. Even if you did manage to install the shocks as is, too much stress would be placed on them, they where not designed to compress and hold the coil spring in place........as mentioned in all above posts, very easy to install later when engine/tranny back in car.
    David

    you could bolt them up onto the spring perch and just leave the upper mounting/bracket off until engine/tranny back in car. Once all weighted down, upper shock mounting/bracket can be bolted together. Just keep the shock compressed so not to damage the hard chroming on the shaft.......
    little easier to install while wheels are off, can use 1/4" sq dr. deep socket to tighten those lower mounting nuts.
     
    Last edited: Aug 18, 2015
  8. ForrestMav

    ForrestMav Member

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    Ok, thanks for the advice. That is what I thought and you also confirmed that it would be too much stress on the shocks for the extended period of time. Great idea because it will be easier to mount with the wheels off.
     

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