Quick question on shock replacement

97 4x4 4.3



To change these I just;
jack up the truck
remove wheel
unbolt and remove old shock
replace and rebolt new shock
replace wheel
lower jack

Or is there something involving spring compression or some such I am aware of?



While I have your attention what shocks work well with 99% on-road and 1% offroad?

Thats all I did when I replaced my shocks...................


Theres plenty of threads on shocks in here if you do a search


Im loving my new Monroe Sensa Tracks they are great onroad. Never tried them off road yet, but im sure there will be a huge difference compared to the gas-matics I had before..........

For the front shocks, you may need to place the truck on a stand then use a jack to slightly raise the lower control arm to compress the shock and making the bolt removal much easier. Otherwise, depending on your torsion bar adjustment, the unsupported lower control arm may be fully extending the shock and causing the shock bolts to bind.

I always recommend replacing the shock bolts when doing the replacement seeing if the bolts are worn they can rattle around a bit. Also will make installation better.

I just changed shocks on my '95 a month or two ago. The front shocks have 19mm nuts and bolts, if I remember correctly. Not all socket sets, regular or impact, have this size. (At least the three sets my dad has and the one set I have.) Make sure you have all the tools you need before you start. I lost a couple days while I waited to borrow the socket from a friend.

Also, I had to unbolt the sway bar from the steering knuckle to get the socket and rachet in place. Supposedly, my sister-in-law's '96 didn't have this interference.

On a last note, I replaced the front sway bar bolts and bushings at the same time, which I got from Autozone. The bolts were too long to install them with the bolt head on the bottom and the nut on top. I had to flip the assembly upside down to prevent them from interfering with the steering arms.