- Thread starter
- #21
Oh yes, learned that real quick... Mud was everywhere, whole truck is coated. The rear took forever and I ran out of time today, hopefully the weather will let me finish in the morning. Got the rears swapped out after a few hours
Doing my own shocks!
- Thread starter coveboy
- Start date
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Oh yes, learned that real quick... Mud was everywhere, whole truck is coated. The rear took forever and I ran out of time today, hopefully the weather will let me finish in the morning. Got the rears swapped out after a few hours
- Thread starter
- #22
Finished up today! Ride is so much better! Truck still vibrates due to needing some tires pretty desperately, but is a 1000 times better ride. Also brought my truck up about an inch all around, so now it looks and feels better!
So did you need to drill?
Did the fronts last week, and finally got the rears done today, along with airbags. After reading all the threads it was interesting to see how this went on a '99 LC that has lived in VA snow & salt all its life.
FRONTS:
It didn't take long to see that the top threads and the nut were going to be a struggle and drilling the housing was ON. Drilled a 1/4" hole through the upper cover off center to miss the piston rod and through the cover again. Followed up with a 1/2" drill, then ran a 3/8" socket extension through the holes to bear against the UCA. The stock shock body is quite soft, so drilling was a snap. The upper nut took a 19mm box wrench with a couple of feet of cheater pipe to break free. Once free, they came off fairly easily. Quick & simple.
REARS:
Not pretty. The upper nut and threaded shaft were badly rusted. Time to get serious. Turns out that the bushing between the shock body and the frame [and the shock shaft that runs through it] is very easy to access with a sawsall. Use some soapy water in a spray bottle to keep the blade lubricated and it will go through the rubber easily. Try it dry and you'll have a slow, smelly, melty mess on your hands. Less than a minute of cutting and the old shock was out.
Here's the upper nut and shaft. Would have been a struggle to get this off any other way. Note that the original bushing had held up well.
The shocks were shot, of course. They were the originals after nearly 240K miles. The one thing I regret is not having new bushing washers. If you are getting ready to do yours, suggest you get new washers for both front and rear. Rust never sleeps!
AIRLIFT:
The FSM procedure to remove the springs involves removing the sway bar brackets and disconnecting the lateral control rod. There was enough corrosion on the exposed ends of these bolts that they weren't coming out without a fight and a high risk of snapping bolts. Not worth the risk. Turns out that the rear axle will hang down far enough to remove both springs fairly easily, so it was done with everything hanging as far as the ASB links would allow. The airbag install was a snap.
NOTE: If you are removing the springs for any reason: They are not equal length!! Make match marks with a sharpie so you know which spring belongs on which side.
Its a different truck with the new shocks installed. Should have done it a long time ago. If your Hundy feels more like a trampoline than a truck, its time for new shocks!
FRONTS:
It didn't take long to see that the top threads and the nut were going to be a struggle and drilling the housing was ON. Drilled a 1/4" hole through the upper cover off center to miss the piston rod and through the cover again. Followed up with a 1/2" drill, then ran a 3/8" socket extension through the holes to bear against the UCA. The stock shock body is quite soft, so drilling was a snap. The upper nut took a 19mm box wrench with a couple of feet of cheater pipe to break free. Once free, they came off fairly easily. Quick & simple.
REARS:
Not pretty. The upper nut and threaded shaft were badly rusted. Time to get serious. Turns out that the bushing between the shock body and the frame [and the shock shaft that runs through it] is very easy to access with a sawsall. Use some soapy water in a spray bottle to keep the blade lubricated and it will go through the rubber easily. Try it dry and you'll have a slow, smelly, melty mess on your hands. Less than a minute of cutting and the old shock was out.
Here's the upper nut and shaft. Would have been a struggle to get this off any other way. Note that the original bushing had held up well.
The shocks were shot, of course. They were the originals after nearly 240K miles. The one thing I regret is not having new bushing washers. If you are getting ready to do yours, suggest you get new washers for both front and rear. Rust never sleeps!
AIRLIFT:
The FSM procedure to remove the springs involves removing the sway bar brackets and disconnecting the lateral control rod. There was enough corrosion on the exposed ends of these bolts that they weren't coming out without a fight and a high risk of snapping bolts. Not worth the risk. Turns out that the rear axle will hang down far enough to remove both springs fairly easily, so it was done with everything hanging as far as the ASB links would allow. The airbag install was a snap.
NOTE: If you are removing the springs for any reason: They are not equal length!! Make match marks with a sharpie so you know which spring belongs on which side.
Its a different truck with the new shocks installed. Should have done it a long time ago. If your Hundy feels more like a trampoline than a truck, its time for new shocks!
Last edited:
Hey Rob, promised I'd measure my 240K springs and here they are!
LH was 478 vs 486 spec length new
RH was 488 vs 492 spec length new
Both less that 10mm shorter than new spring length, and these have done a lot of towing with a very heavy hitch weight. I was a bit surprised that they were not seriously collapsed, but looks like they have stood up to the load pretty well. Would not expect any noticeable improvement from new springs based on this measurement. YMMV of course.
Did you replace the rear lower shock mount bolt? Also did you replace the front lower shock mount bolt and nut? They're not intended to be reused and only a few bucks to replace.
Yes. New hardware whenever an old structural fastener comes off - always. I was kicking myself for not ordering new bushing washers!