My latest endeavor with my 97 anniversary , front shocks. But first, a testament to the robust design of the 80 series. Second, a general scowl to the engineers who placed the various components without consideration of mechanics accessibility to said components for servicing....
So there I was....(A nod to Jeff Foxworthy!)
I live in the northeast. So rust and corrosion (and the prior owners lack of maintenance) have been the Bain of my existence.
My drivers side front shock had pulled out of its lower mount, and when I say pulled out, the bottom of the shock stud was rusted to the point the nut/bushing/washers were gone.. So every bump sounded like parts of the truck were falling off. Compounded by the fact that the same side roll bar end link had also pulled out of its mount. Needless to say there was a lot going on with every pothole/speedbump. Doing my research on IH8MUD, The removal process seems to involve using a vice-grip on the top of the shock stud stem with a 17mm ratcheting wrench on the nut. How people manage to get a pair of vice grips in there is beyond me. So, doing additional research, I discovered that there is a special socket for the top (and bottom) of the shock stud. it involves a two piece socket, a 6.3mm DD socket for the oval top of the stud which fits inside another socket (which turns the 17mm nut) to hold the shock rod/strut from turning to remove the shock nut. I bought a Steelman kit Model 78554, which has every imaginable socket for struts/shocks etc. I bought it used on eBay for $200 (retail is $279-ish depending on vendor). I could not find where you could buy these pieces individually.
Moving on,
my advice would be when removing the front driver side shock (left side in US), remove the bottom nut first, compress the shock and move it out of the bottom axle mount such that it can be moved freely, this allows you or a second pair of hands to pull the bottom of the shock towards the hub/rotor to allow the said Steelman socket pair to clear the brake master cylinder (on the engine side of the MC) so that you can remove the top 17mm nut. Getting back to the corrosion part.........
The special Steelman socket pair was unable to budge the 17mm nut (Rust....). had to use a 17mm 'midlength' socket (not a shallow socket or a deep socket, somewhere in-between..) coupled with a swivel and an impact gun and some channel locks on the upper shock tube. [for those of you losing heart, the passenger side was a walk in the park.]. Fortunately it did break loose using this method. SUCCESS!!
Research all the different washers needed, Amayama parts website was very helpful for determining parts and part numbers needed. Keep all the different washers as intact as possible when removing the old shocks from the vehicle as a reference so you can install the new ones in the correct order.
Other things to consider; use anti-seize on the back of your wheels and inner wheel (where it fits over the hub) to allow them to separate from the hubs/rotors in the future (was a big problem with the rear wheels to do the end bar links removal, just easier access.. I used Kroil, BFH with a 6x6 block, Bernzomatic with MAPP gas, finally got them off). Other tools used; Milwaukee 1/2" drive electric impact gun, Solaray induction heater (well worth the money, $180 on Amazon)
The induction heater was especially useful for previously doing the front axle rebuild to get the lower knuckle stud nuts off.
I hope this was somewhat helpful for those of you attempting this repair. I just did stock replacement shocks, so I have no idea what the applicability is to after market shocks, but probably will give you an idea how to get the old ones off during your upgrade.
So there I was....(A nod to Jeff Foxworthy!)
I live in the northeast. So rust and corrosion (and the prior owners lack of maintenance) have been the Bain of my existence.
My drivers side front shock had pulled out of its lower mount, and when I say pulled out, the bottom of the shock stud was rusted to the point the nut/bushing/washers were gone.. So every bump sounded like parts of the truck were falling off. Compounded by the fact that the same side roll bar end link had also pulled out of its mount. Needless to say there was a lot going on with every pothole/speedbump. Doing my research on IH8MUD, The removal process seems to involve using a vice-grip on the top of the shock stud stem with a 17mm ratcheting wrench on the nut. How people manage to get a pair of vice grips in there is beyond me. So, doing additional research, I discovered that there is a special socket for the top (and bottom) of the shock stud. it involves a two piece socket, a 6.3mm DD socket for the oval top of the stud which fits inside another socket (which turns the 17mm nut) to hold the shock rod/strut from turning to remove the shock nut. I bought a Steelman kit Model 78554, which has every imaginable socket for struts/shocks etc. I bought it used on eBay for $200 (retail is $279-ish depending on vendor). I could not find where you could buy these pieces individually.
Moving on,
my advice would be when removing the front driver side shock (left side in US), remove the bottom nut first, compress the shock and move it out of the bottom axle mount such that it can be moved freely, this allows you or a second pair of hands to pull the bottom of the shock towards the hub/rotor to allow the said Steelman socket pair to clear the brake master cylinder (on the engine side of the MC) so that you can remove the top 17mm nut. Getting back to the corrosion part.........
The special Steelman socket pair was unable to budge the 17mm nut (Rust....). had to use a 17mm 'midlength' socket (not a shallow socket or a deep socket, somewhere in-between..) coupled with a swivel and an impact gun and some channel locks on the upper shock tube. [for those of you losing heart, the passenger side was a walk in the park.]. Fortunately it did break loose using this method. SUCCESS!!
Research all the different washers needed, Amayama parts website was very helpful for determining parts and part numbers needed. Keep all the different washers as intact as possible when removing the old shocks from the vehicle as a reference so you can install the new ones in the correct order.
Other things to consider; use anti-seize on the back of your wheels and inner wheel (where it fits over the hub) to allow them to separate from the hubs/rotors in the future (was a big problem with the rear wheels to do the end bar links removal, just easier access.. I used Kroil, BFH with a 6x6 block, Bernzomatic with MAPP gas, finally got them off). Other tools used; Milwaukee 1/2" drive electric impact gun, Solaray induction heater (well worth the money, $180 on Amazon)
The induction heater was especially useful for previously doing the front axle rebuild to get the lower knuckle stud nuts off.
I hope this was somewhat helpful for those of you attempting this repair. I just did stock replacement shocks, so I have no idea what the applicability is to after market shocks, but probably will give you an idea how to get the old ones off during your upgrade.
