How do you remove the front shocks on a 2014?
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KPT2 (07-07-2014)
07-07-2014, 11:53 AM
#13
Don't believe everything you hear on the internet. The LCA is the only way, other than the tie rod, to change the alignment. If you unbolt it from the frame, you need to either mark it so you can put it back to the same spot, or get an alignment. After the leveling kit you will need an alignment anyways. If you simply undo the lower balljoint you can remove the strut. If you are struggling, watch some youtube videos on how to do it by hitting the side of the spindle with a hammer. It may require a bit of force to push the LCA down.
07-07-2014, 05:28 PM
#14
Senior Member
Originally Posted by azmidget91
Don't believe everything you hear on the internet. The LCA is the only way, other than the tie rod, to change the alignment. If you unbolt it from the frame, you need to either mark it so you can put it back to the same spot, or get an alignment. After the leveling kit you will need an alignment anyways. If you simply undo the lower balljoint you can remove the strut. If you are struggling, watch some youtube videos on how to do it by hitting the side of the spindle with a hammer. It may require a bit of force to push the LCA down.
I have posted this before, and will do it again. Up thru the 2013 models, you SHOULDN'T have to unbolt the LCA from the frame to remove the strut. This is because of the way the strut mounts to the LCA. It uses a single CROSSBOLT that does NOT increase the practical length of the strut. See pic below:
^ That's a 2013 and previous. Once you take that crossbolt out, the LCA has to only move down a slight amount to get the strut out. It MIGHT need a pry bar to get fully out of the way, but you don't have to work hard to do it. Now, see pic below of a 2014 LCA and strut mount:
There are TWO VERTICAL BOLTS that are PERMANENTLY attached to the strut. I guess you could remove them, but they are not meant to come apart from the strut. They are 3" inches long, and make the practical length of the strut that much longer. That means you have to lower/pivot the LCA that much further to get the strut out. When I installed my 1.5" AS kit on my truck (at 2014) it was damn near impossible to get the LCA that far down, much less worrying about stressing the CV joint(s) if you left the hub attached to the LCA. The only way to feasibly get the strut out was to undo the two large bolts that hold the LCA to the frame.
Trust me when i tell you that undoing the LCA from the frame on a 2014 is WAY easier than otherwise. You may not get the LCA mounted perfectly back where it was before, but you CAN get it close enough so that the alignment (which you WILL need after putting in a lift/level kit) is not far off. Mine was only slightly out of line when we checked it.
Bottom line is, if you have a 2014, just do yourself a favor and dismount the LCA from the frame to get the strut out.
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Damn Dirty Ape (07-09-2014)
07-08-2014, 11:28 AM
#15
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Thread Starter
Installed the spacers last night with no issues by removing the lca bolts. I also added aligned cam nuts so they can really get the aligned dialed in. Thanks everyone for the help
07-17-2014, 06:49 PM
#16
just a point of clarification:
I have posted this before, and will do it again. Up thru the 2013 models, you SHOULDN'T have to unbolt the LCA from the frame to remove the strut. This is because of the way the strut mounts to the LCA. It uses a single CROSSBOLT that does NOT increase the practical length of the strut. See pic below:
^ That's a 2013 and previous. Once you take that crossbolt out, the LCA has to only move down a slight amount to get the strut out. It MIGHT need a pry bar to get fully out of the way, but you don't have to work hard to do it. Now, see pic below of a 2014 LCA and strut mount:
There are TWO VERTICAL BOLTS that are PERMANENTLY attached to the strut. I guess you could remove them, but they are not meant to come apart from the strut. They are 3" inches long, and make the practical length of the strut that much longer. That means you have to lower/pivot the LCA that much further to get the strut out. When I installed my 1.5" AS kit on my truck (at 2014) it was damn near impossible to get the LCA that far down, much less worrying about stressing the CV joint(s) if you left the hub attached to the LCA. The only way to feasibly get the strut out was to undo the two large bolts that hold the LCA to the frame.
Trust me when i tell you that undoing the LCA from the frame on a 2014 is WAY easier than otherwise. You may not get the LCA mounted perfectly back where it was before, but you CAN get it close enough so that the alignment (which you WILL need after putting in a lift/level kit) is not far off. Mine was only slightly out of line when we checked it.
Bottom line is, if you have a 2014, just do yourself a favor and dismount the LCA from the frame to get the strut out.
I have posted this before, and will do it again. Up thru the 2013 models, you SHOULDN'T have to unbolt the LCA from the frame to remove the strut. This is because of the way the strut mounts to the LCA. It uses a single CROSSBOLT that does NOT increase the practical length of the strut. See pic below:
^ That's a 2013 and previous. Once you take that crossbolt out, the LCA has to only move down a slight amount to get the strut out. It MIGHT need a pry bar to get fully out of the way, but you don't have to work hard to do it. Now, see pic below of a 2014 LCA and strut mount:
There are TWO VERTICAL BOLTS that are PERMANENTLY attached to the strut. I guess you could remove them, but they are not meant to come apart from the strut. They are 3" inches long, and make the practical length of the strut that much longer. That means you have to lower/pivot the LCA that much further to get the strut out. When I installed my 1.5" AS kit on my truck (at 2014) it was damn near impossible to get the LCA that far down, much less worrying about stressing the CV joint(s) if you left the hub attached to the LCA. The only way to feasibly get the strut out was to undo the two large bolts that hold the LCA to the frame.
Trust me when i tell you that undoing the LCA from the frame on a 2014 is WAY easier than otherwise. You may not get the LCA mounted perfectly back where it was before, but you CAN get it close enough so that the alignment (which you WILL need after putting in a lift/level kit) is not far off. Mine was only slightly out of line when we checked it.
Bottom line is, if you have a 2014, just do yourself a favor and dismount the LCA from the frame to get the strut out.
Or am I missing something that will keep it somehow on the truck somewhere?
07-17-2014, 07:13 PM
#17
Senior Member
here's the deal ... if you are going to undo the LCA from the frame, then keep the LCA connected to the steering knuckle, and keep the steering knuckle connected to the UCA ... you will need a jack stand or something to support LCA and the rest of the assembly while you've got it undone, but that's easy to do.
Only if you're going to "try" to pivot the LCA down far enough to remove the shock/strut should you undo the lower ball joint from the LCA ... but as I said, that's the harder way to do it because of the vertical bolts on the strut. Then imagine adding 1.5 to 2" of length to it (spacer) and trying to get it back in place? LOL
Ps. you will still need to undo the tie rods and the sway bar links to pivot the LCA down ... just leave the UCA, knuckle, and LCA all connected ... just support the wheel hub and/or the LCA while it's disconnected from the frame to keep any undo stresses off the joints ...
Only if you're going to "try" to pivot the LCA down far enough to remove the shock/strut should you undo the lower ball joint from the LCA ... but as I said, that's the harder way to do it because of the vertical bolts on the strut. Then imagine adding 1.5 to 2" of length to it (spacer) and trying to get it back in place? LOL
Ps. you will still need to undo the tie rods and the sway bar links to pivot the LCA down ... just leave the UCA, knuckle, and LCA all connected ... just support the wheel hub and/or the LCA while it's disconnected from the frame to keep any undo stresses off the joints ...
Last edited by Wiggum; 07-17-2014 at 07:20 PM.
07-17-2014, 07:32 PM
#18
Unbolt the upper ball joint. Unbolt the tie rod. Unbolt the sway bar. Unbolt the cv shaft from the back. Undo the three bolts holding the top of the shock. Unbolt the two lower shock mounting bolts. Remove shock. Profit
07-17-2014, 09:01 PM
#19
here's the deal ... if you are going to undo the LCA from the frame, then keep the LCA connected to the steering knuckle, and keep the steering knuckle connected to the UCA ... you will need a jack stand or something to support LCA and the rest of the assembly while you've got it undone, but that's easy to do. Only if you're going to "try" to pivot the LCA down far enough to remove the shock/strut should you undo the lower ball joint from the LCA ... but as I said, that's the harder way to do it because of the vertical bolts on the strut. Then imagine adding 1.5 to 2" of length to it (spacer) and trying to get it back in place? LOL Ps. you will still need to undo the tie rods and the sway bar links to pivot the LCA down ... just leave the UCA, knuckle, and LCA all connected ... just support the wheel hub and/or the LCA while it's disconnected from the frame to keep any undo stresses off the joints ...
