Changed My Shocks Today
 

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Cap off.


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New Monroe shocks. $84.


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Lots of salt covering the old one.


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PB Blaster well applied to all nuts. May have been 18 or 19 mm wrench.


So I was debating doing this job myself or leaving it to a shop. I am very happy that I did it myself so far. The Pep Boys Monroe shocks were $84 for all 4. Took a little over two hours. Front ones were easy. Back took a little longer because the top nut to get the old ones out was hard to access. Rides much better so far. The old ones that I pulled were probably original with 134,xxx miles on them and 15 years old. Motor craft and still working ok but worn.

Part 2
 

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Old one out. Impact wrench was helpful on the bottom. Motor craft. 134,xxx miles. About 15 years old.


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Old one next to new Monroe.


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Empty space. About to install a new one.


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New one in.


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Rear one in. I did not take off the wheels for the rear. They were not fun compared to the front. Hard to get to the upper nuts. I removed the plastic cover on the old one with a box cutter. This allowed me to hold it in place with a open ended socket wrench(18 or 19mm) while I spun the nut off the top. Hard to get to but not a huge deal.


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New rear shock.

part 3
 

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Where the top of the rear shock mounts. Hope this one is less of a pain to get off someday.


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Old shocks.


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These got some good use out of them. Although the truck seemed to drive fine I did notice a little sway at about 65 mph if it was windy. With the new ones on I now notice it handles better all around. Good luck if you attempt this. I would do it again for sure.

Nice photo documentation. This is usually the most overlooked part on all vehicles affecting tire wear, steering control and comfort/safety ride. Living in Idaho's backcountry and rough roads I've tried to change shocks every 5 years or 50K miles. Again, Great job.

Thanks for the write up! I ordered some Monroe Reflex SUV shocks for 02 Supercrew last week from Rockauto.com


Going to put them on Monday if it warms up.

Thanks. I sure am glad I did it yesterday. Drove home from working today with about 6+ inches of new snow. 4x4 the whole way. The new shocks feel great. I will do mine again in 50k for sure if I still own the truck. Cheap peace of mind if I do it myself.

Warms up? It was 2 with wind chill here while I was working. I made sure to have the end I was working on in my garage. I would start with the back if I had to do it again. Much easier to finish the front with numb fingers then the rear. Those upper nuts were not in the best location but not too bad. Good luck and have fun.