When i replace the front shocks on my 04 f150 do i need to compress the spring or can i just remove the shock and not worry about the spring.

thanks

 

you have to compress the spring (struts), and from what ive heard its a royal pain in the ***

 

it is a strut not a shock btw. yes you ahve to have it compressed. take the assembly off, any tireshop should be able to swap em out for you.

 

opps my bad, thats what i meant lol

 

It's a b!tch. The springs are tough as nails and then some. But,if you have an impact and can rent the spring compressors,its no big deal.

 

Places like Auto zone and Advance loan the spring compressor to you for free. You just gotta buy the new ones there. Be careful.

 

I got the struts out without a problem then i put my compressor on them and when i hit the top lock nut with my impact the bolt wont come off the bolt and the shock just spin. ive replaced struts before so i know that your supposed to just do short bursts with the impact but it still isnt working. any suggestions will be great thanks

 

there is a place on the shock shaft where it's flat, put a wrench or big cresent wrench on there and it will come right off