Removing rear shocks

[busmup808]

Wow lau lau. Back from the dead 7 years later. [emoji523]


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[brillo_76]

I used cutting torches [ not reccomend] and plasma cutters, and sawzall to remove all rear shocks on the 3rd gens.

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[Mark_BC]

There ain't a chance in h*ll I'm getting any tool in the drivers side due to the e-locker cable routing through there so I'm gonna cut a hole in the body to make an access panel. Bonus mod :rockon:

 

[NC-Limited]

I had to cut mine off also


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[3bears]

There ain't a chance in h*ll I'm getting any tool in the drivers side due to the e-locker cable routing through there so I'm gonna cut a hole in the body to make an access panel. Bonus mod :rockon:

Is that the stock elocker wire.....i will have to look at mine and see but I dont remeber it being in the way on this one, but I hope not as I will be hitting shocks on this one soon
...my old one was a swapped in elocker, and it was not in the way, as harness was new and ran where I wanted.

 

[Mark_BC]

So I cut the access hole, a circle 3" diameter. I used a drill to do some small holes around the perimeter and then cut it between with a jig saw. I got the hole in just the right location. The hole doesn't allow you to get on the nut parallel but with a swivel joint you can access with a breaker bar. To get on parallel to the bolt you'd have to cut through multiple layers of bodywork which I am not interested in doing.

That's all irrelevant anyways since I couldn't do it. There isn't much rust on this truck but that nut was rusted on good. I ended up hitting it with the propane torch. I removed all the wiring mount clips which was a pain (I dont recommend ever doing this), filled with sand to cover the rubber bushing, and put a large washer around the nut to protect below from heat. And I had a fire extinguisher and hose ready to go.

With someone holding the shock below I managed to remove one nut but I bent the top bolt. The other bolt just sheared off. I do not recommend trying to salvage old shocks, just get new ones. But I do recommend cutting this access hole which will allow for easy installation of the new shock and yearly inspection, cleaning and application of rust inhibitor.

I cant seem to attach photos from my phone so I'll add later.