Front Shock install in 12 Easy Steps

[moviewithnotitle]

Someone had asked about this a short time ago, and seeing as I have gotten a lot of good info from this site, I wanted to return the favor.

This install was on my 1996 Tahoe 2dr with the 5.7L. but I am pretty certain not much changed from the 1996-1999 models.

Step one:
Shut off vehicle
Set Parking Brake
Chock both rear tires (front and back)

Step two:
Jack up one tire just a few inches off the ground (tire should spin freely)
Remove tire

Step Three:
Removed splash guard from inner fender-well. (I only removed 3 of the fittings that held this in place, which gave me plenty of room to access the upper shock mount)

Step Four:
It's wise to give each of the bolts/nuts a shot of WD40 or PB Blaster to ease in removal. Now, Remove shock mount bolts (no preference on upper or lower first) (My sizing was 18mm for both the bolt and the nut. I used 3/8th deep sockets on both the bolt and the nut. Break the bolts free with the ratchet and then use your air-ratchet to zip them out)

Step Five:
Pry free the old shock from both the upper and lower mounts.
(the bolts holding the shock in tend to squeeze the mounts in on the shock bushings. A large screwdriver or a small prybar should do the trick)

Step Six:
Slide the old shock out the bottom and just behind the Lower control Arm. (This is the natural drop position if you were to let gravity do the job)

Step Seven:
Clean the upper and lower shock mounts & bolts/nuts. (I used a spray bottle of soap and water and a rag. You're just looking to create a clean mount to install the new hardware)

Step Eight:
Install New shock. Insert the shock in the revers order of the removal method in Step Six. Slide shock in place and use the upper shock mount bolt/nut to hold the shock in place. Install the lower shock bolt/nut and tighten everything up snug. (You may have trouble squeezing the shock into the mounts due to the issue covered in Step Five. I did personally and used a rubber mallet to GENTLY tap the shock into position, it really won't take much effort to get it into position)

Step Nine:
Review your work, double check bolts/nuts

Step Ten:
Reinstall splash guard on fender-well.

Step Eleven:
Reinstall Wheel onto vehicle torquing the nuts properly.

Step Twelve:
Drink Beer, Smoke Cigar, Lay by pool, enjoy life!

Hope this is helpful to some.

MWNT

 

[the big blue bus]

this brings back memories.... good write up man thanks

 

[AtomicHoe094]

how do those bilsteins ride??

 

[moviewithnotitle]

how do those bilsteins ride??

They ride pretty well. Especially since what I took our were the original shocks that came with the truck.

Definitely smoothed out the ride quality. Much better then the original shocks. Tightened up the front slightly and made me realize how bad I need to attend to my steering components. So far, very happy with the Bilstiens.

 

[AtomicHoe094]

thats cool, whered ya get em at and how much?

 

[moviewithnotitle]

thats cool, whered ya get em at and how much?

I sourced them thru Summit. They were i think about $65/ea (i'd have to review the invoice). I still have the rears to install, but they were ab0out the same price as well.

I was originally going to go with the Edelbrock ISA's, but went the Bilsteins at the last minute.

 

[99Yuk]

Hi. There are two types of Bilsteins for our trucks? Can you give out the part number of your fronts that you installed, I could almost see the part number from the pics, but then shock is round and well.........


Thanks!