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Shocks: So easy a blind 6 year old can do it in 5 mins. with a Spongebob screwdriver

Original_MudButt said:
Define educated....

I work as staff at the local university, and I can tell you from personal experience, these are some of the dumbest smart people I've ever met.
Click to expand...

Desk job types. People who don't work with tools for a living.
Trust me, they have no idea what an awl is.
It's a specialty tool for those in the business only.
They do not own a drill or socket set.
They hire someone to hang up a painting. (I'm not making this up)
Do you know that most people today do not know how to open their hood of the car?
Most people would not be able to identify a fuse from a giraffe.
And 60% of cars are leased. I know more than one person who has never changed the oil during their entire 30k mile lease.
This is what they know. Turn key. Press gas. THAT'S IT.

So, trust me when I say, blasting out a welded nut is some hardcore gearhead stuff that few people know.
Change shocks? Most people don't even know what they LOOK like!
Mechanics don't charge $150 for 15 mins. of work on accident.
 
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Ok, back to topic. I've decided to let a professional do the rear shocks, as they have the right tools to do that kind of job. I do not have the caliber of garage setup for that job. Others have said it is impossible to punch out the weld nuts by hand. That's all I need to hear.

I was thinking of trying the front shock, the one with the "pin" that points up, but I have no idea how you remove the front shock at the top.
I do not see how to shock comes off. I only see 2 bolts at the bottom.
But what about the top? Where are the bolts? Do you need to cut off that boot first?
Are there bolts underneath? Do you need to buy a replacement boot, or do all front shocks come with one?

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Thank you! None of the write-ups I've read say how to remove the front shocks. This looks nothing like the rear shocks, where all the bolts are visible, which all the write-ups seem to be about.
 
Shut up or stop trolling. One or the other.

We've led the horse to water, now drink, dammit.

No writeup is needed because anyone with an understanding of cause and effect, or for that matter a rudimentary ability to follow lines, poke things, and watch to see if other things move requires a writeup to change the front shocks on a ****ing XJ.
 
My god that's a rusty shock
 
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WOW, from the looks of that picture, you could probably give it a swift kick and it would fall off!!! That is some uhhh, should I say shocking,:roflmao: looking rust for this Texan.

One tool I found to be handy is a sawsall (electric)

http://compare.ebay.com/like/110357412592?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar

They cut through steel like a knife through melted butter. But are not good on cramped spots.

I have never seen a shock with a boot quite like that, But I almost never replace shocks, they seem to last forever down here (Houston). You just use the steel washers and bushings that come with the new shock and trash the old boot/bushing. One threaded nut is top side, on top of a steel washer and rubber bushing, bottom side of the top shaft gets a steel washer then a rubber bushing, jeep sheet metal is sandwiched in the middle. Take the top nut off, then the two bottom bolts, and the shock is off.

I have had pretty good luck soaking rusted stuff daily for a few days in PB blaster before I try to remove them, but if the rust is bad enough (like yours in that picture) you can still twist the nut off and or break the shaft, what is left of it. Then you need the next level of skills if it is a welded nut with the rusted junk still stuck in it!!!! So unless you want to learn how to cut and weld now and buy the tools for that, or do simple sheetmetal work, like drilling sheetmetal, and so on, you should have a local shop do it. Not Walmart, but a real hard core shop that can cut and weld too. You could try the bolts and nut after soaking in PB Blaster to see if they come loose real easy first?
 
kastein said:
Shut up or stop trolling. One or the other.

We've led the horse to water, now drink, dammit.

No writeup is needed because anyone with an understanding of cause and effect, or for that matter a rudimentary ability to follow lines, poke things, and watch to see if other things move requires a writeup to change the front shocks on a ****ing XJ.
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While I agree with you on the simplicity of this task, one of the reasons I stopped letting others work on my junk, was when I was 20, I had a brand new Ford Pinto (bought it when I was 18) that needed brake work its second year. (I drove the peyotes out of it when gas was gas .29/gallon, LOL).

I took it to Meineke, and they improperly installed the front shocks on that simple car twice in a row and the shocks busted before I got off the lot when I hit a pot hole. I had no knowledge of shock installation and I watched them install the third set, and I had to show them what they were doing wrong. Some how they managed to install the shocks fully extended while the car was on the ground. As soon as the car tried to rise above resting level, it tried to lift the front wheel off the ground :eek: and broke the shock! It was shocking to say the least. So if so called pros can screw it up.....?????

Lets just face it, most of us here have great skills at opening a black box we have seen before and fixing it, some times better than new!!!


I later caught them as they were about to complete a front wheel bearing grease job and brake job as they forgot to install the lock nut and cotter pin in the axle shaft. You know the one keeps the wheel on the front shaft? :wow:
 
Original_MudButt said:
Seriously, You cannot look at the two pictures above and come up with a solution?

I pray for our future.....

I honestly think we have been trolled.... Hook, line, and sinker...
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Pray Hard sir!!!!! WE need it!! Take a look at the average youtube how to videos out there, and you will find them taking 30-60 minutes to show you how to do a 5-10 minute shock replacement. I fell asleep watching some of them while waiting for the 10 second part I needed to answer my question.

Most people have no mechanical skills at all. The younger they are, the worse it is getting I fear. Then to top it off, the hardware is getting exponentially more complex.
 
Kevin108 said:
You went back to those clowns after the shocks? :wstupid:
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NO, I had gone in for new brake pads only, got sold a bill of goods with "You need new shocks, brakes, wheel bearing seals......" and I was a young, green, wet behind the ears, LOL, 19-20 year old. The factory seals were fine. I had just checked them and greased the bearings, which is why I knew I needed new brake pads.

They damaged the bearing grease seal doing the brake job the wrong way (I had bought and read my first FSM by then). I discovered the grease leak, and made them fix it while I stood over the guy doing the work the last time I let them touch it. I let the clown finish, then dragged the manager over, and made him look for the mistake as the clown pulled the grease cap back off. The manager about had a heart attack when he saw the cotter pin and nut keeper/ring missing.

I have never let one of those chain outfits do any brake work on anything I have owned since then.
 
Ecomike said:
Pray Hard sir!!!!! WE need it!! Take a look at the average youtube how to videos out there, and you will find them taking 30-60 minutes to show you how to do a 5-10 minute shock replacement. I fell asleep watching some of them while waiting for the 10 second part I needed to answer my question.

Most people have no mechanical skills at all. The younger they are, the worse it is getting I fear. Then to top it off, the hardware is getting exponentially more complex.
Click to expand...

I can only pray I have a son one day so that I can show him everything I know about vehicles and working with metal etc... He will be no emo kid like 85% of the kids of today's time... He will be one of the rare kids who doesn't wear skinny jeans
 
I suppose it's probably a good idea for bimmerjeeper to take his shocks to a professional, but he's going to have to settle for whatever off-beat solution they come up with if they shear off a bolt. I would not be surprised to see anything at all these days, from drilling a nasty hole through the whole floor, to leaving a bolt out, to some solution that costs an arm and a leg.

I don't know who told him that you can't get those nuts out. a piece of 3.8 inch rod or a good sized drift pin and a hammer, and boing, out they go. Almost any one of the subsequent solutions given out here will result in a shock that's well mounted and easier to replace next time.
 
I told him that, because mine wouldn't come out on a 96 due to really solid welds but a friends came out easy on an 01 and another came out easy on a 99. He immediately assumed this was a problem to be solved by thor himself with five hundred thousand dollars worth of specialized tools such as brains, fingers, a hammer, and a punch, maybe a dremel and some screwdrivers, no matter what.

I have no idea what year he has (BECAUSE HE NEVER POSTED THIS INFO*) and frankly I think he should go buy a car for 20k like any logical new yorker with a bimmer and a lot of money, and as a side effect stop posting...

* like the FAQ says you should when asking "tech" questions. Apparently reading and thinking are not his strong points, is anyone surprised?
 
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