I am planning on replacing all 4 shocks, both front calipers and the front rubber brake lines this weekend...any tips or things to look out for / replace while I am in there?

Neat story...I came home on my lunch and the FedEx truck pulls up as I am getting out of my car. Cute girl driving the truck, asks if this is my house and address and then gives me a box of RockAuto parts! Just about made my day! My wife was not too happy when I shared this story with her though...

 

Put the GOJO in the shower and take off your clothes before you enter the house.

 

Have fun with the rear shocks lol they tend to be very rusted and kind of a PITA. Drop your spare tire for more room. If you've done the job previously with brakes/suspension then its pretty straight forward.

 

My shocks are getting done hopefully next week. I have been soaking them with PB Blaster every other day for the last week... I hate rusty parts!

 

I am sensing a theme here...

It may be worth mentioning that most of the rust has been displaced from the rear end when I changed the fuel pump and evaporative vent valve last month. First order of business will be to sweep the garage out so I don't have to lay all over the "added lightness".

 

So the weekend turned into clean-out-the-garage time which means I did the front shocks last night; it went well. An unexpected hiccup was the 2 brake lines routed directly in front of the bolt head for the upper shock mount on the driver side front. The calipers will have to wait; I miscalculated the cost and I am not quite ready to part with $100 for 2 AutoZone specials.

One question regarding the rear shocks though; what is the bolt head size for the lower shock mounts on the rear? It is greater than 19 mm and I am hoping to avoid buying sockets until I find the size that works.

 

Atleast on the '95 I have , I found the front shocks more of a pain - the rears were a breeze and I believe 18mm or 19mm ? should be fine - I used a big crescent wrench or two 'cause I was to lazy to hunt and was already under there ... the monroe matic things on there were not that rusty but the Bilstien set I replaced them with was and is a nice upgrade.

 

Just went out and checked mine. The rear lower shock mounting bolts are 13/16ths. next week I get to attack mine... looking at all the rust on mine I'm tempted to just have a shop do it...

 

Thanks!

I hit up AutoZone on the way home from work last night and bought 3 new sockets: 20, 21 and 22 mm. The 21 mm fits the rear lower shock mount bolt perfectly. FYI, if you need to replace the rear upper shock mount bolts, they are M8-1.25 x 25 or 30 mm with a 13 mm head. I ended up throwing a lockwasher and flat washer in there for good measure. The fronts are all 18 mm heads; I did not replace any of them so I am unsure of the threads.

It really isn't that terrible...just hit the bolts and threads with penetrating oil a day or so prior to trying them and drive it that day. The only ones I was concerned about were the rear upper mounts, but once you get on them and don't round them, it is actually quite easy! (Get a breaker bar...)

The Bilsteins I pulled out of there actually all worked, which was very impressive, but they were very tired. Not much resistance compared to the new shocks. It makes all the difference in the world though...very rewarding once you finish it and see how it drives!

 

Do you need to throw in an alignment after you replace the rears?
Thanks!