Does anyone know any tricks for getting to the upper bolts of the rear shocks on a 2-door 85 s-10 blazer? There is a concave indent which the shock bolts into, and it is too narrow to get a socket wrench into (even with an extension). There is not enough clearance between the body of the truck and the top of the bolts to get anything other than a flat wrench up on the other side of the indent. There is a metal piece on side of the wheel well, so taking off the tire doesnt help much. People have mentioned removing the spare tire to get more space, but thats where the gas tank is on mine. (I have the 20 gal tahoe package tank). Basically there isnt enough room to use anything other than flat/open wrenches, and only enough room to turn them about 1/8 turn before having to move the wrench. The front shocks were cake. The rear involved 3 hours of attempting to remove said upper bolts, and only getting one of them (plus really bruised up knuckles). Any advice or tricks would be appreciated.

 

I just went and compared prices on the same kind of shocks at NAPA and shockwarehouse and they were cheaper at NAPA.

 

2ish hours including 2 breaks for 2 smokes and 2 beers for all 4 shocks and taking my sweet **** time

 

I did mine like 2-3 hours and I screwed up on the first front and rear shocks but after that its a breeze. its a little challenging to unbolt the stop of the rear shocks especially if theres a bunch of dirt up there falling on your face...

 

Omg i know exctally how it was with the dirt falling in your face when doing it. Might sound retarded but I had to use goggles thats how bad it was falling into my eyes

 

lol yea I ended up using goggles too

 

I just did mine and the hardest part was getting the new shocks in. I ended up having to compress the shock and secure with tie wraps to get the replacements inbetween the upper control arm. Once I got them in place it was not much trouble getting the bolts installed. I installed Monroe Mono-tube shocks and the best price I found with shipping was from rock auto.

 

thanks to everyone for the pointers on how to replace the shocks.
i recently ordered to pairs of monroe sensi-trac shocks, new brake pads/ rotors and plan to install them this weekend. if everything gos well, i`ll be back with props or i may pop in to ask some pointers