How to Change Shock Absorbers
- 1). Lightly loosen the lug nuts on either side of the end you are starting with (doesn't matter which end goes first). Don't unscrew them more than about half a turn, but loosening them a little bit makes it easier to take them off once the car is jacked up. After jacking the end of the car up, position jack stands to hold it up while you work on it. Consult your owner's manual for the proper jacking points.
- 2). Remove the wheels and set them aside. Crawl under your car and locate the shocks. This is where things begin to differ from one car to the next. The shocks will either be mounted at the top by a horizontal bolt that must be loosened and tapped out of place, or they will be attached with a vertical bolt that must be removed from inside the engine bay or trunk. This is where a repair manual comes in handy.
- 3). Unbolt the nut holding the shock to the suspension at the bottom with a standard socket set, and remove it from the bolt. Repeat these steps with the nut located at the top, setting them aside in a manner in which you will remember which nut is which. Pull the shock absorber off of the bottom bolt, followed by the top. It should now be free to lay aside. It should be obvious, due to dirt that has accumulated on the old ones, but make sure you remember which shocks are the new ones and which ones are to be discarded.
- 4). Put the new shock absorber on in the same manner the old one came off. Slide it onto either the top or bottom bolt first, then onto the other one. You may have to apply some pressure with your hands to compress the shock slightly as it slides into place, but it normally won't require a lot of effort to get it onto the bolt. Once it's on, slide each nut onto the top and bottom bolts, and hand tighten them into place.
- 5). Tighten the bolts the rest of the way with your socket set. These do not have specific torque requirements, and a regular hand-operated socket set is enough to secure them into place. If you do decide to use a toque wrench anyway, simply tighten them to the same resistance that it took to remove the old ones, or consult your repair manual for exact numbers.
- 6). Move to the other side, and repeat the same steps to replace the other shock absorber. The parts should be identical from one side to another, so this part should go without a hiccup. Once both sides are completed, replace the wheels and crank the lug nuts back into place. At this point, you're halfway done. Move to the other end of the car and go back to Step 1 to replace the other two shock absorbers. These may be slightly different from the ones on the front, but the same steps will be used to replace these as well.
