Very helpful for changing front & rear shock on my 2002 E-150. Lifting by the frame and then lifting the front arms with a jack made the front fairly easy. For the rear, I used a vice grip with a chain wrapped around the hollow chamber and that gave me the friction I needed to loosen the upper nut. Never needed to loosen or remove any other parts. I used the auto repair shop on my local military installation and the job took me 4 hours to complete.
Bruh I applaud 👏 your patience doing this job. Ill just pay the guys to do it. Id need to buy at least 3 more tools and not fond of having my van on car stands. Plus all the cussing and full day to complete it when I can just work an extra shift at work. But i do thank you for the trouble filming
This is a public service announcement for anyone with limited experience planning to attempt this job on your own van. Please reply if you have clarifications to offer. Basic point: before doing this job, check the drivers side rear wheelwell to make sure you can see the shock stud over the frame rail and that it is not obscured by any hoses. None of the videos on youtube really convey the potential difficulty of removing the top nut from the old shocks. The problem is extremely limited access. It’s enough access to get the new shock on and tightened, but chances are the old shocks aren’t going to come off like butter and so the access becomes inadequate in that case. There is potential for the nut to seize or strip. If it doesn’t seize or strip, then you’re good with the videos on youtube, but if it does, then you have no options (that I know of) other than going through the wheelwell with a sawsall with a 12” metal blade (which is dangerous because the gas tank is about 2 inches away) and carefully cutting the top stud off through the bushing area, or just brute force break the stud off the shock by wrestling with the bottom part (which is not guaranteed to work). Access through the wheelwell is crucial, and in my case with a 1998 E150 conversion (check your van for this too!), your access to the top shock nut through the wheel well on the drivers side will be blocked by three lines: The gas tank atmospheric return line, and the two coolant lines to the rear climate unit. You will need these out of the way for access and also because you wouldn’t want to accidentally cut them. The gas vent line is pretty easy to disconnect and pull out of the way, but there is no way to reroute the coolant lines without disconnecting them, and you can’t disconnect them without draining the coolant. In my case I just took the opportunity to delete the entire rear unit.
Rides quite nicely now. Soaks up the bumps and does not have nearly as much body roll in turns. I still need to fix the sway bar bushings to get rid of the clunks I feel in the steering wheel whenever I hit a bump though.
Can you elaborate a bit more on where you see salt? The van spent its entire life in the South so there should not be any road salt that has been sprayed on the frame. Most parts of still have the factory undercoat actually.
I appreciate the feedback. I do talk a lot and I do show a lot. I don't know the skill level of the folks watching so I err towards it's someone who hasn't done much wrenching so I tend to add gratuitous explanation to help that person along. To someone with experience, I do talk waaay too much. For those folks I hope that skipping forward in the video to the part you need help with gets it done for you.
If you've a better faster easier way to do this, I'm all eyes and ears. As I (almost) always end my videos, I do check comments and try to learn from those who know better on things.
Very helpful for changing front & rear shock on my 2002 E-150. Lifting by the frame and then lifting the front arms with a jack made the front fairly easy. For the rear, I used a vice grip with a chain wrapped around the hollow chamber and that gave me the friction I needed to loosen the upper nut. Never needed to loosen or remove any other parts. I used the auto repair shop on my local military installation and the job took me 4 hours to complete.
I'm glad my video helped. The fronts weren't bad at all. The rears.. what a pain.
Bruh I applaud 👏 your patience doing this job. Ill just pay the guys to do it. Id need to buy at least 3 more tools and not fond of having my van on car stands. Plus all the cussing and full day to complete it when I can just work an extra shift at work. But i do thank you for the trouble filming
The fronts were not bad at all, two hour job even with filming. The rears.... I know why they didn't replace the rears.... Thanks for watching!
This is a public service announcement for anyone with limited experience planning to attempt this job on your own van. Please reply if you have clarifications to offer.
Basic point: before doing this job, check the drivers side rear wheelwell to make sure you can see the shock stud over the frame rail and that it is not obscured by any hoses.
None of the videos on youtube really convey the potential difficulty of removing the top nut from the old shocks. The problem is extremely limited access. It’s enough access to get the new shock on and tightened, but chances are the old shocks aren’t going to come off like butter and so the access becomes inadequate in that case. There is potential for the nut to seize or strip. If it doesn’t seize or strip, then you’re good with the videos on youtube, but if it does, then you have no options (that I know of) other than going through the wheelwell with a sawsall with a 12” metal blade (which is dangerous because the gas tank is about 2 inches away) and carefully cutting the top stud off through the bushing area, or just brute force break the stud off the shock by wrestling with the bottom part (which is not guaranteed to work).
Access through the wheelwell is crucial, and in my case with a 1998 E150 conversion (check your van for this too!), your access to the top shock nut through the wheel well on the drivers side will be blocked by three lines: The gas tank atmospheric return line, and the two coolant lines to the rear climate unit. You will need these out of the way for access and also because you wouldn’t want to accidentally cut them. The gas vent line is pretty easy to disconnect and pull out of the way, but there is no way to reroute the coolant lines without disconnecting them, and you can’t disconnect them without draining the coolant. In my case I just took the opportunity to delete the entire rear unit.
Thanks for the info.
One question, how does it ride with the new shocks? Thanks.
Rides quite nicely now. Soaks up the bumps and does not have nearly as much body roll in turns. I still need to fix the sway bar bushings to get rid of the clunks I feel in the steering wheel whenever I hit a bump though.
Wash that salt off and coat with Fluid Film. Your gonna rot out from rust.
Can you elaborate a bit more on where you see salt? The van spent its entire life in the South so there should not be any road salt that has been sprayed on the frame. Most parts of still have the factory undercoat actually.
I’m sure you’re really good. But you spent more time talking than showing. Please show, not talk. TH-cam not you talk. Just candid feedback for ya
I appreciate the feedback. I do talk a lot and I do show a lot. I don't know the skill level of the folks watching so I err towards it's someone who hasn't done much wrenching so I tend to add gratuitous explanation to help that person along. To someone with experience, I do talk waaay too much. For those folks I hope that skipping forward in the video to the part you need help with gets it done for you.
Put the tools down
If you've a better faster easier way to do this, I'm all eyes and ears. As I (almost) always end my videos, I do check comments and try to learn from those who know better on things.