Question... granted its raining and I cant get a good look, but looking at the rear stock shock.. following it up to find the bolt at the top.... and it disappears into a metal bulge that hangs down... where and how do i get to the bolt?

Ducky who is really confused..

 

Its up there alright. I doubt you'll actually be able to see it, but you can feel for it. That's the only crappy part about changing the rear shocks.

 

If you look real close you can see that you can gain access on the side of the bulge you are talking about. It is very tricky to get a wrench on the nut, but it can be done.

It helps to remove the spare.

 

Haha! You aren't done with the last of those words:

I fear the day when I have to redo mine.

 

One more thing...

I received some sound advice on this board prior to installing my lift and it paid off BIG TIME!

Spray those bolts w/ PB Blaster once a day for 5 days straight. I had no problems getting them off. Or to be totally honest my friends had no problem taking them off. I made myself look busy on the front shocks just so I didn't have to climb up under there and do some weird yoga position in order to get the wrench back there.

 

I'm going to be helping Ducky here install all this on Friday. I don't have a 4Runner, but from what I can see from pics on the web, looks like you have to get something like locking pliers up there to hold the shaft from rotating, and then get a wrench on the nut. Where a normal socket and ratchet wouldn't work cause you are gripping the top of the shaft with a pair of locking pliers. What about using a box end ratcheting wrench? Wouldn't that work? I don't know how much room is up there to actually swing the wrench, but the ones I have seen at Sears have as small as a 5 degree movement for the ratcheting action. Would this work out well?

 

Tight spot working those nuts loose.
Best way I have found is to have a buddy hold the nut with a ratchet wrench while you use a strap wrench to turn the shocks.
You will need to use PB to loosen those nuts though.

Ive done this a couple of times and it works great this way.

 

I didn't have a wrachet wrench when we did mine, but what worked for me (and others) was to put a socket up there, brace it aginst the frame, and then use a strap wrench to turn the shock out.

 

Just did mine two days ago...P I T A !!!! Haha, I didn't do anything prior to help it out, and I paid dearly!!! I used channel locks on the shock and a flexible socket wrench to turn the bolt off.


Install was much easier!!! Worth it too, I can't believe the ride quality difference. Did both front and rear and WOW, not only did my phantom sounds go away, but I don't hit the roof with any little bump!

Have fun!

 

Old thread, but just so everyone knows, with 2 people, this is easily done. We dropped the spare tire, then I crawled up under the truck. I'm short enough to where I could basically sit under the truck without having to hunch too much. I held the top nut with a socket, and Ducky used a strap wrench to turn out the shock. Thanks for that great suggestion!

 

Cool. Glad it worked out for you guys.
Ducky's rig looks damn beefy now.

 

Hey phxtrd,
how tall are you?? I definately have that problem too! I'm 6ft 8!

Glad you got everything in all right! Nothing like saving a few bucks and doing it yourslef! Did you do the fronts too? How did you do it phx? We couldn't find a sprint compressor that would work. After trying three, I gave up and took it to a shop.

 

I'm about 5ft 7. Fronts were easy, well bolting them in was easy. Got the Sway-A-Ways up front. Tough part was cranking those up. But I didn't have to do it, since it was Ducky's truck. I just supervised that part.

 

That is the easiest way. Once the factory metal stover lock nuts are gone, it's east to change the shocks. God knows I have way too many times.