Need some help - installing rear shockies

[crow]

Hi I am attempting to replace rear shocks on my 74 3.0 csi. Don't have any data in the blue books on this subject.

You would think a pretty simple process...but the angle of the bolt that secures the base of the shockie is on an angle toward the ground. To lean the shockie to the correct angle to slide on to the bolt means that it does not line up with the tower that goes into the trunk. You can slide it on to the bolt by rotating the shock so that the top points to the ground, but you can't compress the shock enough to rotate it to the upward position and clear the inner guard.

As an aside, I notice that the top of the shock tower has been cut out before and a replacement piece welded in - perhaps the same issue last time?

Does anyone have any ideas here or am I missing something completely?

Any help is greatly appreciated

Cheers
Andrew

 

[bill]

I recently removed the rear shocks from my parts car. It wasn't a straight-forward process, and took a lot of grunting and at least two beers to complete. To install, you should have the rear end of the car on jack stands, with the trailing arms hanging unsupported, so that you can push down on the trailing arms to get clearance needed to install the shocks (install the bottom first, then align the top into the tower.) The shocks will need to be fully compressed, of course.
Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[CookeD]

...all of this work is done after the car is safely on jackstands... As always, safety first!

Also, I don't know if this is the "correct" method, but it's the one that I used.

It's easiest to disconnect the half-shafts at the trailing arm, so that the trailing arm will fall all the way down. This also keeps the half-shaft from binding on either end and damaging anything.

Take the big nut off of the lower shock mount. Put a floorjack under the trailing arm to keep weight off of the nut at the top of the shock. Jack it away from the calipers / lines, and on the flat area of the trailing arm. Just take the weight off of the shock rod so that the nut is easy to remove; no need to jack up. Half-shaft off, nut at the shock rod off, slowly lower the jack. The spring will basically fall out, and the shock will fall through the upper mount. You're good.

With this method, you can spend more time drinking beer and less time beating each shock with a mallet.