Sebring 64 -
"Read 81 times" and not a single reply? Sorry. I did that job not long ago. Hardly a major project but no fun. Didn't help that decades of suspension grease had collected around the bottom mounts. Ugh.
Biggest and best tip comes from Joe A./ja17: if you're dealing with gas shocks (about 99% of what's on our cars) you Really Must get a couple of stout new 2 1/2" hose clamps and put one each near the bottom edge of the top piece of your shock. At least on Bilsteins --the brand that's no doubt there-- that top piece (a 'dust cover') is tough plastic and can be squashed tightly around the main, lower body portion of the shock. Do this while the car's full weight is on the wheels. The idea is to 'freeze' (clamp) the shocks at their shortest length before raising the car allows them to expand.
Actually, as a practical matter you're going to be raising the whole thing first to put the front end firmly on a pair of jack stands, which is necessary just to give you room to get under there and work. Then go back with your jack to a point outboard where the shock mounts at its bottom end and lift each side until your jack takes all the weight off the jack stand on that side, at which time you know you've compressed that shock as far as it's going to go. Then apply the hose clamps --very tightly-- and be sure you've removed the top fastener --nut(s) and washer-- before you let the jack down - - slowly.
This whole exercise is to keep the gas pressure in the shock from pushing it's top section out. The force is very strong, will make it impossible to get the shock in its lengthened state out of the car and can even damage bodywork if it gets loose at the wrong moment. If the body of the shock is at all grimey in the area where the upper section will slide down over it and be clamped, by all means clean it thoroughly beforehand; you need a firm and reliable clamping action here as it's not good if it gets away from you during removal. [The movement is not so dangerously fast as it is powerful, potentially damaging and very unhandy.] Clamp it firmly and you're fine; keeping the shock short gives you the room necessary to maneuver it out with the suspension lowered, and you'll need all of that maneuvering room.
If you're putting gas shocks back in the car, you may note this procedure essentially reverses installation. Ja17 had an excellent post on this topic here not long ago.
Best luck,
Denny
