Front shock & spring replacement - DIY?

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Glen_S

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My 04 is in bad need of front shock replacement. With the amount of miles on it I'm thinking I'll replace the springs as well.

I was looking at the complete Monroe assembly here and am wondering how involved it is to change the complete units like this, doable by a driveway mechanic? Do any ball joints etc. need to be disconnected?

I've never taken a real close look at what's involved in replacing front shocks, and don't have the vehicle with me today to go look at it.

The 1/2 price on these is pretty attractive now, but I think I can probably get them from Amazon for about the same price.

thanks in advance..
 

tommudd

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My 04 is in bad need of front shock replacement. With the amount of miles on it I'm thinking I'll replace the springs as well.

I was looking at the complete Monroe assembly here and am wondering how involved it is to change the complete units like this, doable by a driveway mechanic? Do any ball joints etc. need to be disconnected?

I've never taken a real close look at what's involved in replacing front shocks, and don't have the vehicle with me today to go look at it.

The 1/2 price on these is pretty attractive now, but I think I can probably get them from Amazon for about the same price.

thanks in advance..

If you only want so so suspension and ride quality then they will work. Not hard to do at all and since they are already together very easy to install. Take maybe 30-45 minutes per side in front with no prior experience, rear 30 minutes total
 

megatone

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Completely doable for a driveway mechanic, the only special tool needed would be a ball joint separator which most auto parts have available for loan. Other than that, just basic hand tools, a floor jack and a vehicle jack stand,
 

Glen_S

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thanks - this vehicle is 99% just driven to and from town & some highway usage, very little off road, so I think it should suffice.

So even with the complete unit like this one needs to separate the ball joint? I've got a pickle fork I used to tie rod ends, but I don't know if it's big enough for ball joints. I live in a small town so I'd likely have to buy one, afaik none of the shops loan out tools like that.
 

megatone

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A tie rod pickle fork should work on the upper control ball joint as that upper joint isn't much bigger than the tie rod joint. You'll end up destroying the grease boot with the pickle fork, so might be a good idea to remove and replace it (the grease boot) with a new one and pack it with fresh grease.

There's a bracket at the bottom end of the strut assembly called a 'clevis'. It clamps onto the bottom of the strut and also bolts to the lower control arm......it may even be possible to remove the clevis first and then remove the strut assembly second.....without separating the upper control arm ball joint. Maybe someone has tried this before and can give some insight.

Soak the two clevis bolts with some type of lube, such as WD-40 so they come out easier.. Also, soak the top of the clevis bracket so that the lube seeps down between the strut body and the clamping portion of the clevis.

Good luck.
 

tommudd

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Completely doable for a driveway mechanic, the only special tool needed would be a ball joint separator which most auto parts have available for loan. Other than that, just basic hand tools, a floor jack and a vehicle jack stand,

DO NOT REPEAT DO NOT USE BALL JOINT SEPARATOR, WORST TOOL EVER MADE
To remove UBJ hit spindle with hammer, the BJS will end up tearing up the UBJ and then you're screwed
 

tommudd

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thanks - this vehicle is 99% just driven to and from town & some highway usage, very little off road, so I think it should suffice.

So even with the complete unit like this one needs to separate the ball joint? I've got a pickle fork I used to tie rod ends, but I don't know if it's big enough for ball joints. I live in a small town so I'd likely have to buy one, afaik none of the shops loan out tools like that.

LOL yes people think if they only drive on road better suspension is not needed
 

tommudd

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A tie rod pickle fork should work on the upper control ball joint as that upper joint isn't much bigger than the tie rod joint. You'll end up destroying the grease boot with the pickle fork, so might be a good idea to remove and replace it (the grease boot) with a new one and pack it with fresh grease.

There's a bracket at the bottom end of the strut assembly called a 'clevis'. It clamps onto the bottom of the strut and also bolts to the lower control arm......it may even be possible to remove the clevis first and then remove the strut assembly second.....without separating the upper control arm ball joint. Maybe someone has tried this before and can give some insight.

Soak the two clevis bolts with some type of lube, such as WD-40 so they come out easier.. Also, soak the top of the clevis bracket so that the lube seeps down between the strut body and the clamping portion of the clevis.

Good luck.


Oh my please read those that have done it, not trying to be a jerk but have seen too many installs go wrong due to misinformation
Have to remove the UCA, but no pickle forks etc
WD-40 is a water repellent, not a good thing to dissolve rust etc
 

dude1116

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DO NOT REPEAT DO NOT USE BALL JOINT SEPARATOR, WORST TOOL EVER MADE
To remove UBJ hit spindle with hammer, the BJS will end up tearing up the UBJ and then you're screwed

Doesn't hitting the bottom of the ball joint risk blowing the ball joint out the rubber seal on top? (Although I guess this doesn't apply to the UBJ...)
 

megatone

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To remove UBJ hit spindle with hammer, the BJS will end up tearing up the UBJ and then you're screwed

Interesting. I've never seen this method.

Agreed, the BJS is not the preferred tool, but it's all the guy has to work with.

I'm interested in the spindle method. Though I've never seen it done before, I've thought about doing it on other vehicles. But when I look closer, those other vehicles have rubber Bump Stops on them and I always figured those rubber pieces would diminish the power of the hammer impact.
 

tommudd

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Doesn't hitting the bottom of the ball joint risk blowing the ball joint out the rubber seal on top? (Although I guess this doesn't apply to the UBJ...)

Hitting the bottom of the ball joint :shrug:??????????
You hit the spindle and pops it loose
 

megatone

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tommudd....Would it be possible to unbolt the upper control arm from the Liberty and rotate/lean the UCA with spindle away from the vehicle to gain enough access to remove the strut assembly, thus, not having to separate the ball joint at all?

I plan on replacing the saggy springs on my daughters Jeep in the near future and any tips/tricks are appreciated.

Nix the WD-40 and instead use PB Blaster on the clevis/bolts......it's a lube spray that also dissolves rust.

In the picture below....where is the Sweet Spot to hit the spindle.....green or yellow....or neither.

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Glen_S

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LOL yes people think if they only drive on road better suspension is not needed

Well, when we bought the KJ used it was fine for the wife driving to & from work, and the occasional trip to the city. Now it thumps bad in the front when hitting things like train tracks etc.. & she just wants it "like it was" - which is why I figured the monroe combo pictured here would probably do the trick for that.

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Gyro

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I run those on my 06,Moog springs on the rear and sensi-trac shocks.
Returns it to stock ride and height.nufsaid :icon_lol:
Canadian Tire has the quick strut 50% off this week.
Moog springs I got from Napa.

Gyro
 

TwoBobsKJ

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tommudd....Would it be possible to unbolt the upper control arm from the Liberty and rotate/lean the UCA with spindle away from the vehicle to gain enough access to remove the strut assembly, thus, not having to separate the ball joint at all?

Much less hassle to just separate the UCA from the spindle. A whole lot of stuff has to get moved before you can get the UCA bolts out from under the battery on the drivers side and air box, cruise control, etc. on the passenger side.

I plan on replacing the saggy springs on my daughters Jeep in the near future and any tips/tricks are appreciated.

In the picture below....where is the Sweet Spot to hit the spindle.....green or yellow....or neither.

Neither. You need to hit above and to the right of the yellow circle - right at the tip of the spindle. Get yourself a good 3lb hammer, take good aim and whack it HARD! The spindle will drop away from the UCA like butta giving you room to remove the shock/spring assembly after you remove the clevis.

P.S. If you see posts mentioning a "BFH" that's just another name for a 3lb hammer. The "H" stands for hammer - I'll let you figure out what the "B" and "F" stand for... :gr_grin:

Bob
 
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Wildebeest

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thanks - this vehicle is 99% just driven to and from town & some highway usage, very little off road, so I think it should suffice.

So even with the complete unit like this one needs to separate the ball joint? I've got a pickle fork I used to tie rod ends, but I don't know if it's big enough for ball joints. I live in a small town so I'd likely have to buy one, afaik none of the shops loan out tools like that.


I did this job on mine a couple weeks ago. I just unbolted the clevis and was able to finesse the strut out without much trouble. Didn't find it necessary to pop the ball joint. You might want to do the rears too, mine were pretty sagged.
 

twowings

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Much less hassle to just separate the UCA from the spindle. A whole lot of stuff has to get moved before you can get the UCA bolts out from under the battery on the drivers side and air box, cruise control, etc. on the passenger side.



Neither. You need to hit above and to the right of the yellow circle - right at the tip of the spindle. Get yourself a good 3lb hammer, take good aim and whack it HARD! The spindle will drop away from the UCA like butta giving you room to remove the shock/spring assembly after you remove the clevis.

P.S. If you see posts mentioning a "BFH" that's just another name for a 3lb hammer. The "H" stands for hammer - I'll let you figure out what the "B" and "F" stand for... :gr_grin:

Bob


Bob's Fine Hammer??
 

megatone

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Now it thumps bad in the front when hitting things like train tracks etc.. & she just wants it "like it was"

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Hmm.....Now you are mentioning the vehicle thumps bad when crossing RxR tracks. And that's the reason why you want to replace the shocks/springs.....to eliminate those thumping sounds.

Do yourself a HUGE favor and climb under the front passenger side of the Jeep and grab the cv joint nearest where it enters the axle tube......wriggle it around.....hit it with the palm of your hand while the wife sits in the drivers seat and ask her if that's the thump she's hearing.

The thumping sound could have nothing to do with the shocks at all. I've replaced many a shock in my days, and the main reasons were due to upgrades or due to bouncy/springy ride control. Almost never was it due to a thump sound. Thumps usually come from bad bushings or ball joints.

Maybe some longtime Jeep fanatics could give you more info than I possess when it comes to the cv axle and intermediate shaft.

The person I bought my daughters KJ from had all new shocks and bushings installed trying to eliminate a thump....turned out to be cv/intermediate shaft thump. Wasn't even related to the springs or shocks.
 

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