mfa
Florida
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Joined: 08/28/2006
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I bought front and rear Bilstein shocks to have them installed on my 2005 Kodiak chassis. The rear shocks looked so easy to install that I did it myself with little effort this past weekend.
After studying the front-end for a while, I decided not to try doing the front shock myself for a couple of reasons --
1) On the left-side front shock, I couldn't figure out how one would unscrew the nut off the upper stem without the upper piston spinning. There seemed to be no way to grab anything to resist detorquing the nut.
2) On the right-side, the situation was even more complicated. There is no ready access to the upper stem. Seems to be some kind of housing built around it that covers it.
Has anyone here installed their own front shocks on a Kodiak that could give me some clues? Otherwise, I'll have to pay around $150 to get them installed...
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ronfisherman
SE Michigan
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Joined: 06/05/2006
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Here is a thread where I installed mine. Not very easy on the fronts. But a little patients will get it done. Another member also posted his experience with getting them installed in the same thread.
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erupert
Churchville, Maryland
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You need an impact gun to get the nut on and off. Not sure about the "cover" on the one side, but if you don't have an impact, you can't do the job.
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mfa
Florida
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ronfisherman wrote:Here is a thread where I installed mine. Not very easy on the fronts. But a little patients will get it done. Another member also posted his experience with getting them installed in the same thread.
Thanks! After reading that, I may have the courage to take another look at it. My fronts came compressed and already have the "inner" bushings & washers on the shafts. The outer ones, including the nuts, came in a sealed bag. So maybe there is some hope for cutting the band and getting the ends in on the first try...
I also picked up on the tip about turning the wheel to gain better access. Don't know why that never even occurred to me!
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mfa
Florida
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erupert wrote:You need an impact gun to get the nut on and off. Not sure about the "cover" on the one side, but if you don't have an impact, you can't do the job.
So, how does that work? Are you counting on the inertia of the shaft holding it back while the shock on the nut jerks it little-by-little?
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erupert
Churchville, Maryland
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mfa wrote:erupert wrote:You need an impact gun to get the nut on and off. Not sure about the "cover" on the one side, but if you don't have an impact, you can't do the job.
So, how does that work? Are you counting on the inertia of the shaft holding it back while the shock on the nut jerks it little-by-little?
Yep. That's how the shops do it all the time.
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Gene in NE
Omaha
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Joined: 09/15/2003
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Here is a little used "tip", don't even try loosening the nuts on the front shock. Instead get a little longer breaker bar and overtighten the old existing shock and it will snap off.
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Gene
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mfa
Florida
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Gene in NE wrote:Here is a little used "tip", don't even try loosening the nuts on the front shock. Instead get a little longer breaker bar and overtighten the old existing shock and it will snap off.
That's an interesting approach.
I wonder, though, if it is possible that the threads on the shaft at the nut could strip and then the nut would spin but not back off over the good shaft threads that were sticking out from the nut to begin with.
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MotherTucker
Atlanta, GA
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Joined: 11/29/2006
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I just did recently did this, and got them off by using a large channel-lock pliers. There's a flattened "nut" there just on the top of the upper tube. It looks round at first glance, but 2 sides of it are actualy flattened, and I could grab and hold it with the channel-lock pliers. Then take the top nut off with a box wrench. If you had the proper size and (slim) thickness open end wrench, that would also work.
mt
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asf#2
Kingwood,Tx
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Joined: 04/02/2003
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Your local auto supply store should have a shock removal tool for less than $10 that holds the shock stem while removing the nut. I have used it on auto shock replacement. Take your new shock into the store to be sure the tool will fit the "flat".
Jim
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