Replacing the shocks on an 83 4wd

[WarWagon]

Hi its my first car and my family has always had one but i just want mine to be safe and handle nicely. I wanted to replace my shocks all the way around and i was wondering first and for most is "can i just put the new shocks in the struts up front for the sr5 model?" i was looking at these monroe shocks.

http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/sku/T ... 6+Steering

Thanks for any advice in advance, also could someone refer me to a good "all around" manual book. For transfer case/ diff liquid/ tranny liquid. all that good stuff.
Thanks.

[dlb]

there is a factory service manual available for download here. see #9 in the FAQ. give the rest a read as well, there's lots of common stuff covered in there.

i found replacing the shocks on my first terc didn't do much of anything. if i could go back and do it again, i would have replaced all the springs at the same time. after 25+ years, they sag and are not as stiff which can account for a lot of mushy handling. so you might want to consider that.

that being said, new stock rear springs are no longer available. i found that moog cc247's might be a good fit but haven't tested them yet. you can get them new for quite cheap. or you might consider doing the rear lift with pathfinder springs and thunderbird shocks but if you want to stick closer to stock, i think the moogs might work better.

[Petros]

welcome to the forum Warwagon!

It might need shocks or might not. If it indeed need them than it will improve safety greatly. go read up somewhere on how to tell if your shocks are bad (you can also inspect them for broken seals, you will get a dust stain where road dust sticks to the leaking oil). The rear shocks are easy to replace yourself, and not too costly. the front struts take special equipment and caution, because you can get hurt compressing the springs to get it off. You can rent the spring compressor, but it is not really a job for a new-bie, even experienced people will get hurt using a spring compressor. If you feel like you can do the job, but all means rent or buy a spring compressor and have at it, it will save you money. Just make sure you do it very carefully to avoid having something pop out with the spring compressor going loose.

I would not buy Monroe, The gas filled KYB (front and rear) are much better quality and about the same cost.

one thing you might consider is to pull the strut assembly off the car and take it to a repair shop with the proper equipment and just pay them to replace the strut insert itself. It will save you some money and not expose you to the risk if you are not confident you can do the work yourself.

also check all the ball joints, tie-rod ends, and the steering rack for play, the strut upper mount is usual okay but can also go bad and should be replaced when it is apart. all of the front suspension rubber bushings should be inspected and replaced as necessary as well. And check the CV axle boots and the steering rack bellows/boots too. Most of these parts are not difficult to replace (and not too costly), there are threads on the repair guides section for all of these procedures.

I would not just replace everything, because many can last another 100k miles, so just replace those with any noticeable slope or play in them.

best prices I have found are from Rockauto for most of these parts, but also check and compare with shipping costs, sometimes I find that NAPA or Autozone can get the same parts for about the same or less after shipping costs, and they usual have them for you the next day or two.

where are you located?

Good luck.

[xirdneh]

i would check the KYB's at rockauto.com

[Petros]

these guys can be pretty good too if Rockauto does not have anything in stock: http://www.justsuspension.com/

[WarWagon]

Hey Thanks for all the replies!!! Sorry i forgot i posted this one but i went took your advice and got KYB's all round. A lot better now!