chucks97expy
Full Access Members
Hey everyone, I just recently replaced a lot of things in the front of my Expy. Maybe not all of it was needed but it gives me piece of mind. I bought the parts little by little, didn't cost as much as you would think and most off Ebay and online parts stores. This list is for both sides and explains an easier way to install those coil on shocks for the front of a 97 Expy with 4x4. I started with new lower control arms(ball joints were bad and figured why not and since its a 17yr old truck with 145,000 miles) while I had the control arms off I went ahead and did the half shafts, inner wheel bearing seals, wheel bearings and finally the coil on shocks. She rides like a dream!..........So the hardest part was the coil on shocks. I bought two different spring compressors as the parts store only rents the ones for bigger springs and the ones on the shocks are like a motorcycle spring. I compressed the spring and then tried to install it, no good. There's no room for the spring compressor and coil on shock to fit in its place! I read where a guy compressed his coil on shocks with a backhoe and then wrapped wire around them. I don't have access to a backhoe haha so I compressed the first coil on shock, wrapped wire around 4-5 coils of the spring(on both sides of the spring, if you only wrap one side and release the coil spring compressor the spring will buldge out the other side...ask me how I know lol) and it worked but was a pain in the @$$ to cut the wires off after install. The second coil on shock went differently. I looked at the control arm hanging off the torsion bar and thought, couldn't I just attach the coil on shock and then jack the control arm into the frame? BINGO! it worked and saved me probably a good hour of time. Hope this helps someone looking to install these types of shocks.
