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© 1997 Brian F. Schreurs
Even we have a disclaimer.

Of course, we didn't. The Paradise Garage 1970 Dodge Charger spent a month in the air because we were too impatient to buy the right tool. This section covers the actual replacement of the rear shocks, Monroe part number 20805. If you need to know what to do about a broken shock mounting plate, read the separate Story about the Shock Mounting Plate.

Put the car up in the air and take off the wheels, of course. But you probably should put the jacks under a frame point instead of the suspension -- it's not good to put supports in the same area you're working on.

Have a good look at what you're working on. It's cramped and it's dark, so a lot of the time you'll be working by feel. This is a good time to find a secure place for your drop light. Note that a "drop light" does not mean that it's okay to drop it; despite extreme caution, we managed to break ours four times. One of those "snake lights" is definitely on our wish list.

The point of focus is on the upper bolt. What you see is the cramped nut; even a ratchet head has a hard time fitting up there. This is the driver side.

Start with the upper bolt. Yes, it's a bolt, not a stud, and on our car it was very difficult to get at. We attached a 3/8-drive ratchet wrench on the nut (tight) side and a 1/2-drive ratchet on the bolt (roomy) side. Then we ratcheted away, allowing the 3/8-drive wrench to wedge itself up against a crossmember (holding the nut in place as the bolt was loosened). This took a long time, but was ultimately successful.

Save that nut and bolt. The shock does not come with any replacement hardware.

Have a look at the lower shock mount. It's a stud, and it's welded to a shock mounting plate which is in turn bolted around the axle via two U-bolts. Have a long look, and think about how much of a nuisance it would be to replace the whole damn thing.

It doesn't look so bad on the passenger side, but trust us, it is.

Drench the lower mounting nut in WD-40. If you don't have to start on a second can, you probably haven't drenched it enough. That nut is not going to want to give, and it's very important to be nice to it!

Using a 1/2-drive ratchet wrench, try to loosen the nut. Absolutely do not get fed up with the nut's refusal to turn, and decide you're going to get it off by sliding the end of your floor jack's handle over the ratchet wrench, giving you about 3 feet of leverage. Not that we did that or anything.

Okay, we did that. And the nut came right off -- right along with the end of the stud. This certainly put a damper on the project. You do NOT want to break that stud. For your own sake, be gentle with the nut and work at it until it comes off with WD-40 and whatever pressure you can transmit through a normal 1/2-drive wrench. Any more than that and you'll be replacing the stud plate, too.

Too late? You can learn how to remove the plate by going back to Paradise Garage and clicking on "Shock Mounting Plate." We're going to pretend you did it without breaking anything, and finish the shock swap here.

Hang on to the washers and nut. You'll need them.

Compress the shock. Ours provided little resistance and showed no indication of ever wishing to extend again. It was definitely time for a change. Wiggle it off the lower stud and discard it before it hurts someone.

This is the lower shock mounting point, a special, no-aftermarket steel plate. Don't break it.

Slide the new shock in place. It shouldn't be too hard. Tighten the lower nut until the rubber grommet on the shock is squashed out to the edge of the washer.

The shock may be resistant to snapping in place at the top end. Don't worry; it'll fit. Wiggle it up there as best you can. Slide the bolt through.

Oddly enough, we found that if the bolt is reluctant to go through the shock's eyelet, try turning the shock 180 degrees. It shouldn't matter, since the shock is symmetrical, but on both sides of our car it helped.

Tighten the same way you loosened.

Do the other side, put the wheels back on, and drop the car! It's done!

The ride seems to have smoothed out somewhat, and the car is a LOT more stable at high speed. It's much easier to drive than it was. The bad news is, with the suspension all quiet, every little rattle in the exhaust system is transmitted to the passengers! We tightened up all the exhaust bracketry but at some point we'll just replace the whole system.