Hi guys. I'm in the middle of my first real job on my corvette (96 automatic coupe), replacing the shocks. I was doing the job because the handling is a bit unpredictable on bumpy roads and I read that was the fix.

Anyways, I started with the fronts and I managed to do the front right one without any major problems besides some stubborn nuts. But I got stuck on the front left one --- I got all the bolts off (with some difficulty) but now I can't manage to physically remove the shock from where it is. As I said all the bolts are detached, but even when I lift up the car all the way there isn't room to slide it out of the way. The bolt on the top sticks up enough to still interfere with the shock tower, unless I turn it sideways a bit and move it downwards, in which case it is stuck on something on the lower side.

I didn't have much trouble getting the other one off so I don't know what's different here. Does anyone know what could be happening here? I was thinking about getting bolt cutters to cut off the long top-bolt of the shock so it will come out. Does that seem reasonable?

Thanks for any help,
Curtis

 

From another forum. Don't know if this applies:

The front shocks can actually be replaced without even jacking the car up. The upper shock rod has the single nut to remove and there are two bolts with nuts to remove on the lower control arm. There are holes in the lower control arm that are large enough to get a deep socket in to hold the nut while you turn the bolt head.

When tightening the upper nut on the upper shock rod, tighten until the new bushings compress to where they just are outside of the steel washers. The lower bolts are tightened to around 26 ft-lbs.

For the rear shocks, they are fairly straightforward. GM made a change to the upper mounting design at some point in the C4 run. If your car has the exposed upper mounting points, simply remove the bolt on the top and then the single nut at the bottom.

The other style of upper mount has two small bolts that hold a bracket to the frame and the upper shock attaching point is on this bracket. Pull the two small bolts at the top and the large nut at the bottom. The bracket comes off with the shock and is removed once you get the shock off the car. Install the bracket on the new shock and re-install on the car.

One thing to be careful of is that the rear attaching nuts or bolts must be tightened with the car at ride height. With the new rear shock installed, use a floor jack to raise the rear suspension so that the car just raises off the jack stand.

With the early single bolt at the top, tighten the top nut to 66 ft-lbs and the lower nut to 60 ft-lbs.

With the newer rear mount design, tighten the upper bracket bolts to 22 ft-lbs and the lower nut to 61 ft-lbs. - See more at: http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/....ESN7aiJ1.dpuf

 

Hi, thanks for that writeup. I still do have to the rears and some of that will help.

What I'm stuck on now is just removing the unbolted shock from the car! Should you be able to do that with the car on the ground? For the side that I successfully swapped I had to raise it up to unload the suspension as otherwise the upper rod wouldn't come out of the shock tower hole. But on this side it is still stuck in there even if I get the wheel off the ground.

 

You should be able to compress the shock by hand, that will give you the clearance you need to slip it out. The shock is under pressure, it is filled with nitrogen and the oil is separated by a piston.

 

Thanks, I was able to do that! I did have to raise the car slightly to get the new one one though. It was too hard to compress it to make the bolts line up on the bottom.

Woohoo, first successful repair! I'll do the rear ones some time next week.

 

be sure to tell us if the thing handles any better. congrats, feels great to do your own repairs doesn't it.

 

So far with just the fronts it's a nice improvement but not quite "drives like a whole new car". It doesn't crash hard over bumps like it did before. I can tell the difference going over the speed bumps in my apartment complex, the front goes over much smoother than the rear. I didn't get a chance to do any fast driving yet though where I expect a bigger change.

Yeah it does feel great though my body is sore all over! I wasn't expecting that. I'm a pretty active person but I guess I had to contort myself into a bunch of unusual spots to reach the bolts. And I'm not sure if all the grease will ever get out from under my fingernails. But still I'm really happy!

 

When you get to the rears, be careful. The top brace is inside the frame and secured to welded nuts. If you hit it with too much force right away you can snap the welded nut loose, which creates a very large and sharp P.I.A.

 

 

Hope you went back with Bilsteins. Monroes are a waste of money!

 

Yup, I got the z51 bilstiens. Cost around $320 shipped for the set. Looks like there are lots of cheaper ones available but I'm happy to pay more to make the car drive noticeably better. Hoping to do a track day some time this summer too.

Thanks for the warning about the rears! Any particular advice on how to avoid breaking the nut? Would it be a good idea to soak it with some pb blaster for a while before trying to remove them?

 

Soak them and then soak em some more

 

Here ya go man, if you have 17 mins, I show you in this video how to do the rear shocks. Take it easy - Ozz

 

Excellent tutorial video Ozz, thanks a million for making and posting it.

Link to the fronts?

Rick

 

Do you mind sharing where you purchased them from? I need the same.

 

Sorry Rick i never filmed the front replacement. I thought it would be to simple and not worthy. I was wrong because I have had several people ask me about it. Subscribe to my channel if you get a chance to see more upcoming repairs. Doing a simple mod today on the '93 Vette....stay tuned to find out what it is!!! Take it easy and thanks for the kind words, glad it helped you out man. - Ozz

 

Here you go: http://www.ecklerscorvette.com/corve...1995-1996.html

I found that video earlier actually, very nicely done. Will watch it again before starting the job.

 

Thanks for the compliment. I make videos to teach and help people learn, that's what it is all about.

 

Thank you too Ozzstar I have whatched a few also good job and a well done after 30 plus years at G.M. have not learnd much but sure helped refresh this worn out old mind

 

Your an old pro now Antfarmer, thanks and glad you learned something!

Take it easy - Ozz