Replacing shock absorber questions

Hi,
I'm going to be replacing the shock absorbers, tie rod ends and steering rack bushings on my friend's 97 Tacoma 2WD, as his steering is loose, the shocks are done, and the dust boots on the tie rod end boots were shot when he bought the truck.

1. Do we need a spring compressor for the front shocks? The FSM just said to jack up the car, take off the wheel and undo the 3 bolts/nuts connecting it. Is it that easy, or am I missing something?

2. For the rear SA's, the FSM says to lower the rear axle housing so the leaf springs are unsprung. How do you do that?

I work mostly on cars (mostly my Subaru), so any advice or tips are greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

I don't have enough time to respond to all of that but if you search 1st Gen lift install I'm sure you will find a thread. And have fun with the steering rack bushings they are a pain in the ASS!!!! and i will never do another set

 

for the rear shocks, you can jack up both sides one at a time and put jack stands under the frame rails so both rear wheels are suspended in the air and then move the floor jack under the rear differential. then you can adjust the distance between the mounting points as desired.

though, i've never had a problem changing the rear shocks just by installing one end and then manually compressing til it lines up and then slipping the other bolt in.

 

Make sure you got a can of PB Blaster on hand and soak all the fasteners down the nite before!!

 

x3! that is a good call!

 

Thanks everyone for the tips. It's a California truck (no snow/salt/rust) but I do have PB blaster, an electric impact wrench and a 25" breaker bar, so hopefully I'll be okay in getting those bolts loosened.

nmcqueen280- the link you sent me was for a 4wd drive taco.. The one I'm working on is a 2WD model. It looks like they are two different set ups - I don't think the shock absorber is connected to the spring at all.

I found this video for a 93 pickup, but I didn't see the spring in it

Thanks!

 

Uh, I guess so. It's not a prerunner. Just a regular 2WD. Drives low to the ground (for a truck). Do I just undo the shock inside the coil spring?

 

ERRRRRRRRRRRRRRBODY HOLD UP!!!


5 lugs are totally different. You don't need anything for the front There are 2 bolts on the bottom side of the LCA and one on top of the shock. Get these 3 off and the shock will drop right out of the coil. As for the rear... I'm not really sure what it means. It'll be easiest to have the rear at full droop I would think to put them on. You're gonna have to manually compress the shock some anyway to get it on (like mount one side, then squeeze it down to get the other side to fit). The rear shocks are super easy on these. Can't say anything on the other stuff though... Never been there haha.

 

Yeah it's sprung under rather than over. Overall though shocks are pretty much the same on any live rear axle I would think.