05 front shock replacement w/o spring compressor

I read the posts and saw the video from "old man emu struts" and it seems pretty straight forward but is it actually? Have many others used this procedure and how did it work out? I am going to replace only the shocks with stock ones. My truck only has 75K miles but being in the rust belt it has its share of rust underneath.
I always like to do repairs myself, so I know how it is done and if it's done right.
What is your take on this procedure? Thanks

 

I know @ohcaltexscar used this method and had luck.

There are a few posts somewhere here that people talk about doing it that way.

I’ve tried one and didn’t have luck using the truck to compress to put them together (over a year and a half ago).
Ill be trying again this week to swap out my springs. I’ll let you know how it goes if I get done before you do.

 

Ok please do. I won't be doing this for a while just getting prepared. Thank you

 

I've done this countless times and it works really well. The key is to have a proper floor jack (not a bottle jack, scissor jack, or that tiny "floor" jack). It can also be more difficult if you're using stiffer springs and the truck isn't heavy enough to support them. Meaning the truck will start lifting up before the coils compress enough to assemble them.

 

Interesting, I had not thought about this. I wonder if this is why I didn’t have luck putting mine together the first time, we’ll that and the shock piston with mine are not pressurized…
The larger are on now so that should not be an issue putting the lower rated springs on, 826 to 720# (assuming the conversion from N/mm to LB/in is right )

 

I did this method when I replaced my shocks and springs. I'd also suggest replacing the top hats while you're in there, mine were stuck to the top of the coil bucket and I had to air hammer them out. I used KYB tophats

Here are some pictures that may help:

When replacing the tophats, make sure you don't double bushing the top. I made this mistake first and it was impossible to assemble. The new shocks will probably come with a bushing to go under the tophat, but some of the new tophats also have the bushing pre-glued underneath them. You only need 1 under there.


I used the factory bottle jack to support the spindle and UCA assembly while I removed the LCA


Then snaking the spring/shock assembly in. I put the top hats in the coil buckets already and had the nuts run down by hand, but with a little wiggle room to help with alignment


This is using the jack to compress the springs. I found it easier and safer to have the jack going across from the far side. Coming from the front had the jack weirdly side loaded, and the packaging doesn't work to come from the outside in.


make sure you watch the top of the shock shaft and guide it through the top hat. It can help to have a buddy to pump up the jack while you align the shaft. you can see here its all wack and needs aligment


Then once it was aligned, I kept going until it just before it lifted. Then I threw the bushing and top washer on and tightened it with vice grips on the flats and a ratcheting wrench on the nut

 

If I need top hats where are the best ones to get? Thank you very much.

 

I got mine at Amazon-

$29 KYB SM5640 - Mount Kit

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00C7S0KA8?ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

 

I used these:

$29 KYB SM5640 - Mount Kit

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C7S0KA8. Tophat is probably not the best name for them if you're searching, sorry thats just what I always called them

They come as individual, so get two of them. For $25 a piece, was worth it to just pull the whole old assembly out and chuck it without needing to disassemble. Not to mention the replacement of a 16yr old rubber part is always a good idea

 

Thanks guys.

 

One final thought and you might already be planning on it… I used blue locktite on those two bottom steering knuckle bolts.
This might also help, these should be good for 2nd and 3rd gens-

 

Thank you for this information and taking the time to post it. I am going to review this further and may be back with more questions before starting this project.

paul

 

Yep, used this method several times, top hats (1x), shock changeout (2x), indexing 1500's for lift (3x), total front end rebuild (1x). Have only used it with stock OR springs using a floor jack.

 

I will be changing out the original Bilsteins to new original shocks and same springs. Just not sure if I should get spring perches (top hats) or not. I'm just worried about all the rust my truck has but I'm going to try.

 

Unless you are on a seriously tight budget then I would replace the top hats. 17 years is a good run for the originals but it's time for them to die.

 

Never thought of doing it this way, nice!

 

So are the KYB strut mounts comparable or just as good as the OE toyota mounts? Thanks

 

Why not just take apart the assembly and bring it to a shop to do?? I'm sure they wont charge more than $20-40 to remove the top hats.

 

Either way I would still have to buy the top hats. I prefer to do things myself if at all possible. I am just debating on the type of mounts to buy and whether or not they are needed.
paul

 

Ended up changing my springs out today. I took my time and had interruptions plus lunch, took about 4 hours. That includes pulling my aftermarket skid plat off, putting the supports back on (above where the oem skid plate would be) adjusting the spring seats and jacking the back and flipping a bolt around on the drivers side leaf saddle.
Probably took 30 min to adjust the spring seats, they were on there good. I did the same thing that @y=mx+b did but also disconnected the sway bar from the spindles. I marked the cams to get them back to where they were till I can get it aligned again.