[lngtrvlchev]

Hey,
I am going to be changing out the front struts on my 2008 1500 this weekend and was wondering if anyone had any tips or suggestions from doing it themselves before. Also, does anyone know the torque spec for the upper ball joint and the strut mounts? Thanks in advance.

 

[dsfloyd]

Struts arent that hard to replace (can be a pain in the arse though) but compressing the spring can be dangerous and difficult. you will need to get a spring compressor (rent one from and auto parts place) and its much easier with an air gun. cant help on the specs. I havent done a coilover on the trucks but way more than I would like on cars. torque specs are in any of the manuals in the relevant chapter. And if you havent done struts before I would recommend getting a manual (if you dont have one already)

 

[alabamaxrebel]

What are you changing the front struts to? Amount of lift?

 

[mfleetwood]

X2 on what DS said....it's not too hard to change but the spring is a bi*ch to get off the shock. I broke/bent 2 different kinds of the cheaper type of spring compressors (less that $50 each ) and finally ended up taking them to a tire/alignment shop and having them done. They were out of my truck already, so they only charged me $20. If you don't have a high quality spring compressor (or have access to one) then I would look into what that would cost you to have it done or rent one as David suggests - ....it might be worth the cost; it certainly was for me. Whatever you do, DON'T BUY A CHEAP ONE AS IT PROBABLY WON'T WORK AND IS DANGEROUS

Not sure about the torque specs. The reason I had mine off is because I installed a lift kit and shocks and those torque specs may be different than stock.

 

[Bigbomber]

Have a shop do it like i did when i had my Bilstein 5100 shocks installed.The shocxks on these trucks are really beefy and not worth the risk of attempting to compress them with anything less than a shop quality spring compressor.

 

[lngtrvlchev]

Thanks for the tips guys. I put on bilstein 5100 and left them at the stock height becuase I already had the fabtech lift spacer. It took about 3 hours total with the first side taking over 2 hours. Everything went smooth and was easier than expected.

 

[dsfloyd]

glad to hear.