I need a little help in regards to replacing my rear shocks.
Can I do it with the car sitting on the ground, and can I use hand tools or do I need air tools?
Thanks in advance to all.
Ernie 81 SC

 

Ernie: You can do the job with hand tools, but the rear of the car must be raised to allow access to the lower bolts. Those bolts are VERY tight, you will need a 1/2" breaker bar and socket, perhaps even a piece of pipe for an extension, to get them loose. You will need a torque wrench that goes to at least 100 lbs to tighten the bolts. The inside will require disassembly until you can access the upper nuts. For instance, you have to take the heater blower out on the left side. Also, a wratchet type box-end wrench (sometimes referred to as a dog bone) works the best. It's not a fun or easy job the first time that you do it.
Pete

 

I just did the job and it was very straight forward. I needed the breaker bar as Pete suggested. THe only tricky part was doing the passenger side uppper, not much room.

 

Pete/Iceman
Thanks for the reply, I have good access to the drivers side both upper and lower but as the iceman said the upper passenger looks like it will be quite fun. I do have a neighbor that has a compressor and air tools, I think that will be the way to go. Again thanks for getting back so soon.

Ernie 81SC

 

Emac, I just did the job you are embarking upon. I jacked the car up and put it on jack stands. As Pete said, getting the 21 mm bolts loose is a bitch. I had to jack up the car more to get additional leverage to loosen the bottom bolt on the right side shock. For the upper nuts on the shock shaft, I used my 3/8" 90 degree angle drive impact ratchet. It removed the nuts with ease. For the upper right, I removed the air box and filter for easier access. Installation was the reverse. Took me less than an hour to do it all.

 

Spider
Did you have to remove the entire air box or just the cover and filter

Ernie 81 SC

 

cover and filter ....

 

You can do it with only removing the cover and filter. I removed the entire box since I always take the opportunity to clean the top of the engine while I'm in there.