Trying to DIY Eibach rear shocks.

[Turborave]

So, i just spent 4 hours rolling around on my garage floor trying to install the rear eibach shocks. I can not for the life of me compress the shock enough to fit back into the the bottom mount. I have the truck up on jack stands in the rear. first on the axle, then on the front leaf spring mount to get more clearance. nothing. Whats the trick? all the videos ive watched of people putting different rear shocks in, fox, bilstein, they just pop them right in. i see some shocks come compressed with a retaining strap or something, that would have been great, but these dont. Also, the rubber boot, is it suppose to sit in the little groove at the top, see pic? i can get it to rest on it, but it doesnt stay for anything.

so, i got the stock shock back in there to problem and i guess i will try again once i figure out what to do.

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[Strokerduster]

Tie strap around boot and it'll stay. I had to have someone help me compress. I'm too old and didn't have enough strength. It IS stiff......

 

[Larrykime]

Could you compress the shock using a 1 inch ratchet style tiedown strap. once the shock is installed, take the tiedown strap apart and slide it free.

 

[Turborave]

Could you compress the shock using a 1 inch ratchet style tiedown strap. once the shock is installed, take the tiedown strap apart and slide it free.

i tried a ratchet strap, not sure how wide mine are.. it kept slipping off the end, because its a ball..

 

[Turborave]

Tie strap around boot and it'll stay. I had to have someone help me compress. I'm too old and didn't have enough strength. It IS stiff......

it comes with set of zip ties, which i assumed were for the fat end.. how did you get it to hold once compressed?

 

[Strokerduster]

it comes with set of zip ties, which i assumed were for the fat end.. how did you get it to hold once compressed?

I tie strapped both sides of the boot with longer tie straps I had. I finally gave up trying and had my son, LURCH, crawl under there and took him about 30 seconds to put em in. It will be worth all the trouble.......

 

[Msfitoy]

I place my jack under the bottom of the shock and lifted it up enough to slide the bolt through...

 

[aeroshots]

Use something for leverage. I used a motorcycle tire iron.

 

[Trigganometry]

Yup as OP said. Use my floor jack and scraps of wood if needed so I can get the height necessary. One time had to dimple the end of a 4x4 so shock wouldn’t pop out as I compressed. In like Flynn!

 

[Turborave]

Thanks for all the tips, it's super irritating to watch these youtube videos where they just popped in and they are done.

 

[RCMUSTANG]

I just compressed them manually. It was a bit of a workout but not the worse thing I've done. Only use the zip ties for the shock body side. Just slipped the other end on inside the groove of the boot.

 

[CO2Ranger]

I place my jack under the bottom of the shock and lifted it up enough to slide the bolt through...

This worked for me too. Truck on the ground, jack with a big ass socket sitting in the cup of it to compress the end of the shock and clear the bracket, worked like a charm.

 

[Turborave]

This worked for me too. Truck on the ground, jack with a big ass socket sitting in the cup of it to compress the end of the shock and clear the bracket, worked like a charm.

ok.. so you jacked it up to take the old ones off, put the new one in the top, and then let it down off jack/stands and then finished with it on the ground?

 

[Turborave]

stupid question... the boot part goes up right? fat part to the bottom?

 

[quangdog]

I installed these on my truck as well. I jacked up the truck using the frame (as close to the rear wheels as I could get it, but more or less under the rear door, just before the frame starts to bend upward) so that the rear wheel could hang at full droop. Used a 1" ratchet strap to compress the shock about 1.5" or so.... but here's the secret: Put on the ratchet strap *before* you try to put the shock up into the truck at all. I compressed them with the strap on my workbench, then crawled under the truck and put the upper bolt in first, then slid it into the lower mount. Once both bolts are in place, I could release the ratchet strap and slide it back through the mounts to pull the entire strap free.

It's definitely a process, but is not very difficult to do this way.

Good luck!

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