Hello all, new to this forum. I have a 96 Monty 3.0 ls, with 201,XXX miles. Recently a oil change guy recommended the shocks be changed. When I went into a couple of places in San Fran, where I like, they wanted close to 1.2 hours labor for the fronts, and maybe more for the rears.

I"m not against paying for what I can't do myself, but c'mon, isn't this just 2 bolts, top and bottom? Am I missign anythign here, besides the guy pulling the tire, there's a top not and a bottom bolt.

Can people here comment and encourage or warn me about doign this myself?

Many thanks.

Henry

I haven't done the shocks on a gen II yet but I have done them on gen I's before and if it's similar it will be 'uber' easy (1 on a scale of 1-5 with 5 being the most difficult).

You'll just need to unscrew couple of bolts after you jack up the vehicle & remove the tire. Also, don't rely on the jack. Use jack stands.

You may need to find a way to prevent the shock from expanding before you put it on and this may be the most difficult part. I used string and a screw driver but you can also use a coat hanger, wire, etc. Then once one of the ends is in place, cut/remove the strap and guide the loose end into position as the shock expands.

HTH.

Henry, what Off-Roader said below is spot-on. Doing the shocks on a mid-90's Montero is just like doing the ones on an earlier truck, too.

The sort-of difficult part is that the front shocks fit in between parts of the front suspension and won't go in without them being compressed...and being held compressed until you maneuver them into place. The difficulty factor is right there in this section. Now, the crappiness of your new shock quality will have a direct bearing on how hard this becomes. Let's say you actually buy the shocks you should, which I say will be KYB Gas-A-Just's. They're a BEAR to compress and hold compressed, therefore the piece of wire or similar device. If you weigh anything less than 150#, you're gonna struggle with this, as those shocks really don't like this and you have to lean on them with all your weight, hold them in place upright and wrap the wire around them all at the same time. I've done several Montero shock replacements, and I dislike it every single time when I get to the fronts.

The rears are no problem, as you can move things around with the jack if the shocks don't cooperate.

Don't overtighten the top mounting nut (follow directions) and make sure the bushings and hardware are all in place correctly the first time.

And don't buy junk. I replaced a set that sounds like 'Fungrow' after about a month because they suck.

John B.
(Get the KYB's)

Bilsteins are really nice too btw, but usually $20 more per shock than the KYB's.

I'm actually quite "shocked" to hear the KYB's dont arrive from the factory with a retainer strap. IIRC on the Bilsteins, they are shipped compressed and held in postion by a large plastic band than can easily be cut after installation. Looks like 2 "O"'s on each end with a center strap... like this:

O------O

... the O's strapped around each end of the shock.

Might be helpful if you need to make your own strap (hangar wire, or fencing wire from local home improvement store work well).

About to do the shocks on my 91 RS too.

Best of luck.

Jim

I keep a few of those around for just that purpose. If you go by a repair shop and ask one of the techs, they may save you a set for a nominal fee for their trouble...

My Bilsteins came with the strap on them too...

All my experience with the KYB's has been that the rear shocks, which don't really need to be strapped...are, and the fronts, which need to be strapped...aren't. Pretty dumb, if you ask me.

Which reminds me. Maybe they just need to be told... I'll send them a note and see what they say.

John B.

I just finish doing the front shocks on the 91. I have never liked the shocks that go to a point and you have to get a small wrench to take it off. mine was messed up and had to bend the old shock to get the shaft from stop spining to get it off. after wrestling with that the kyb was giving me another fight, but I recently did the struts on my brothers car and they came with the metal wire hooked to hold the strut compressed. i modified it for the shock and it worked perfectly. The only issue I had was striping the threads in the lower control arm. I retaped the holes and put locktight on the bolts. So far I enjoy the KYB and those things may not look much but they compress alot. Makes me look forward to replacing the rear ones. Good luck with it. just be mindful of the 2 bolts on the lower control arm and not overtight them and strip them.

This is something you can DIY.
The Old Man Emu shocks I installed on my GenIII came compressed with a metal wire that was easy to remove once the shocks were in place. (I liked the fact that the OME suspensions are valved for the type of driving you'll be encountering on the trail.) Since I was also replacing the coils at the same time, it made the IFS shock replacement very simple.
Like everyone said be sure to torque the nuts down to the appropriate specs.
(At least you don't have to wrestle with the spring compressors since you don't have coil overs.)
Good Luck

Man I love this forum. Timely info every time I drop in. Since I ordered my KYB Gas Adjusts yesterday [worked out to about 32 bucks a corner no tax no shipping yea] this info is like you guys were reading my mind. I was thinking that the compression problem could be addressed using big ass tie-wraps. You know like what the cops use as handcuffs. I've been told...... Anyway tie wrap around the top mount, tie wrap around the bottom mount. Then a tie wrap srung between top and bottom and then tightened as you compress the shock. Whadaya think.

That'll work. Just take care they don't slip and pinch you...