Replaces
Part Details
Why Buy Monroe OESpectrum Shock and Struts?
Monroe OESpectrum Shock Absorbers and Struts are designed to be direct replacements while improving handling. Some of their benefits include:
Lifetime Warranty
This item is backed by our limited lifetime warranty. In the event this item should fail due to manufacturing defects during intended use, we will replace the part free of charge. This warranty covers the cost of the part only.
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Tools used
Brought to you by 1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the internet.
Hi, I'm Mike Green. I'm one of the owners of 1AAuto. I want to help you save time and money repairing and maintaining your vehicle. I'm going to use my 20+ years experience restoring and repairing cars and trucks like this, to show you the correct way to install parts from 1AAuto.com. The right parts installed correctly, that's going to say you time and money. Thank you and enjoy the video.
In this video we're going to replace the rear shocks on this 98 Ford Explorer. This procedure is basically the same for any 95 to 2000 Explorer. You'll need penetrating oil, 13mm socket and ratchet, 15mm wrench, an adjustable wrench or vice grips.
The bottom of these front shocks are pretty easy, you can see them right here. These are 13mm bolts. I'm going to cheat a little bit and use my air ratchet. You can see here, right below the axle, I'm going to get a 13mm wrench right on there to hold them. In the wheel well you can see, here's the top of our shock. I've already sprayed it with a whole bunch of penetrating oil. What I'm using here is the 15mm wrench, put that on there first. This is just an adjustable wrench, it goes on the top shaft of the shock. Make sure it's nice and tight on there. If you're lucky, they come apart really easy like this. Sometimes you can start getting it apart and it will actually bind up and you'll have to cut it. This one looks like it's going to come apart pretty easy though. You might want to soak these overnight with penetrating oil so it will make it that much easier.
What I've run into here is the last bit of this is difficult and my wrench is not holding on. I'm going to use these vice grips and lock them on. Try and get this off the rest of the way. Okay, you can pull your shock down and out. Compare the old shock with the new shock. The important thing is they basically have the same length, which they do. You want to take, put a washer down and then you want to put this grommet on with the step side up. You can see here put the shock in from the bottom, pull it through, and you want your grommet with the step side down. There is a hole in the frame where those grommets kind of meet. Then you put your big washer on and then this bolt.
Basically, you're going to, just like on the other one, you're going to grab onto that and tighten that bolt up as far as it goes. Before you tighten that up to, it's important that you have the bottom angled so it's going to go into the control arm best. We'll hook the wrench on again. Underneath you can see, I've put a jack underneath the control arm and I'm going to lift it up, basically until you can see the shock come through. Connect the hardware to the shock. Go back to my impact wrench here. Hold on to the loose end with my regular wrench. Check those by hand, make sure they're really on. Good. Then we can let this down. We can do the other side and we're all set.
We hope this helps you out. Brought to you by www.1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the internet. Please feel free to call us toll free 888-844-3393. We're the company that serves you on the internet and in person.
Tools used
Brought to you by 1AAuto.com. Your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the Internet.
Hi, I'm Mike Green. I'm one of the owners of 1A Auto. I want to help you save time and money repairing and maintaining your vehicle. I'm going to use my 20 plus years experience restoring and repairing cars and trucks like this to show you the correct way to install parts from 1AAuto.com. The right parts, installed correctly, that's going to save you time and money. Thank you and enjoy the video.
In this video, we're going to show you how to replace the shocks on this '98 Ford Explorer, same as many trucks and SUVs. Although, you may not need to lower the spare tire like you do on this truck. For this vehicle, you'll need penetrating oil, 18-millimeter socket and ratchet, and 13- and 15-millimeter wrenches. You may not even need to raise your car off the ground, but a jack and jack stands might help. We're going to use some penetrating oil right there. You can see right here I put a jack underneath the axle. That's just to make sure when we disconnect the shock that that's not the last thing holding it and the rear end doesn't suddenly jerk down.
We've got a 15-millimeter wrench on here, and this is an 18-millimeter socket. Here, I went to the hand tools because actually the impact wrench didn't work as well as pulling with a big bar like this. The jack handle on this vehicle is missing, so I've inserted a long screwdriver right into this hole down here. It goes in and you turn it counterclockwise and that lowers the spare tire. You should be able to reach right in and pop that little bracket off. This probably has never been down from the car, so you whack and then push that up through, take the spare out. Now, with the spare out of the way, you can see right up in and get to everything really nice and easy. I'm just using a 13-millimeter wrench, reach right over the top and just got to do it a quarter of a turn at a time.
Unfortunately, it would appear that the only way to get to this one is with a 13- millimeter wrench as well. Make sure you get the wrench down on there as low as possible. I'll speed it up here. These bolts are ... they're not that hard to get to but they're just a ... you just take them off patiently, a quarter turn at a time. I've got a new shock from 1A Auto; it's got this catch on it. You can remove that. You can see it slowly comes out. Here's, obviously, the old shock on the right. I'm putting basically the same pressure on and the old one just goes right in, whereas the new one offers a whole lot more resistance. The new shock comes with new mounting hardware.
Actually, what I like to do is feed the bolts in from up top. Put the shock up in and just twist it. That holds the bolt steady. Put the nuts on. Super nice about that new hardware is now we can use an air ratchet and grab onto the nut ... or the bolt ... from the top with a wrench. Now that you have the bottom started, you can now tighten up the top. It's nice with the new hardware; you can use a nice long extension and a wrench and then tighten up the bottom. Tighten these up nice and tight. You can put your spare tire back up, and you're all set.
We hope this helps you out. Brought to you buy www.1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the Internet. Please feel free to call us toll free 888-844-3393. We're the company that's here for you on the Internet and in person.
Tools used
Brought to you by 1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the Internet.
Hi, I'm Mike from 1A Auto. I hope this how-to video helps you out, and next time you need parts for your vehicle, think of 1AAuto.com. Thanks.
In this video, we're going to show you front shock replacement on this Ford Explorer Sport Trac. It's the same for the Sport Trac as well as a lot of Explorers, Mountaineers, and Rangers. We show you the left side, but the right side's the same procedure. You'll need new front shocks from 1AAuto.com, penetrating oil, 10 to 14 millimeter wrenches and sockets and ratchets, and you may need a reciprocating saw if your shock is in rough shape, although we avoid using it in this video.
Okay, we were checking some other things on the suspension of our truck. As we come under here, if you look at the shock, you can see it's got some oil down below that section, and that is a sign that your shock is either bad or it's wearing out and will soon be bad. To replace it, we're going to start spraying down the top of the shock there. We can see it's in pretty good shape. If yours was pretty rusty or old, you may want to use a reciprocating saw and just cut the bolt and the top of that shaft right off. It can be a lot easier sometimes but, again, ours look to be in pretty good shape, so we'll lock a set of pliers onto the top to hold the shaft from spinning. Then it's a 14mm bolt on this shock. It could be different on yours. Remove that nut. Once it starts going, we'll just fast-forward here. Once we get to a certain point we can take the lock pliers off and then the nut comes off the rest of the way. Also remove the top washer and bushing.
Underneath the shock's held on by two bolts. I have it up on a lift just to make it easier to show you, but the two bolts you can see here. I'm going to spray them down a little bit on the bottom, and then you need to hold them on the top as well see one up there. I'm using a wrench to put it on the bolt at the top and then a socket and ratchet with an extension to remove the nut on the bottom. Once you have both nuts off, you can pull one of the bolts out pretty easy, but the other one kind of stays in there. You have to force the shock up, compress it a little bit, and then pull it back and out. Take your new shock from 1A Auto, you want to put a washer on top first, and then one of the rubber cushions. Then put the shock up into place. You're going to have to kind of force it up in, compress it some once you put it up into, obviously where it goes, the shock mount at the top, you'll have to force it up and then into the mount at the bottom.
Once you have it in place, you're going to start the nuts and bolts on. On some shock designs it may be good to put a bolt into place first. If the shock kind of has an open end to the bolts and sometimes if the shock has a closed hole for the bolts, you'll want to put a bolt into the shock first and then install it into the car. Now tighten up both lower bolts; again, you're going to want to have a wrench at the top, hold the wrench, and then tighten up the nuts nice and firm. Don't over-tighten them; you don't want to break the bolts. Back up top, you want to make sure that the lower bushing's lined up in the center of the hole. Put the upper bushing on and then the washer and then thread the nut on. We'll fast-forward as I tighten up that nut. You want to tighten the nut until those two bushings compress and are basically the same diameter as the washer. You can see that they're a smaller diameter than the washer now. You compress them down and they kind of get basically smooshed out until they're the same diameter as the washer.
The particular shocks I'm installing come with a second nut that goes on. You tighten it down onto the other one to lock them in place. Here I'm just putting an adjustable wrench on the bottom one and then tightening up the top one down onto it. Repeat everything for the other side.
Thanks for tuning in. We hope this video helped you out. Next time you need parts for your car, please visit 1AAuto.com. Also check out our other helpful "how to" as well as diagnoses videos.
Thanks for tuning in. We hope this video helped you out. Next time you need parts for your car, please visit 1AAuto.com. Also check out our other helpful how-to and diagnosis videos.
