How to Replace Rear Shocks 2000-06 Toyota Tundra

Hi, I’m Mike from 1A Auto. We’ve been selling auto parts for over 30 years!

Hey everyone. Sue here at 1A Auto. Today we're going to be putting rear shocks from 1A in this 03 Tundra. So if you need this part, or any other part for your car, click on the link below and head on over to 1aauto.com.

We’re in the process of removing the rear shocks on our 03 Tundra. The top nuts get rusted and they really are frozen in there, so we've tried everything that you would try at home. Used a wrench and that didn't work; Locking pliers—that didn't work; Air chisel—that didn't work. So now we're going to use our torches that we have available to us.

Now with the top of the struts cut off, I can come down to the bottom here and dismount the bottom part of shock. I got a 17mm nut and bolt sockets. Not good. So sometimes when the bolt gets stuck like that, you can use the open-end of the wrench. Let's see if I can pull the shock down and pry that out. Think I'm going to take a pry-bar in. Lift up on that.

Here we have the shock from 1A Auto, and here we have the original equipment from 03 Tundra. Same height. Same mounting mechanism. The difference is the one from 1A comes with a metal top shield instead of this rubber boot that falls down. The difference is this one from 1A Auto comes with a middle dust boot cover that's made of tin.

The factory had got this rubber one that after so many years just falls down and allows dirt to get into the seal. If you need this part, or any other part for your car, click on the link below and head on over to 1aauto.com.

Before we put our new shock in, I like to compress them about three times and let the compresses gases do their job. You want them to activate and circle. Just repeat this process, all the way down and let it extend out. Do that three times before installing.

So the shock comes with it already pre-assembled on the top, the bushing. So you're going to need to take this nut off, and the flat washer, and just one bushing. We're going to reassemble that in there like that. Then, with the body of the truck right here, you're going to put the new bushing on, then the washer, and then the nut. So let's put it right up there.

I'm going to line the shock up with the hole in the mount. Compress it. Let that fall down into place. I'm letting for that extend out. There we go. It’s ready to place. Nice.

Now I'm going to put the bushing on. Sometimes I spin it just to seat it. Flat washer. Now there's not much room up there, so I'm going to see if I can get a little bit of thread. I push the shock up. Now I can hand thread the nut on a couple of turns. There we go. Awesome. Now with a 14mm ratchet wrench, I'm just going to start snugging up the top of the shock. Okay.

So the torque on the top of the shock is 15 foot-pounds. Okay, let's see where I'm at. Now with a pole jack, I'm going to jack up the rear diff to line this bottom shock with the shock tower, so I can put the bolt through. Looks good right there. Now I have to let it down just a hair for the other side because of the angle. The bottom mount is 64 foot-pounds. The nut and the bolt are 17mm socket and wrench. Okay, let's torque that up. There you go. We're all done. Ready to do it to the other side.

Thanks for watching. Visit us at 1AAuto.com for quality auto parts, fast and free shipping, and the best customer service in the industry.