Jeepcreep6

I have two brand new rancho shock absorbers for my 1991 jeep cherokee limited. The back end is lower than the front end, so I want to replace them. How would I go about doing this? Am i going to have to jack the back end up and put it on jack stands to relieve pressure on the old shocks. Impact gun?

thank you!

PatHenry

Shocks aren't going to change the rear height. If your rear end is lower than the factory spec, your leaf springs are sagging and the recommended fix for this is replacement of the springs.

Removing the old shocks will be easiest if you can jack the rear end up with jack stands under the frame rail and then the jack under the axle to raise and lower it as necessary. The old shocks theoretically could be removed by hand (once the bolts are out) if you're strong enough, but jacking it up will make it an easy fix. An impact can help if you're having trouble loosening the old bolts with hand tools.

Be super careful with the mounting bolts - they have a tendency to snap (at the top mount) so use PBBlaster (or your favorite penetrant) liberally!

BlueRidgeMark

Yep, what he said.

And...... The other thing you need to know is that the bolts that hold the springs in place are treated with Loctite. You aren't going to get them out without a torch. It's necessary to melt the Loctite.

Plenty of threads here on the topic. I really recommend you read a few. There's more to it than it appears at first.

I don't want to seem insulting, but from your post it appears you don't have much experience yet, so reading a bunch of threads on it really will help you.

One last thing - you can get the springs from a bazillinon places, including Amazon. Save yourself some grief. Get them with the bushings pre-installed. I didn't, and wound up paying a shop to press them in for me. (And I have a 20 ton press at home!)

PatHenry

Mark's advice is sound, I'd only add that it's OK to not have much experience yet. Don't be afraid to ask.

Leaf spring replacement is a much bigger job than replacing just the shocks. But as Mark said, there are a ton of write-ups with a lot of advice that you won't find in the "official" instructions. Depending on where you live (or more accurately, where your Jeep has lived) has a huge impact on the difficulty. One guy on here said he did the springs in 45 minutes since he had zero rust. Most people it takes several hours.
I'll be doing mine for the first time soon and I'm setting aside a full weekend due to the Northeast rust factor.
Just replacing the shocks is a like an hour or two (for an amateur) if everything comes apart without much trouble.

Jeepcreep6

BlueRidgeMark

Yep. We all started ignorant and inexperienced, and some of us added a little stupid to the mix, too.

Oh, the stories I could tell you about my screw-ups!


Hey, do you kknow what it's like to drive your car home, have it not start the next morning, figure out that it's a fuel problem, and after an hour of wrenching, you've got the carbs (dual carbs) off and you are scratching your head, and then your best friend who knows NOTHING says, "Are you sure it's got gas in the tank?"

Yeah, I had driven it home on fumes, and there was not enough to get it to start.

BlueRidgeMark

By the way, the biggest issue with the rear shocks is the upper bolts. There are nuts up in there that are tack welded in place, and it's easy to break them loose. Fixing this problem is an interesting challenge, and there are lots of threads telling how to deal with it.

I found out the PO of my 97 used an..... interesting way of dealing with it. I don't recommend it, but the pictures might help you see what you are dealing with.

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f59/we...-issue-234175/