Taylor28

I have to replace the rear shock absorbers on my 2001 Jeep Cherokee. I've been told that this is relatively easy to do. Can anyone on this forum recommend any tutorials that might guide me through it?

I also need to replace my water pump as well.

Gee oh Dee

"Tutorials?"

Haynes or Chilton repair guide. They will help with your water pump replacement as well.

eggdashure

They are easy...in theory! One large bolt attaches the shock to the axle and two PITA bolts that attach it at the top. Here's the issue, the top two bolts always strip out, it's almost a given. After mine stripped out I had to pull up the carpet in the rear and drill out the old bolts. Now that I knew where the the bolts were located I cut out a small rectangle and dropped a couple strong bolts through each side. Shouldn't need to worry about the bolts next time!

jeepxj19

like stated above that is pretty much the easyest way to fix the upper shock bolts, when i installed my lift i was worryed about them striping and not now how to fix it but actually its pretty easy to fix and actually should be done regardless if your old bolts strip out or break, basically all i did was, when installing my lift 2 of the 4 bolts ended up breaking so i went and pullled the carpet up in the rear and measured and figured out were the bolts were located and then took a 1" hole saw and drilled 2 holes on each side into the floor right above were the shock bolts are. then i took a air chizle and broke free the welded on nuts and just bought some some hardware, locking nuts, bolts, washers. and put all that on then i cut up an old rubber mat and sealed up the holes in the floor board with the mat and some silicone, put the carpet back together and everything and i was done, well worth and and much better then stock, jeep should have made it like that in the first place

wildbill1

I replaced the rear shocks in my '99 XJ a couple months ago and broke all 4 upper shock bolts. I managed to fish new bolts into the original holes without removing carpet or cutting holes in the body.

I used a punch and hammer to knock out what was left of the weld-nuts, tied thin tie wire to the new bolts and fished the bolts in through an opening in the unibody. It wasn't difficult at all.

h2oskikrazy

There are only three bolts per shock to remove. If you crawl under the rear and look up, you can see the bolts. The problem is, you will certainly brake the top rear bolts off if you don't soak them in PB Blaster for days. You can try spraying it up in there through that triangle area opening near the top of the shocks. And, then you may not hit them right and break them off anyway like I did.

This is the best way to fix them and it doesn't take long at all:

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f11/s...-heavy-323809/

If you have an air compressor, a cheap air hammer from harbor freight or menards is a good investment. If you don't have an air compressor, some have knocked them out with a large long punch and large hammer, which will take longer and more muscle, but will do the job just the same.

Taylor28

It might have been wise if I provided a bit more background.

I have not done anything to my Jeep myself beyond changing the oil. Since my Jeep only has 95,000 miles I would like to keep it until it dies--and so I'm interested in starting to do more of the repairs and maintenance myself. I told my mechanic this, and since I am a woman, he had quite a laugh. I'm pretty handy--I renovated my entire house on my own. I know how to use tools and I figure it is worth the attempt.

Thanks for the info on the shock replacement. I'm going to give it a shot and I'll let you know how I do!

longship

The top bolts may not cause any problems. I changed my original shocks recently and all 4 wound out with no issues.

Go figure.

Rob

CAEMI

Everybody knows there is no water in Scotland...it's all been made into scotch...so therefore there is no rust.

And everybody is too drunk to know whether the shocks are bad anyway.

eggdashure

longship

This car spent most of it's life on the south coast of England. Up here the annual rainfall is only 57".

There is a distillery in town though.

Rob

Jeroen

Replaced my four shocks a little while ago on my '98, whilst stone sober (well, I think so anyway)

Did it in about one hour 15 minutes. Only had one bolt that got stuck a bit, that took 20 minutes, but all others were no problem whatsoever.

So probably, untill you get under your Jeep, you won't know what you're getting yourself into. Could go either way. Either way, you could have that drink to celebrate a job done nicely and quickly or have that drink because of those #$%& rusted bolts.

Enjoy

Jeroen

dougfrompa

Just finished my rear shocks. All four bolts came right out. I replaced them with some new ones and everything went together in 20 minutes. It is a 1999 xj that spent most of its time on the winter roads in sw PA. PB Blaster is your friend. Sprayed the bolts 2 times last week and everything went as planned. Good luck!

ed6100

Front shocks were much easier than I was expecting. Bought a cheap 5" vise grip at Walmart for under $2 to keep the shocks from spinning as I took the top nut off (couldn't find my good grips). I spray them with PB Blaster about 5 minutes before starting. Jacked up the front, set jack stands and took wheels off. Took off the two lower nuts on each side, pulled old shocks and put in the new ones. Total time for front about 30 minutes.

Rear shocks were even easier than the front. I just crawled under the Jeep...no jacking or wheel removal required. Sprayed the PB Blaster on all bolts. Didn't wait after spraying. No stripped or broken bolts. Total time for rear about 20 minutes.

Steering stabilizer was a challange until I got the right tool. I tried a hammer, gear puller and other assorted things to get the bolt out of the tie rod. Once I got a loaner Pitman Tie Rod Puller from the parts store it took about 15 minutes.

The tire place wanted $340 to replace just the shocks. So I bought all the parts from the parts place for $100 (4 shocks and the stabilizer). The local garage wanted $30 per shock just for installation and they wouldn't touch the steering stabilizer.

Reaper

Rock Lizard Fabrications has a good write up if you snap the bolts and decide to cut out the floor.

http://www.rocklizardfabrications.co...ock_mounts.htm