Need a little help with how to remove front shock/strut?

[matz445]

Hello all, My 97 Disco has a blown front passenger strut/shock whatever they are on these. My question is how do I remove the old shock/strut? My buddy is working on it and he is a little stumped as he has only worked on domestic vehicles. Any help appreciated. Thanks

[llesra]

heres what i do.
-open hood.
-first jack up the side that needs fixing.
-take off the tire to allow for easier access.
-remove the top nut.
-remove lower shock nut. if shock spins with the nut, hold it in place with channel locks. might scratch the finish, but youre changing it anyway right?
-remove the four nuts holding in the shock tower.
-take out shock tower.
-take out shock.

[llesra]

this should help
http://www.4x4wire.com/rover/disco/tech/ome/

[keptin]

dont forget to use jack stands to safely keep the side that you are working on up.

[Bene]

to keep the channel locks from scratching the new shock, put a sock or something on the 'jaw'.

[Muddy Oval]

Or just do it the right way and put a small open end wrench on the flat spots on the end of the shock to hold it. Your choice.

[matz445]

Thanks everyone, sounds pretty straight forward. I will pass this on to my buddy.

[Bene]

Originally Posted by Muddy Oval

Or just do it the right way and put a small open end wrench on the flat spots on the end of the shock to hold it. Your choice.

as i recall i tried that, and it was a complete pain in the ass. but it's been almost a year, so i could be thinking of just getting them off.

[roverX]

Originally Posted by Bene

as i recall i tried that, and it was a complete pain in the ass. but it's been almost a year, so i could be thinking of just getting them off.

Yeah, I tried that too but found it was too tight to get both tools in there and my hands.

I put duct tape on the channel locks to keep it from scratching/slipping the new shock. The duct tape worked great and really gripped the new shock.