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Home How To Replace Ford Shocks And Struts

How To Replace Ford Shocks And Struts

It’s common for people to put off replacing their shocks or struts. The biggest reason for that is because dealerships and repair shops charge an arm and a leg to get the job done.

What if we told you that you can replace your shocks or struts right at home? You’ll save so much money that way. You will only need:

Why Is Replacing Struts Harder Than Replacing Shocks?

Replacement

Replacing shocks is something pretty much anyone could do. A shock is just a tube that's held on by two bolts. It’s harder and more time consuming to replace struts for several reasons:

  • Struts have a more complicated design than shocks.
  • You may need to remove the springs from the struts. This will require special equipment.
  • You will need an alignment after replacing struts.

If you're not sure if you have what it takes to replace the struts on your Ford, skip ahead to the last section of this post. Go over the steps and see if the job is within your realm of skills.

A Quick Note About Rusted Bolts

Parts

Shocks and struts are supposed to last a long time, usually about 70k - 100k miles. Depending on where you live, there's a good chance the bolts are rusted, so you may want to replace the bolts, too. Before you begin removing rusted bolts, spray them with WD-40 or PB-Blaster. It helps a lot.

Be sure you've also got your replacement OEM parts readily available before beginning the job. If you're looking for replacement shocks, look no further than our catalog of genuine OEM Ford shocks. You'll enjoy a huge discount on these shocks, as we offer wholesale pricing on all the parts we carry.

How To Replace Ford Shocks

If you have a set of shocks on your Ford that need replacing, you're in luck. Replacing shocks is an easy and straightforward process. Here's how:

  1. Remove the wheel.
  2. Remove the lower bolt.
  3. Remove the upper bolt.
  4. Remove the old shock.
  5. Bolt the new shock in at the top and bottom.
  6. Repeat on the other side.

That's all! Easy, isn't it?

How To Replace Ford Struts

The strut replacement process varies a bit between Ford models. We based this set of instructions on 2009-2014 F-150s.

  1. Lift your vehicle and then remove the wheels.
  2. Remove the splash shield. It's inside the wheel well, behind the strut.
  3. Take a 15 mm socket with a long ratchet, and then remove the 3 nuts on the top of the strut. Leave the middle nut alone.
  4. Remove the lower bolt on the mounting strut assembly.
  5. Remove the sway bar links. You can just disconnect the top one for now.
  6. Take a 22 mm socket and then remove the nut from the upper ball joint and control arm.
  7. With a hammer, hit the ball joint stud until it's out of the hole.
  8. Remove the nut from the outer tie rod.
  9. With a hammer, hit the knuckle that's on the side of the outer tie rod to loosen it.
  10. At this point, the wheel hub assembly should be lowered and put to the side a bit. The strut should be easy to remove now.
  11. Remove the lower strut bolt that you loosened earlier.
  12. Use a pry bar to lower the lower control arm even more. This step can be tricky, so proceed with caution.
  13. Remove the old strut.
  14. Remove the spring from the old strut, and install it on the new strut. This is a potentially dangerous step. If you have any doubts about it, take the strut to a shop and have them do it. With their equipment, it doesn't take long, and won't cost much.
  15. Install the new strut in the reverse order of removal.
  16. Repeat on the other side.
  17. Get the truck aligned.

Got any questions about the shock and/or strut replacement process? You're welcome to contact us!