Need some Shock advice

[1995 RedVette]

My 95 Coupe is beginning to have an extra bounce in the front end when I hit a dip in the road. It still handles pretty well, however, if I rock my weight onto the car while it is parked, it will move up and down quite a lot.

My question.... the front shocks look pretty stright forward to change, however, the rears look a little more complicated. Is there anything I should know before changing the shocks on the car? And how do the rear shocks come out of the car? Finally, what brand of shock would you put back into the car (95 auto, base suspension)?


Thanks for the help!!

Brett

 

[tobijohn]

The only thing more complicated about the rears as opposed to the fronts is that the wheels need to be removed first. To be on the safe side, squirt some penetrating oil on the bolts the night before, have a breaker bar or some other form of leverage handy for that big bolt on the bottom of the rears (just in case) and a 9" extension to reach the lower bolts on the fronts if you choose to leave the front wheels on (which is what I did). It took me a couple of hours but anyone else should be able to do the job in a little over an hour....

As for replacement shocks, you'll get all kinds of opinions. In my case, I got a great deal on a used set of Bilsteins (15K) to replace the OEM 70K ones. As far as "bang for the buck", the consensus is KYBs (about $130 a set if you shop around)...

 

[1995 RedVette]

Thanks a lot. I have been wondering if anything needed to come off of the rear suspension other than just the wheel and tire. I will back the car on the ramps and take a look at the situation again.

Brett

 

[Edmond]

Brett,

I've heard great things about the KYB's and also the TPIS shocks. I think they're in the same ballpark in terms of price. Bilsteins are too expensive for me; but that doesn't mean they're too expensive for you.

 

[WhalePirot]

Will the Bilsteins in boxes, here, slightly used on the rear of my '84, fit your car? Probably. Let's make a deal on the pair. Is $50/pair fair, plus <$10 shipping? They're gathering dust.

I had two sets of Monroes; both leakers; got my money back, then had my original Bilsteins rebuilt and revalved.

More on shocks available through a search, above.

 

[tobijohn]

Will the Bilsteins in boxes, here, slightly used on my '84, fit your car? Probably. Let's make a deal on the pair. Is $50/pair fair, plus <$10 shipping? They're gathering dust...

Great deal but I'm not sure if they'll fit a 95. Bilstein's site has different part numbers for 84-87, 88 and 89-96 C4s:

http://www.bilstein.com
http://www.vansteel.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=ProductList&SubGroup=1909

 

[1995 RedVette]

Will the Bilsteins in boxes, here, slightly used on the rear of my '84, fit your car? Probably. Let's make a deal on the pair. Is $50/pair fair, plus <$10 shipping? They're gathering dust.

I had two sets of Monroes; both leakers; got my money back, then had my original Bilsteins rebuilt and revalved.

More on shocks available through a search, above.

I would if they would fit. I called the local Chevy dealer and he has three part numbers for C4 shocks 84-87 , 88, 89-96 for with and with out Z51. Thanks for the offer though!!!


Brett

 

[tobijohn]

...I called the local Chevy dealer and he has three part numbers for C4 shocks 84-87 , 88, 89-96 for with and with out Z51. Thanks for the offer though!!!

FYI, the Z51` shocks will work with the base suspension (FE1) and in fact a lot of guys prefer the firmer ride that the Z51s give...

 

[c4cruiser]

The rear shocks are not hard to remove at all. With the car up and the wheel off, support the rear knuckle with a jackstand by raising it just slightly. Remove the lower shock bolt. The upper shock mounting point is a bracket attached to the car. Remove the two small bolts that are on either side of the bracket where it goes up into the body.

Pull the shock off the lower mounting stud and remove the shock assembly from the car. Remove the upper bracket assembly from the shock and install the new shock in the reverse order.

Torque the upper shock nut to 19 ft-lb. Install the shock on the car and snug the lower nut and the upper bracket bolts. Raise the rear knuckle so the suspension is sitting at ride height (it should raise the car just off the jackstand). Tighten the lower not to 61 ft-lb and the upper bracket bolts to 22 ft-lb.

Front shock bolt/nut torque specs are 19 ft-lb for both the upper shock rod nut and the lower bolts. The front shocks can be replaced without raising the car or removing the wheel.

If you want the same ride as the OEM shock, Bilsteins are very good. Expect to pay around $65 to $70 per shock. A good upgrade is the Bilstein Z51 shock. It will be a stiffer ride but will provide a great handling improvement over the base shock. Try Van Steel www.vansteel.com for Bilstein shocks.

For a good "replacement" shock that doesn't cost a lot, look at the KYB Gas-A-Just. They are slightly stiffer than the base FE1 shock and you can get them from Summit Racing www.summitracing.com for about $28 each.

 

[tobijohn]

Excellent instructions. That's exactly how I did it....

 

[1995 RedVette]

Again I am in awe at the complete and professional instruction I get from this site!!! Thank you C4Cruiser and tobijohn. I will look at doing the swap this weekend or next.

Brett

 

[GuyzVette]

I took everyone's advice as well on this thread, and purchased the KYB shocks (since my budget is tight), and put them in last night. I'm a novice at mechanical work, but because of the great advice here, I now have an inexpensive, cheaply installed (only cost me some skin from my knuckles), and great riding shocks! Thanks everyone!

GuyzVette