JimC Posted November 25, 2009 Report Share Posted November 25, 2009 I'm trying to change the shocks but the top shock bolt doesn't line up with the cut-out in the body. See attached pic. I tried jacking the car up to see if the nut would drop down a bit to allow a wrench to slip in on the nut but it didn't move. Does anyone know what the bolt with the half-moon shaped washer is for? I'm hesitant to start loosening any of the exposed bolt since I don't know which ones might unload the spring on me. Anyone encountered this before, and have advice? Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilled man Posted November 25, 2009 Report Share Posted November 25, 2009 remove that and then there is two bolts underneat the car that hold the shock housing in place. after that remove the bolt at the bottom where the shock mounts to the suspension and the shock will fall out none will unload the spring on you untill you get the shock out of the car fully and then remove the center nut there in black that is mounted to the shock itself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimC Posted November 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2009 remove that and then there is two bolts underneat the car that hold the shock housing in place. after that remove the bolt at the bottom where the shock mounts to the suspension and the shock will fall out none will unload the spring on you untill you get the shock out of the car fully and then remove the center nut there in black that is mounted to the shock itself I supported the bottom of the shock with a jack, then I bent that metal up around the top nut and got a socket on it and took it off. I couldn't identify any shock housing under the car (if that was a separate part from the actual shock). The bottom end of the shock was held on with just one big bolt. I took that off and let the jack down but it was still under some pressure. I was able to get it all of the way out. The spring rests directly on the bottom of the shock. The shock has to go in/up at an angle to get it in the right place. How do you get the top shock bolt lined up in the top hole? jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilled man Posted November 26, 2009 Report Share Posted November 26, 2009 you have to remove it all together as one housing and install it back in as one housing top housing and the shock together and put it all back together and then re install it . you wont get it back together any other way . Look at the bottom of the shock house there is two 14mm bolts on either side of it from the bottom of the car one to the left and right remove those bolts and the metal housing will come out . Install everything back together and then before trying to mount it back in place loosen up the rear trailing arm to fit the shock with top mount back in the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimC Posted November 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2009 you have to remove it all together as one housing and install it back in as one housing top housing and the shock together and put it all back together and then re install it . you wont get it back together any other way . Look at the bottom of the shock house there is two 14mm bolts on either side of it from the bottom of the car one to the left and right remove those bolts and the metal housing will come out . Install everything back together and then before trying to mount it back in place loosen up the rear trailing arm to fit the shock with top mount back in the car. Well I got it back together, but it was a major PITA. The bottom of the shock didn't fit into the middle of the lower control arm (like the Haynes book shows). It fit on a big stud sticking out of the front of the control arm. The bottom of the spring rested on the shock itself, not the lower control arm. I should have taken pics. Maybe the other side. The trick was keeping the control arm at the bottom of it's travel while jacking up the shock/spring assembly without catching the control arm. Then I just had to maneuver the top shock bolt into the hole in the mount. I've read several accounts of changing the shocks, but none of them mentioned the set-up I have. I did pick my car up at the factory on Goteborg, but I can't imagine I got some sort of mutant suspension system. jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billr99 Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 Well I got it back together, but it was a major PITA. The bottom of the shock didn't fit into the middle of the lower control arm (like the Haynes book shows). It fit on a big stud sticking out of the front of the control arm. The bottom of the spring rested on the shock itself, not the lower control arm. I should have taken pics. Maybe the other side. The trick was keeping the control arm at the bottom of it's travel while jacking up the shock/spring assembly without catching the control arm. Then I just had to maneuver the top shock bolt into the hole in the mount. I've read several accounts of changing the shocks, but none of them mentioned the set-up I have. I did pick my car up at the factory on Goteborg, but I can't imagine I got some sort of mutant suspension system. jim It doesn't show an AWD setup in Haynes (assuming you got the UK version of the manual which is he only S60 manual I'm aware of). You were looking at the FWD setup which is entirely different. As ChilledMan states, you need to pull the whole unit out as it is like a front strut requiring breakdown on the bench. You definitely did it the hard way. I just changed out the shocks on my '02 XC and it took maybe 40 minutes a side including jacking the car up to putting it all back down on the ground. Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilled man Posted November 29, 2009 Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 what you have is in the red square not what is right in the forfront Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimC Posted November 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2009 It doesn't show an AWD setup in Haynes (assuming you got the UK version of the manual which is he only S60 manual I'm aware of). You were looking at the FWD setup which is entirely different. As ChilledMan states, you need to pull the whole unit out as it is like a front strut requiring breakdown on the bench. You definitely did it the hard way. I just changed out the shocks on my '02 XC and it took maybe 40 minutes a side including jacking the car up to putting it all back down on the ground. Cheers, Bill It does look like I did it the hard way. The second side was a lot faster but was still a PITA to get the bottom shock hole lined up while I jacked it up to the stud. I had to slide a sledge hammer across the floor and tap the jack in place while the shock/spring was compressed. I was getting pretty worried that I wouldn't be able to get the thing back together again. I'm glad I won't have to do that again for a while, but I'm thankful for your help. Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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