Just got my new set of shocks, front and rear for my 2005 4x4. Using my very limited mechanical skills I've fitted the rears and guess what? – HUGE improvement in ride quality, less rolling about, less noise, smoother – I am dead pleased!

Obviously at 38k miles the old'uns, though not looking bad (no visible leaks), had started to deteriorate inside.

Thanks to an older post on this forum I found the shocks at a really remarkable price – especially good because I'd had a lot of difficulty finding anyone who actually stocked the 4x4 ones.

Got them from shop4parts, pair of fronts and pair of rears, made it Italy, all-in for £146 shipped, great service too (main dealer wanted nearly £400 just for the parts!!!)

Advice I need – the front ones are obviously more complicated to fit than the rears – can anyone tell me if I need any special tools – do I need to compress the springs? Will I have to mess with the brakes at all?

Cheers!

Replacing dampers on struts is not a job for a relative novice. It can be dangerous and there's a lot of potential for doing more harm than good.
I'm not saying don't do it, but try to find a mate who knows what they are doing to assist you.

As mentioned, if you're not fully versed in this it has the potential to go wrong, badly.

Not every car manufacturer uses the same mounting for the bottom of the strut (Ford tend to sit the bottom of the damper in a hole in the hub)
But there's no harm in having a look on YouTube for Strut removal of nearly any car, this will give you a better insight.

If you do want to try..........

You'll need a few tools, socket set, spanners, jack, axle stand, a good set of spring compressors.

Jack the car up, you need a bit of room to work, so it needs to go up higher than just a wheel change, I use a trolley jack with a block of wood, then axle stand it.

Remove the wheel.
Clean up all the bolts and nuts first, particularly the threads that hang through, so you're not trying to undo AND pull dirt and rust through. A soak of something like WD40 and a wire brushing.

Clear the strut of cables, brake hose, etc

Remove the top joint of the anti roll bar droplink.
These has a tendency to spin the shaft of the ball joint when undoing, try holding the shoulder at the back, just at the end of the rubber boot.

Support the hub with another axle stand, try not to compress the strut, just support it when it's at the bottom of it's travel.

Then remove the two bolts holding the strut bottom to the hub.

Working under the bonnet, loosen the top nut of the mount on the inner wing while holding the strut under the arch, save it from dropping on your foot. Once the nut and mount is free, remove them.

The strut should now pull free.

Now the strut is off and away from the car, give it a clean to remove all the dirt, make sure the spring is clean and dry.

Fit the spring compressors one each side, make sure you get a good seat on the spring, tighten up a little each side at a time, until you can see the spring pull away from the top mount and that all the pressure is off the top mount.

This is where it can go badly wrong, the compressors can slip or you may not have the pressure off the mount.
Work with the top mount pointing away from you and handle carefully.

Once you are happy that the compressors are holding and the tension is off the top mount, hold the damper rod (there is a little sticking through with an allen key cut in the middle) while you undo the top nut.

Save you wreaking the allen key cut, remember hold the rod with the allen and undo the nut with a ring spanner.
There is quite a bit of torque on this nut and it's difficult to hold a small allen key, there are those that fit a ratchet like a socket that help or try extending the key with a stiff pipe or hook a ring spanner over it.

Once undone, the bearing and spring will slip off the damper ready for a new damper, spring or bearing.


Notes on refitting.

When refitting the spring, make sure the end of the spring lines up with the plate on the damper, there's a notch type stopper where the spring end fits against.

Tighten up all nuts and bolts to the correct torque settings, a liberal application of Copperslip grease on these will help the next time you have to remove it.

Double check all are tight.

I did a guide for another car which may help it's very similar, contact me and I'll send you a link.

wow, thanks that is very useful : )