i have an '87 town car and i just finished putting new front and rear shocks.
i bought Monroe gas-matic shocks. they retailed at $14.44 a piece. and they came with all the washers, bolts and bushings you need.
i don't have an air-ride or auto leveling rear, so i suppose this made the job easier for me.
Let start off first by saying the fronts were a lot harder than the rear.
In the rear you have more room to work and the shock isn't running through the middle of the coil spring like the front. although the top nut on the shock is hard to get to in the rear. for this, i had to take the tire off and use a speed wrench (a socket wouldn't fit also meaning a torque wrench couldn't fit as well) i only had enough room to give it 1/4 turns, it sucked but after a little time they cam right off, and dropped down.
The front shocks were harder to get to, but you could use a deep dish socket to take off the top bolts on the shock (and torque them also). the bottom bolts also came out easily. the only problem is getting a channel lock or vice grip in between the coil spring to stop the top of the shock from spinning when removing and installing the shocks. on the rear you have enough room to hold the shock with your hands.
so all in all it wasn't that hard of a job.
now my next job is putting on new front rotors.
i bought Monroe gas-matic shocks. they retailed at $14.44 a piece. and they came with all the washers, bolts and bushings you need.
i don't have an air-ride or auto leveling rear, so i suppose this made the job easier for me.
Let start off first by saying the fronts were a lot harder than the rear.
In the rear you have more room to work and the shock isn't running through the middle of the coil spring like the front. although the top nut on the shock is hard to get to in the rear. for this, i had to take the tire off and use a speed wrench (a socket wouldn't fit also meaning a torque wrench couldn't fit as well) i only had enough room to give it 1/4 turns, it sucked but after a little time they cam right off, and dropped down.
The front shocks were harder to get to, but you could use a deep dish socket to take off the top bolts on the shock (and torque them also). the bottom bolts also came out easily. the only problem is getting a channel lock or vice grip in between the coil spring to stop the top of the shock from spinning when removing and installing the shocks. on the rear you have enough room to hold the shock with your hands.
so all in all it wasn't that hard of a job.
now my next job is putting on new front rotors.