Old Man Emu Shocks

I was finally able to get some money together to replace the shocks. The control of the dead shocks is starting to scare me on bumps. It's adventure to go from I-235 south bound on to I-40 west bound. That's what I call "real driving". Anyway...I bought Old Man Emu shocks from Ryan at Rover Cannibal. Theories vary greatly on shocks. Bilstein or OME or Woodcock or is it Woodchip. Anyway I digress. I went with the Old Man Emu's.

The shock install uses some very simple tools. There is a shock removal tool which I purchased to put on the steering damper some time ago. It is basically a slotted nut that is easy to get a wrench on. It was too small for these industrial sized shocks. And they didn't have a big one at my local parts store.

So with two vise grips properly adjusted and a 19mm wrench the shocks come off with just a little effort. The shocks I had previous to the new OME shocks were probably original equipment. And they had failed some time ago. Their failure and the previous owner's failure to replace them have contributed to the bushings failing in some way I am sure.

I pulled them off one at a time and replaced them. There are a few tricks that I will share with you:

After you take off the metal keeper that keeps the shock from expanding to it's full length you will notice you get progressively weaker the longer you need to hold the shock in it's compressed state. It is possible I think to install and cut the metal keeper but I was not going to attempt it.

Keep track of the bushings on the old shocks so you know how to stack the bushings, washers and such.

You can hold the shock with your hand if you need to to tighten the nut down, up to a point. I used the vise grip properly adjusted to hold the shock but not to squeeze the shock too much. There is a nice lovely bit of roughed up place on each shock for the vise grip to grip.

If you are not careful the wrench you thought you were holding will fly back and hit you directly on the nose. Yes, it hurts.

I wasn't too sure how far to turn the nuts down but I guessed and tightened them about the same amount as the previous shocks leaving about two or three visable threads above the shock bolt.

This is a simple job. I rate it a 1 on the Difficulty Scale. It could be easier with a lift but I was able to do mine in the driveway. The more difficult nuts to remove were a challenge while laying down under the back of the Rover. If you hose off the underneath before it will be a less dusty job.

Hope you try this and have a smooth ride after your done, with out a busted nose.

Thanks for reading and happy Rovering.