Rear Shock replacement?

[ConElite]

I finally got my rear shocks in yesterday, And I was curious as to whats the easiest way to get access to the top mounting bolt? I know its under the carpet somewhere, but anyone have a picture or something along those lines?

Just in case your interesed, 8-ways all the way around.

[Wild Willy]

Pretty easy to get to, pull the carpet back- this is a great place to have access to impact tools-

[ConElite]

Pretty easy to get to, pull the carpet back- this is a great place to have access to impact tools-

Oh I have a completely Stocked Garage with Large Compressor!

My Question is exactly where is the mount point, but I guess Ill get a better idea When I get under the car.

[Trash man]

right behind the rear seats, by the sail panels.

[ConElite]

I figured somewhere around there, Just curious if I should raise the carpet from the Front or rear. Ill figure it out.

[formula_gramps]

C/E,

Piece of cake. Pretty easy to get to, and the carpet comes right up. As always, the trick is getting the carpet back under the interior panels and getting it to lie right when you're done......LOL.

I'm trying to remember when I did mine if I had to remove the posts on each side that the seat latches to. I think those have to come out to remove the adjacent panel because the carpet is tucked pretty tightly under them as I recall.

Wasn't much of a deal as I remember, and I didn't have access to an air gun at the time. Good luck!

[raroZ28]

Be sure to post up how those bad boys feel.

[Injuneer]

The pockets for the upper mounts are mostly on the "package shelf" behind the rear upper seatback. I didn't have to remove anything but the carpet over the package shelf to access the pockets. After you pull the carpet back, the pockets are filled with off-white foam inserts, I assume to deaden noise. The foam inserts just pull out.

[ConElite]

Well I went ahead and changed those bad boys. It was not hard at all. Took me about an hour taking my time since My my good friend was over and i kept stopping to talk to her. The new Shocks came with new studs for the Axle mount point which is pretty sweet. My homegirl helped me put on the nut from the top while I fed it from the bottom (She loves helping!!! ). I showed my father the old ones, and right away he said they were bad! I have a video Ill post when I get home.

So far it feels so much smoother, but The noise that I thought were the shocks didnt go away. Its a thud/bumping noise that sounds somewhere in the rear! I tightened all the control arm bolts, Tighened the Exhaust, The Panhard. Im completely lost!

[Al 96 Ram Air T/A]

You sure the noise is not from the exhaust pipe (over the axle tube) hitting the body? No matter what I do, mine touches. I wedged a few sheets of wood and teflon in there to insulate it (between the pipe and the body).

It still touches, but since there is no play, it doesn't bump.

[Christopherrr]

Had the same problem when I put in my Bilsteins. Turns out, the factory bolts were too small for the shock to mount securely to the axle. Had to run to the hardware store and get larger harden bolts to keep the shock from banging in the rear. Not saying it's the issue, but it worth the look.

[Wild Willy]

Another common source of thumping noises on these cars is where the torque arm from the rear axle attaches to the back of the transmission. The bushing wears out, and the axle moves around, especially under acell/decell- put your hand on the shifter and cycle the gas on and off a couple times when you are going down the road-

[Christopherrr]

So what did it end up being?

[ConElite]

So what did it end up being?

Dude, Im still Lost. Its not the Axle to Shock bolt bc the new shocks came with a new bolt. Im going to tighten the top Shock bolt some more.

Then Im goin gto change out the Torque arm bushing which I already bought (Energy suspension one). Once I do That Im going to mess with the exhaust and see if I can just fiddle with it and assure its not banging around.

This issue is getting so annoying that it almost makes me not wanna drive my car!.

[Al 96 Ram Air T/A]

What about the rubber isolator at the top of the spring? Is it present and in good condition?

Or, is the Y-pipe hitting the tunnel cross brace? I had to add spacers to mine to allow clearance. Now I'm using a Strano brace, so it's a moot point.

You keep lookin'...we'll keep suggestin'