You don't need a lot of height, since you only need to get at one bolt per side. Since you'll be exerting quite a bit of force to loosen/retorque the axle side shock bolts, this is a job that you should absolutely never be doing with a jack, and I'm not all that comfortable with jackstands here either. I'd drive one side at a time up onto a curb and lay down in the gutter to work first.

If you don't have/can't get hold of a set of ramps, it's easy enough and cheap enough to nail some lengths of 2 x 10 lumber together and make your own. Different lengths will let you approximate the 'ramp' enough to drive up onto even if you don't miter the ends. Nail a 'stop block' to keep you from driving past the end.


Norm

 

I actually jacked the entire thing up and set it on jack stands. Then I jacked up the rear end, so my springs didn't shift while I was trying to get the shocks off. If you check the rear spring install thread, under the "V6 Handling" topics, I basically followed that. I now have a brand new FRPP rear sway bar that I can't use though. Since I have no hardware.

 

Just put in my rear. Tein Flex. Lifted the rear and put two jackstands on. Started on one side, put the lift on the axle to support the weight. Relatively simple procedure.

 

Just realized: mine is a convertible! Does it change anything? I have not started yet but I wonder how do I unbolt the top of the shock? Is it under the convertible top? Then how do I get there?

 

Some liquid wrench makes a heck of a lot of difference.
And air tools will remove the upper nut without wrenching
on the stem flats...

 

OK at the end everything was very easy. It took me about 1 hour, but I was in no rush. Jacked up one wheel at a time. Used a small bottlejack under the center of the differential with a piece of 2x4 in beetween. It was useful for supporting the rear axle and aligning things for the lower bolt. The only question I had was how right should the upper small nut be? It seems to compress the rubber bushings but how much is enough or too much? I guess guessed this part... Anyways, with the new Tokico HP the rear seems to ride just a bit softer and quiter, but may be its just my imagination.

 

Bushings should be compressed enough to be just barely beginning to develop a convex shape. I apologize for the crudeness of the following ASCII sketches.

(______) about right, maybe a little too little

(______) is a little too much

(______) is way too much



Norm

 

The shocks should have come with a torque spec. The problem is you need a crowsfoot adapter to measure the torque. Without one then just do it as tight as you canwith the two wrenches and use blue loctite. Mine, Tokico D Specs, tended to come loose until I got them tight enough.