****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
these shocks make a big difference in handling and ride on the2015 4wd F250. This will make the suspension work rather than the whole vehicle simply shuddering up and down over small bumps and holes in the road. Tires stay in contact with road, suspension moves, you and the seat stay still, what a concept! OEM shocks don't even move once compressed, pityful. You will need an 18 mm wrench or socket for lower shock mount bolts and a 21 mm open end, box end or deep socket for the top mount nut and a 20mm or adjustable wrench for the shaft bolt on the top mount. Once the old shocks are off, you need a 19mm open end or socket for the Bilstein top mount nut and you hold the shaft from moving with a hex key, in my experience I didn't really need that but you may want to. Check the top of the shaft you'll see a hex hole up there, seems like it was a 6mm but don't hold me to that. Forget any jacking, removing tires, etc to do this it isn't necessary, and much safer with wheels on the ground while you are under there. If you need some space I drove the wheel I was working on over a 2x12 and that gave me a little height to work with. I wasn't in the mood to fool with jacks, jack stands and all that. No need to. Just crank the steering wheel over away from the side you are working on and you'll have plenty of room. The only issue is after attaching the lower shock mounts using the OEM 18mm bolt/nut, you need to compress the shock about 3" to get it into the upper mounting hole. I used a common tie down racheting strap for this job. I hooked one hook to the chassis right under the lower shock mount bracket on the truck and after adjusting the strap length I put the upper hook around the top shock rubber grommet and washer (lower one already installed now, put upper ones on after shock is in place, of course). At this point you just crank the rachet on the strap until the shock compresses a few inches and shove the shaft under the mounting hole, release the rachet and up pops the shock into place. Put on upper grommet and washer, tighten 19mm nut and presto! IF the shaft turns while you tighten this nut hold the shaft still with the hex key mentioned earlier. Your truck is now a better place to be. Also just tighten upper nut until the grommet fills or slightly goes outside the washer, don't crank it down and flatten the grommet. If you aren't sure look at the OEM arrangement for an idea on how tight to go with that nut. Happy motoring !!
