My Shocking Adventure

[Johnny O]

Finally got around to installing my Pro Comp ES9000's today, or trying to anyway. They arrived the day before I went away on business for a week, then lots of catching up last week when I got home so no time until now.

Got the left front shock out. New shocks came with no cross pins for the lower mount but way more bolts than I need. Folks here say use the old hardware, oookay. Hammer out the bushing and pin from the old shock. Easy. Spend about two hours trying to get it to fit into the Pro Comp using a wide assortment of ideas, some sensible, some hairbrained. Drive to AutoZone on 3 shocks to look for pins. No luck, quit and go to spaghetti dinner at church. Ponder this over dinner while pretending to pay attention to what my wife and other people are talking about. Idea! Come home, take a hacksaw to the old bushing with the pin in the vise, sawing it width-wise several times to get as much rubber off as possible. Swipe the wife's Dremel to clean the rest of the rubber off. Now the garage smells like John Force did a burnout through it. Put the pin in the bushing, that was easy, place a socket over the pin and try to hammer it into the shock. No go. Pull the pin back out, put the bushing in the shock, shoot some WD-40, place bushing over socket in vise, hold shock body between elbow and ribs, hold pin with vise-grips, and hammer away. Success!!! Now hammer the splined OE bolts back into the pin (I like this idea, then you don't have to fit a wrench on the top of the bolt).

Lean on shock to compress it all the way, then gotta slip it in fast as it expands or it won't fit. About the seventh try I got it. Tighten everything down. Whew!

The right front should go faster now that I know what to do exactly. At this rate I should have all four in by Wednesday.

 

[Todd Z]

I don't know, My Monroe Reflexes Came with the correct hard wear and no re using of any thing....



Glad you got it solved

Todd Z

 

[Ben Poche]

my ranchos came with all hard wear also

 

[brandon mena]

My Pro Comps came with hardware but I did need to buy nuts and bolts for the fronts.:huh:

 

[Nelson Atwell]

My ProComps came with all the hardware, and I reused the spline bolts, as you did. I actually have the OEM bolts leftover from the rear shocks, if anyone wants them. I, of course, tossed the OEM shocks into the trash can.

 

[Johnny O]

Brandon, I guess I got your nuts and bolts. Need two per shock and they gave me eight. :lol:

 

[brandon mena]

Those crafty bastards, lol. Mine are the es9000's also. Few months on em' so far and today when I went to do the SOA they were still strong as hell. Good shocks if you ask me.

 

[j Schmidty]

I was missing the same hardware you were. I just called and told 4wheelparts that they need to send the rest of the hardware if they want my business anymore, and sure enough, 2 days later, the parts were at my doorstep.

 

[EddieS'04]

I have seen shocks that had missing hardware. I have never seen a new shock come without the cross pins. They are usually molded into the gromet. I would be afraid that they will loosen up in the future.



My ranchos came with all the hardware and pins. Iam glad to hear the problems folks have had with the missing parts to pro-comp. Not that you had problems, but I wont recomend them to anyone. You should not have to reuse crosspins. As I stated, they are a molded part.....

 

[Nelson Atwell]

Iam glad to hear the problems folks have had with the missing parts to pro-comp

-- Fast Eddie



Why would you be glad to hear about fellow ST owners having problems? :unsure:



I am not happy about it. In fact, I'm a bit disappointed, since I am one of the first people that endorsed this product here. Mine went on with no issues, but apparently ProComp or the resellers are now having a problem with misplaced hardware.



All of my hardware came in a sealed plastic bag, so I am unsure how it would be missing, unless someone shorted it at the factory, or cannibalised the package at the resellers location.

 

[Jett BG]

i got my es9000 from 4whellparts...and they put it in for meeh too...



love my shocks..and the ee sway bar

 

[TRACket Paul]

I think F. E. meant that he appreciated fiinding out about the poor packaging of the Pro Comp products, so he won't recommend them to anyone else.

 

[Todd Z]

I know I never will recommend them....

Todd Z

 

[TomT]

As I have said in previous posts, having a vice to install these shocks is the only way to go. Mine were missing the bolts also but I had no problem getting the oem bolts off and using them. The cross-pins had to be installed but by using a vise and a little wheel grease, I had no trouble putting them together. The hardest part was mounting the rears and compressing them, like JohnnyO said, then guiding it into the right spot. I had to enlist some help for that part.

 

[EddieS'04]

Not that you had problems, but I wont recomend them to anyone. You should not have to reuse crosspins. As I stated, they are a molded part.....

Nelson,

Iam not glad they had problems. You didnt read my disclaimer. Maybe I should have said Iam glad to know that procomp, dont furnish whats needed. That way I wont recomend them to my local friends. Is that better???

 

[Johnny O]

The hardest part was mounting the rears and compressing them, like JohnnyO said, then guiding it into the right spot. I had to enlist some help for that part.

I was compressing the front shock. The Pro Comps take a lot more effort than the stockers, which I can push up to remove with one hand. :lol: If I'd get it halfway in and the bolts weren't lined up when it expanded, it took everything I had to compress it enough to get it back out and try again.

I have shackles on the rear, so my rears are already extended out farther than the Pro Comps are with the tie-downs on. I'll either back one wheel at a time up a ramp to compress that side or bolt the top on, insert the lower bolt, cut the tie-down, and stick it in the lower mount as it expands, but I'm not sure how fast that will be. If it expands real quick, I'm in trouble. Push it up with a hydraulic jack I guess.

I remember now why I haven't changed any shocks in 20 years. Some things just aren't worth the time I spend.

 

[Gavin Allan]

My ProComp 9000s had DOUBLE the upper mount hardware (big rubber bushings, cup washers,nuts, etc.) but had NONE of the lower mount hardware. I reused the old lowers--it really wasn't too bad to pound out the bolts or pound the pins into the new shock bushings--I was able to do it in less than 5 minutes per shock.



I also screwed up and ordered four PAIRS of boots (didn't see the word "pair"), so I have some extras. I may think of something to do with the extras around here, functional or fun... Maybe I can use them on my WheelHorse!



Seems like someone in the Quality Control department at the ProComp packaging line was asleep...

 

[Johnny O]

The rear shocks look like they came with double hardware.

 

[Johnny O]

The saga continues.....

Get home from work, start on the right front. Went faster because I knew what I needed to do. Get ready to install the new Pro Comp, compress it to fit and it doesn'ttry to expand out like the other one. Hmm. Call 4 Wheel Parts.

Ring-ring....

"Dude, I've got a defective shock. Shaft stays where I put it."

"Those are a 50/50 gas shock, they're not supposed to expand, equal force in and out."

"Ooookay, then the other one I put on yesterday is defective because it wants to expand all the time. Also they're missing the cross pins and it's been a real hassle pounding the ones out of my old shocks and putting them in. And I haven't even started on the back ones yet."

"You want to send them in for a refund?"

"That would be nice, yeah."

"No problem."

Dang, that was so easy you'd think they've done it before. :lol:



Surrender is looking good about now. Can't put the OE shocks back in either because I destroyed the bushings getting the cross pins out. Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug.



Walk into house to see the wife :wub:, and say like the father in A Christmas Story, "We are going OUT...to eat." Where? "To the mall because that's where Sears is."

Drive to the mall on 3 shocks, go to Sears. Naturally there is no Sensa Trac part listing for an '05. Dude gets out shocks for an '04 after I swear to him that they're the same, looks at me funny :blink: because I want shocks for an '05. Open boxes to check. Good thing. No upper insulators for the front shocks. "Do you have any?" "No." "I'll be back in 20 minutes." Drive home, grab OE front shocks for parts, drive back to mall. Drop off truck, eat dinner, wife buys shoes. Sears guy calls my cell, they're done. Get home in time for Steeler game on MNF. Life is finally good. Truck rides better too.



The game is on and it's beer-thirty.

 

[TRACket Paul]

Whoo Hoo!

and I like your writing style.