Any How-To's on swapping the rear shock?

[Mr. Azim]

Originally Posted by natedogg624

With these long winters up here, i foresee me modding the rear end to allow for easier shock swaps...

what a pita.

Finally did this last night.... didn't have the patience to take photos and whatnot. First time doing it so it took WAY longer than it should (and not as easy as the service manual says it is). Took a lot of "maybe if I did this..." with my brother but managed to get it out.

I used axle stands but still had to remove the rear tire, made it a lot easier/lighter to move the swingwarm around as needed. Anyway, successful install. I put a tiny smidge of silicone on the end of each bolt after torquing (I do this for all installs - except wheels - so I know if I missed a bolt or not).

Anyway, she's back in one piece and ready for next week's race weekend! THanks for the tips/advice. I'll do an FAQ next time I remove it for servicing since I had a very messy and immunodeficient set up this time.

[natedogg624]

Originally Posted by My94GT

i think i read some where people cut a hole in the side of the frame or sub frame to gain access?

yes drill a hole as well as weld the nut onto the opposing side of the clevis and dog bones.

[Tdub]

Shock removal/install made easy...

Either weld the nut on the stock clevis or Graves offers one ready to go.

Replace the stock bolt with an allen head bolt. Modify bolt by making it absolutely only as long as needed. When installed it should just make the end of the nut. It needs to be as short as possible to clear the frame when removing. making it an allen allows for as small a hole as possible required in the subframe.

Drill a hole in the left side of the subframe so your ball end allen can get to the bolt head.

Down to the bottom...

The first time might require you remove the muffler so you can reverse the bolts so the nuts can be accessed from the left side.
Now after the bolts have been reversed you will only have to loosen the front nut and remove the rear nut. Then push the rear bolt thru just enough so the link can swing down and out of the way.

With these mods, I can remove and replace a shock in less than 3 minutes.