How hard is it to swap shocks out

[Meethead]

I bought Bilstein 5100s for all 4 corners. I know the back is very easy. Just wondering how the front is. What do i have to remove to get the shock spring out? just unbolt Upper ball joint?

 

[cbrsilv15]

There’s YouTube videos on how to do it. The safe way is to remove the assembly and take it to a shop that has a spring compressor so they can safely swap out the shock. 

 

3 bolts on top, disconnect sway bar link, take out 2 bolts on the bottom and unclip the speed sensor. Remove assembly, have shocks swapped and install in the reverse steps. 

[Spurshot]

Either the upper or lower A-arm had to come loose at one end to get it out of there when I did it.  I chose the upper A-arm, because I put Cognito A-arms on.  A shop charged me $200 on a previous truck to put in Bilsteins. You'll need to get it aligned.