DIY: Replace the Shocks on a 2000 Ford F-150
Are you remembering the days when your truck was riding a little smoother? Does it
- roll a little more on turns
- bottom out on bumps
- Dive when braking
- Squat when accelerating
- Bounce or slide sideways on a winding or rough road
I was seeing some of these symptom on my 2000 Ford F-150 and decided it was time to change the shocks. In addition to that there are about 75,000 miles on the odometer.
According the the Motorist Assurance Program (MAP) original stock shocks and struts probable should be replaced at 50,000. Need more help understanding the function of your shocks? There are some links at the end of the article to help you.
I purchased some Rancho RS5000 shocks, RS5236 for the rears and RS5235 for the front. No matter what brand of shocks you’re purchasing, always use their website to find out what to purchase.
Rancho RS5000 Series Shock
Front Shock Replacement
Safety
Time for a bit of safety. By the way this doesn’t apply to people that think a car falling on them won’t hurt. Just make sure you get some video so you can be famous 
Get yourself some jacks stands and use them! Don’t just count on that jack to hold the vehicle up. It takes an extra minute to set jack stands up. If you’re like me and working on a truck and Jeep, then purchasing jack stands made for SUVs and trucks makes sense.
Jack Stands for SUVs and Trucks
When using jack stands put them on the frame of the vehicle. You don’t see the second set of jack stands yet, but I use two. Better to be paranoid.
Jack Stands in Place
Old Shock Removal
Jack and remove the tire from one side of the front of the vehicle.
Old Shock Exposed
The shock is held in place in the front by two bolts on the lower control arm.
Lower Bracket Holding Old Shock
As well as one bolt on top.
Top Bolt for Old Shock
On the upper bolt of the old shock is a plastic tube guide that can be removed by pulling up on it. I ended up using a flat head screwdriver to pry it up.
Removing Clip from Upper Shock Bolt
To make things a little easy, spray some WD-40 or some other lubricant on all of the bolts and nuts.
Lubricating Old Shock Nuts
There are two sets of nuts, one on top and one below near the spring. Put a wrench on the nut near the spring to keep it in place while you remove the top one.
Removing Top Nut First
Remove the two nuts holding the lower section of the shock in place.
Removing Lower Nuts from Old Shock
The shock should drop down through the bottom if you’re lucky.
I was lucky with one shock. The other one expanded 100% once the bottom bolts were take off. I had a good time compressing the shock and trying to yank it through the bottom before it expanded again. It was an easy 10 minutes of cursing getting the old one out.
Tip: Need a little more room? Use the jack to slowly raise the control arm up some.
New Shock Installation
The new shock boot slips on and is zip tied in place.
Tip: Make sure all the rubber bushings are the correct ones when your shocks come. They will probably look like small tires. I waited about 6 months after purchasing to check mine. The wrong rubber bushing was shipped with one of my shocks.
Install Replacement Shock Boot
Slip the new shock through the bottom of the lower control arm.
Tighten the nuts on the lower half of the shock first.
Tightening Lower Nuts
Using a wrench to hold the second lower nut in place, tighten the nut on the top of the shock. This will compress the rubber bushing that is on the top and underneath the shock tower.
Tightening Upper Nut on New Shock
Go back over all the nuts and make sure they are tight.
Put the wheel back on the front and lower the vehicle.
Rear Shock Replacement
Old Shock Removal
Jack stands were used to support the frame and the one side of the rear axle that’s being worked on.
Supporting Frame and Axle
Lubricate all the bolts you are going to remove.
Similar to removing the front shock, start by removing the bolt on top of the rear shock.
Note: There is no room to maneuver your hands in this tight spot. It would make it easier if you have a deep socket and stubby ratchet. At least you wouldn’t be like me only moving the wrench 2 inches at a time 
Removing Old Shock Upper Nut
Not So Deep Socket Tip: I didn’t have a deep socket for my ratchet, but after wrenching the nut a little I popped the socket a little from the ratchet and was able to rig a not so deep socket.
Ratcheting Nut the Rest of the Way
If your lucky enough you’ll have an impact wrench to remove the lower bolts. If not then make sure to use the longest wrenches you have to give you the most mechanical advantage.
Removing Lower Bolt from Old Shock
New Shock Installation
The dust boot goes on just like the front one and is secured with a zip tie.
When the rear shock goes in there will be a rubber bushing will go on top of the bracket and one will sit below.
New Shock Rubber Bushing Orientation
Start by putting the top part of the rear shock in place and putting the bolt in the lower bracket just to hold it in place. Don’t forget to put the rubber bushing on that sits below the upper bracket.
Tighten the top nut first. If you’re like me you’ll hand tighten it first, then finish off tightening it with an open ended or crescent wrench.
Note: I found that a wrench under the upper mounting bracket wasn’t necessary.
Hand Tightening New Shock Upper Nut
If you’re wondering how much you need to compress the rubber bushing, look at the old one that you just took off for reference.
Tightening Upper Nut
Finish off the new rear shock install by tightening the lower portion using two wrenches.
So, Hows the Ride?
The ride is much more even now. If I forget to slow down a bit for the dip or bump I don’t bottom out. I would suggest the Rancho RS5000 series if you are looking to replace your stock shocks. The ride is probably not as “soft” as the original shocks, but still provides a smooth ride and can take more of that Urban Off-Roading you probably do.
Additional Information:
- How to tell when your shocks need to be replaced – CNN article
- Shock Absorber and Strut Diagnosis
- Rancho’s Website
DIY – Make a Computer Mouse Ornament
Release your inner Geek and help keep old computer parts from making their way into a landfill by converting those old wired mice into holiday ornaments.
If you’re like me, you have a few old mice laying around. If you don’t have any old mice and you have an IT department at work, I’m sure they would love to give you their old wired mice.
Nest of Old Computer Mice
Getting the Mouse Ready to Paint
In order to hang the mouse, you need to make a loop with the cord. To save money a large paperclip is heavy enough gauge wire to crimp on the mouse cord.
Paperclip for Mouse Cord
Taking some pliers and wrapping the paperclip wire around it will help form it into a circle. Then just cut the wire.
Bending Wire for Crimping
Loop the wire so there is a 1 ½ – 2 inches loop of wire. This will be what you can hang the mouse with.
Looping Mouse Cord
Use pliers to crimp the mouse cord with the paperclip section.
Crimping Mouse Cord with Pliers
Crimped Mouse Cord
Once you’ve confirmed the cord is held tight by the crimped wire, cut the extra.
Trimming the Extra Cord
Preparing the Painting Area
Using a zip tie, the extra wire from the mouse can be strung across some poles to make painting easier.
Attach Connector End with Zip Tie
Tie Other End
Priming the Mouse
Use a plastic primer, like the Rustoleum Plastic Primer.
Follow the primer directions for preparation. For me this meant cleaning the mouse with mineral spirits to remove dirt and oils from the surface.
Mice Ready for Priming
Painting the Mouse
If you are using the old mouse cord to hang the mice to paint them there are two ways to do this
- String the cord through the looped cord on the mouse, as seen in the picture below.
- Another method is to use some extra paperclips to make hangers. I found this to be the best method.
When painting use multiple light coats.
Painting Mouse Silver
The picture below is why preparing the mice before priming is important. If the primer doesn’t have good adhesion to the plastic, when you paint it will crinkle like below while drying.
Bad Prep Work = Bad Finish
Optional Finishing and Fun
Something fun to do is hand paint the mice with raised glitter pens.
Elmer’s Raised Glitter Pens
I made about 10 of these mice for our holiday party, and had people decorate them. It was a nice way for people to interact before eating.
Hand Painted Mice
Learn How to Use a Hand Saw to Quickly Cut a Board
Using a hand saw to cut boards is an economical way to quickly trim boards to length. Sometimes finding a starting point for learning how to do something can be a task in itself. In this article you’ll learn all the steps necessary to cut a board to length.
- How to read a tape measure
- How to use a speed square to mark the cut
- How to use a hand saw to make the cut
How to Read a Tape Measure
Getting the correct length for the cut is extremely important. Part of that is understanding how to read a tape measure.
When marking the length to cut just remember the old saying,
“Measure Twice, Cut Once”
How to Use a Speed Square to Mark the Cut
After you have the correct distance marked with pencil, it is important to have a straight and square line to use as a reference when cutting the board.
The following video will show you how to use a speed square
How to Use a Hand Saw
Now that you have a good reference line to make your cut on it is time to actually cut the lumber.
Remember, when you cut the board to cut on the waste side of the board and not exactly on the line. You do this because
- The line represents the length you want the board to be
- It is easy to lose your reference line and not cut straight if you’re cutting the reference line
Cut Board on Waste Side of Line
The video below shows how to use a common toolbox saw to cut a 2×4 to length.
The biggest problem I had when I started using a hand saw to cut boards was keeping the saw straight up and down.
Correct Hand Saw Blade Angle
There are tool guides to help with this, but I found that just being conscious of technique and practice is the best way to overcome this.
Hopefully you feel more confident in being able to properly cut boards to length and generally use a hand saw. When I do projects I love using my great grandfather’s hand saws as much as I can, like when I built some pet steps for my dog. Besides giving me a sense of hand crafting something, it gives me a connection to my families past.
Lastly, it is a lot harder to cut off a digit with a hand saw
DIY Resources and Stories
We’ve put together a daily paper that highlights articles written and information gathered by our DIY friends on Twitter. The daily newspaper shares topics like:
- DIY Stories
- Energy saving techniques and articles
- Projects that our friends are working on
- Better home insulation
- Painting Tips
DIY Resources and Stories Newspaper
Please take a look at our Daily Newspaper about DIY Resources and Stories and let us know what you think.
Free Building Plans and Projects
I’m always looking for free plans on how to build things and inspiration for projects. Here are some 100% free sites for building plans and projects.
North Dakota State University Agricultural Department
These building and facility plans were developed over many years by engineers at Land Grant Universities. They provide conceptual information that is excellent for planning purposes.
A lot of the plans are mid 1900. This is great if you are looking for inspiration from the past. I was thinking of printing some of the really old plans out and using them as art.
Some cool plans I ran across in the Miscellaneous section are
- Make An Adjustable ½ HP Tablesaw (ND 72-4-1)
- Drawing Table Design from 1937 (ND 72-6-1)
- How to Build a Brick Incinerator (5198)
LSU Biological and Agricultural Center
- Barbecue Section
- Looking for Free House Plans? Residential Section has free construction plans for 2 – 4 bedroom homes.
The University of Tennessee Extension
It maintains a collection of over 300 building and equipment plans, and all are now available in electronic format for download.
- Free Greenhouse Plans
- The Fruit and Vegetable Plans include a smoke house, solar fruit dryer and an electric forced air fruit dryer.
Indoor Spaces
- Herringbone Headboard
- Luggage Rack For Guests
Outdoor Spaces
- Tomato Cage Light Display
- Build a Deck Top Pond
Woodworking
- Make a Fold Down Table
- Make a Wine Rack