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Resist · 06-20-2013, 06:07 PM

Anyone know how difficult it is to replace the lower shock bushing on a 2007 Dolphin? There are 2 rubber bushings on the lower mounts of each shock, both have cracked and are deteriorating. This RV has under 7200 miles and wasn't abused. I may tackle replacing the bushings myself and might get nylon instead of rubber. Any help would be great.

Dmorgan6375 · 06-20-2013, 06:51 PM

You might find that replacing the whole shock would/will be easier. A long time back when i was much younger and had more time to waste, i tried this to no luck. it was much easier to just change out the whole shock. Now thats not to say it can't be done, but, you'll need a press (4ton or bigger) to do this task and yes, update them with the neopreme and/or nylon type. hope i was of some help to you.

Skip426 · 06-20-2013, 07:16 PM

I think Doug is referring to the shock bushings with a steel sleeve through the center of the bushing one piece, not serviceable. If each end of your shocks has a 2 piece rubber bushing , that just fall out , replace top & bottom with nylon bushings . Be aware that the shocks are probably gas charged , and will fully extend as soon as they are off their mounts, can be a pinching hazard & a real S.O.B. to compress the shock to remount it.
I had to fabricate a wooden saddle and use a scissor jack to compress my front shocks, to get them on.

Resist · 06-20-2013, 07:18 PM

I took a closer look and discovered that all the bushings (4), on each of the rear shocks are cracked, top and bottom. A repair place stated it shouldn't take longer than 30 minutes to replace the bushings. Still waiting on a price.

I've replaced shocks on pickup trucks before and really don't see how this would be any harder, looks like just two bolts per shock. But I've never attempted it on an RV before.

Skip426 · 06-20-2013, 07:24 PM

Shocks are shocks , P/U , MH, size is the only difference , you will have to check the threads on the bottom of the shocks , make sure they haven't any road damage.

Resist · 06-24-2013, 06:10 AM

The threads are good. Not sure I'm going to attempt this myself, I don't want to get the shocks off and not be able to compress them back in place. I'm kind of limited on tools for the size of this job.

Hikerdogs · 06-24-2013, 06:24 AM

The hardest part is going to be finding the bushings. Generally they only come with new shocks. The next hardest part is removing the nut on the shock. Even after a short period of time they tend to rust in place. More often than not when you break them loose you destroy the thread in that area. Over the years I've replaced hundreds if not thousands and probably 90% had damaged threads when the nut finally let loose.

We had Bilstein shocks on our last motorhome. They were "gauranteed for life", well sorta. The fine print said only the shocks themselves were gauranteed not the rubber bushings. If the bushings failed the complete unit had to be replaced since there were no service parts available.

Resist · 06-24-2013, 08:26 PM

Hate to think that buying new shocks is the only way to get new bushings. So hopefully the service shop can find replacement bushings.

Thanks for all the information!

Mr_D · 06-24-2013, 08:37 PM

The Bilsteins don't have that much pressure in them. I replaced our front Bilsteins several times when working with Reyco Granning on the rough ride on our 14,600# front axle.

Resist · 07-09-2013, 04:54 PM

The service shop couldn't find nylon replacement bushings, so we went with rubber. They didn't have any issues with the threads, although the top was hard to get to.