I was planning on changing the rear shocks on my 2003 S Type with a NA V8. The bottom bushings have play in them and I thought that I'd just get new ones. I got some Bilsteins #24-067720 at Tirerack for $76 each which seems pretty good to me. They are for the sport model and I was told that that they will fit fine and are just a little stiffer than the standards for almost half the price. I look at shocks a little stiffer as a plus, for myself too.
I haven't found any detailed threads on rear shock replacement. I was also looking at the shop manual and it only describes removing the fasteners and replacing the shocks. Do you need to compress the springs and keep them compressed and all that or just remove the fasteners and drop the old ones and slip in the new ones? One more thing, how high should the car be off the ground to drop the shocks and replace. Any feed back would be appreciated. Thanks to all.

 

You can remove the shock absorber together with the springs as one unit from the car.
p. 191 in workshop manual.

You definitely have to compress the springs to replace the rear shock absorber.
p. 211 in the workshop manual. (Rear suspension - Shock absorber and Spring Assembly)
The center nut (retaining nut) should only be removed once the springs are safely compressed with a tool.

 

G'day from Down Under.

I changed the front shocks recently, and the principle is virtually the same as for the rears. For what it is worth, I provided a very detailed description of the manner in which I compressed the springs in the post entitled 'Safely changing CATS shock absorbers', dated 03-11-2020. It may be worth a look, as I am of the view that, if not done properly, this can be a very dangerous procedure.

 

Thanks for the information. I think that the job is more than I want to do with jack stands and everything. I found a hopefully competent local shop that will install them. Most places around here will only install parts that they supply.

 

taking the shocks out is literally a 1 minute job

just get a shop to put the strut together if you’re scared