Changing Terrano rear shocks?

[Raven]

Can somebody please advise whether it is necessary to compress the coil springs when changing rear shocks on a '97 Terrano, or can I simply unbolt the old ones and bolt the new air shocks straight in? My intention is to put the rear end on stands, remove the wheels and proceed as above.

[Allan]

No you don't need to compress the springs. When I changed the shocks on my '95 I jacked up the rear of the vehicle until the wheels were off the ground. Put my axle stands under the chassis, then used the jack to hold the axle while I undid the lower bolt. Once the nut was off lowered/raised the jack until the weight came off the shock and it was then easy to slide the shock off the mount. The shock is now hanging from the top mount. Undo, remove the old one and install the new one in reverse order.

cheers
Allan