The Corvette is Chevrolet's muscle car. People know it for quick acceleration and superb handling at high speeds. Stay on top of the maintenance for your suspension system to make sure the Corvette continues to handle well. This means replacing the shocks and struts at least every 60,000 miles. This process works best for Corvette models built between 1997 and 2001 and only cover shocks, as Chevrolet doesn't equip Corvettes during these years with struts.
Locate the negative battery terminal. It has either a minus sign next to it or blue or black around it. It's also recognizable as the terminal without the red markings. Disconnect the negative battery cable by loosening the bolt holding it on with a wrench, and pull the cable away. Lift your car with a jack, and prop the frame on jack stands. Use a tire iron to remove the nuts holding on the front wheels. Set the wheels aside.
Use a wrench to remove the upper nut, retainer and insulator for the shock absorber, which is on the inner side of the wheel well, connecting the frame to the control arm. It looks like two tubes that slide in and out of each other. The top of the shock rests in the upper tower on the frame. With a ratchet, remove the lower mounting bolts. Slide the shock out of the upper tower. Repeat on the other side of the front end.
Insert the new shock in the upper tower and attach the retainer, insulator and upper mounting nut. Set the dial on your torque wrench to 19 ft-lb, and tighten the upper nut until you feel the wrench give slightly. Insert the lower mounting bolt, and torque it to 21 ft-lb. Repeat on the other side of the front end.
Put the wheels back on, and lower the car. Reattach the negative cable to the negative battery terminal.
Disconnect the negative battery cable, and prop the car up with a jack onto jack stands. Remove the rear wheels.
Use a wrench to remove the lower mounting nut and washer. They're directly attached to the bottom of the shock and connect it to the lower control arm supporting the wheel hub. Loosen and remove the upper bracket mounting bolt connected to the top of the shock absorber. Pull the upper insulator and retainer off the shock absorber and pull out the shock. Repeat on the other side of the rear of the car.
Place the upper insulator and retainer on the new shock absorber in the same position as it sat on the old one. Mount the assembly to the shock tower and lower control arm. Torque the upper mounting bolts to 22 ft-lb and the lower bolts to 162 ft-lb. Repeat on the other side of the rear of the car.
Replace the rear wheels, and lower the car. Reconnect the cable to the negative battery terminal.
