finding the right socket

[Brandon]

I have a 2005 ford expedition with coil overs with about 168,000 miles on it and the shocks finally just gave out, However with endless searches on Google and a trip to the ford dealer not even they can tell me the bottom bolt size that holds the shock absorber on. So if anyone has any ideas to what size it could be that would be greatly appreciated.

Topic

[Benjamin]

Is there a problem with just getting in there and trying different sizes till you find one that fits? (forgive my ignorance)

[Brandon]

Ya unfortunetly when I tried that my biggest metric 25mm and my largets standard 1 1/16 were too small. So my problem is that the Expedition uses metric and then sometimes it uses standard bolts. So before I go getting random sockets and guessing standard or metric It would be cheaper and easier just to know what socket size I need ahead of time considering that impact sockets run about 10 each.

[Kenneth]

Can you measure, or put an adjustable wrench on the nut? You could then find out the size.

[Gareth Randall]

If it’s difficult to measure directly, you could roll up a ball of adhesive putty/poster putty (we call it Blu-tack in the UK) and push it over the bolt head, and then measure the size of the impression it makes. You have to be a bit careful when pulling it off that you don’t squeeze the ball and distort the shape, but it works.

[EricTheCarGuy]

A lot of great suggestions here. I was going to suggest the adjustable wrench but someone beat me to it. Keep us posted on what ends up working for you. Good luck.

[Author]

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