Still plugging away at the shocks and suspension. I got started on the rear shocks yesterday. First upper bolt I tried broke right off. The other one on that side rounded off. So, I removed the bottom bolt and started pushing and pulling the old shock around and eventually got it loose from under the rounded off bolt. That was yesterday. This morning, I started on the passenger side which is even rustier. Rounded off another top bolt, but I did manage to finesse the other top bolt out by first tightening it a little more, then loosening it until it started binding up. I kept going like that until it came on out. At this point I decided to dose it down with the Kroil again and letting it sit until tomorrow. This time however, I removed the inner fender skirts where I could access the captive nuts better. I'm hoping I can get the shock off much like I did the other rear one.
Contrary to what some have said in the forums, it's more than just 2 or3 plastic fasteners per side. My LJ has 8 per side. But removing the inner fenders also gave me better access to the control arm hardware so it all got a fresh dose of penetrating oil too. And I got a really good look at my muffler and tail pipe. I'm surprised they haven't fallen off the Jeep yet. So, once I get done with the suspension, I'm going to get out the sawsall and replace those.
What's a good not overly expensive stock type muffler for an LJ. I know you can't get a direct replacement anymore. I've thought about some kind of turbo muffler and just have the exhaust come out in front of the rear wheel.