do i have to have a spring compressor to take my front shocks off

 

jack the front end up high enough and drop the front axle out and you wont, then use the weight of the truck to compress everything again once everything is lined up again.

 

Nope...
The front shocks can be changed out while sitting flat on the ground with ease.

Depending on what type of replacement shock you use you may want to extend the front a little bit to help get the shock tower top back on and tight.Gas shocks are the ones which will give you the most difficulty as once the straps are cut they extend all the way out and can be a PIA to compress,which is why you raise the body to allow easier install.

 

Installing shocks is no where near as complicated as that. An open faced wrench or typical ratchet wrench is all you'll need. Although, I don't remember what size the bolts are. Pretty sure it's metric, though.

And like Hammer already stated. A floor or axle jack is a must, if you're installing gas shocks. You'll likely never install the remaining bolt before the shock re-extends with the truck flat on the ground.

About all you'll manage to do is give your arms a workout trying compress the thing. And without any leverage (Which is going to be the case when installing them), it's likely you won't be able to compress it to begin with. And if you do manage to compress the thing, it'll beat you every time, when trying to place that bolt through the time limited lining up of the holes. Which will then likely, cause you to rage.

 

ok thanks