I fought and fought and finally got one rear shock removed and replaced... i dont wanna go through that again on the second shock. Is there a trick to it?

I cant get a wrench on the nut on the shaft to hold it in place. So when i turn the nut to loosen it the whole shaft turns. So I cut the plastic shield off the shock. And removed the sparte tire. Then i went in from underneith. I tried to hold the shaft with a pipe wrench, channel locks, and vice grips. Finally i bear gripped 2 pair of vice grips on the shaft. If i turned them really really showly and held a wrench on the top i could get it to barely turn. I did this over and over for hrs until i got the shock completely unscrewed. I know this isnt the best way to do this.

Can someone please help me with a good way of removing these shocks.

 

smoke wrench done in 30 seconds

 

i just got the message. I ended up driving a wrench on the bottom with a hammer and vice grip clamping it to the frame. then i got on top with a 18mm deep well and strong arm and twisted till the stud snaped in half. It was all good from there.
And tricks to removing the torsion keys? Gonna do that tonight

 

When I replaced my rear shocks there was slot in the frame to get a wrench on the shock to keep it from turning. Then I used a deep socket a ratchet to take the nut off.

 

Jack the truck up to relieve as much pressure on the torsion. Then use a big heavy duty C-clamp for the rest.