I just installed new rear shocks on my '02 F-150. Am I supposed to tighten down the nut on the bolt all the way so that a couple inches of thread is past the nut or is the nut supposed to stay close to the top that goes through the frame?

 

Why did you only do the rear???

Don't worry about number/distance of threads showing or any of that. Tighten it down until the bushings look like this…

 

yea you want to "snug" the bushing down but not crush it to death

 

Front:
Upper = 35 to 46 ft-lbs
Lower = 22 to 29 ft-lbs
Rear:
Upper = 22 to 29 ft-lbs
Lower = 44 to 60 ft-lbs

I would say by torque. the most accurate way. Here is where I got this info

https://www.f150online.com/forums/19...wd-shocks.html

 

Yea...don't like the torque method for this. The thing to get right for shock performance is the bushing. Depending on the shape and material of the bushing, torquing it down may not yield the right results of compressing that bushing. On a poly bushing, that much torque might not be enough; on rubber, might be too much. Just sayin. Bottom line is, almost any quality shock will use a nyloc type nut or a nut with a lock nut. Either way, it's not coming off, so torque isn't such a factor like with a head bolt or something.

 

That doesn't look anything like my shocks on my rear end. They run at an angle off of the axle.

 

Dude...was providing you a picture of a properly mashed bushing to show how tight to tighten the nuts. Doesn't matter where the shock is or what the shock looks like, make the bushings look like this.