Nickamsweet

nope... it's the bottom bolt that connects the strut to the lower arm. Put the car up on axle stands and untighten the bolt, then use the jack and lift from under the lower arm until the chassis starts to lift off the stands... then tighten the bolt... this is usually a problem with people when they lower a car, or in your case replacing a damaged shock.

There are many guides on how to do it, I think a Tein coilover install has some good pics on how to execute the preload procedure...

NashDishesDimes

problem solved thanks to 2poor2mod and nickamsweet! Thanks guys, this was a real head scratcher for me haha. Took me only about 5 minutes to fix though. cool