To safely and quickly exchange a seal of a shock strut of a selected shock absorbing apparatus of an airplane, an apparatus is provided whereby the main body of the airplane is lifted by pressurizing and extending at least one other shock absorbing apparatus in order to extend the selected shock absorbing apparatus and expose the seal thereof. A shock strut of the selected shock absorbing apparatus is then lifted away from the associated wheels so that a new seal may be inserted from below the strut. To lift the strut, an apparatus is provided which includes a main body portion having an inclined surface substantially complementary to a downward-facing inclined surface of the strut, and a cylindrical portion which inserts into an attachment hole of the strut.