Bilstein # 24-016179 fronts too long?

[renjaminfrankln]

That is correct, no sleeve on the upper for the rears. You remove the nut and slide the old ones off of the mounting bolt, then slide new ones on. A little WD-40 helps. Trust me I spent about an hour under there last night.

You'll want to get the upper on and get the nut started. To do job yourself id recommend having two jacks. I put my floor jack under the rear bumper and lifted the truck up a few inches so I had less distance to compress the shock. Then I compressed the shock (my shoulder hurts just thinking about this), got it started in the lower bracket, and pinned it in place with a bottle jack. Then used the bottle jack and some gentle whacks with a rubber mallet to get the hole aligned (stick a screwdriver in the hole or an alignment tool).

 

[renjaminfrankln]

If you don't have any luck with the amazon vendor you could see if Bilstein would just send you a new bushing you could press in yourself for free.

I bought mine from likely the same vendor, all my shocks were in good shape when I got them.

 

[saburai]

If you don't have any luck with the amazon vendor you could see if Bilstein would just send you a new bushing you could press in yourself for free.

I bought mine from likely the same vendor, all my shocks were in good shape when I got them.

I got a CS guy on the phone yesterday, he was quite helpful. He sent me a return label for the single shock, a link for the replacement and said that he would refund the price of the single shock(since that's what I had to pay for replacement) which was more than what I'd payed for the single unit in the discounted set of four. So overall I'm happy with the outcome and the vendor. The replacement should be here tomorrow. In the meantime, I'll get busy moving the air bag over from Diego (gotta get him sold!) and installing the rears and polishing the rear wheels.

 

[saburai]

I just installed the same shocks.

Fronts look fine, it looks like you are about 1” above the bump stop. But it should hit the stop first. I have no issues with mine

I had to grind my front lower sleeves a touch to fit in the bracket.

The rears are a *****. They are higher pressure so it’s harder to compress them. Also the sleeves in the lower bushings are smaller than the stock hardware. You’ll need 2.5” 7/16 grade 8 bolts, nuts and washers. (The 3/8 size washers actually from ace hardware fit better)

In regards to the Rears mine came with a strap around them holding them somewhat compressed. So are you saying that they are too long even with the strap? I haven't climbed under there yet but what about using a ratchet strap to compress them where they need to be?

 

[renjaminfrankln]

In regards to the Rears mine came with a strap around them holding them somewhat compressed. So are you saying that they are too long even with the strap? I haven't climbed under there yet but what about using a ratchet strap to compress them where they need to be?

Yes on my truck they were too long even with the strap. And as soon as you start to compress them the strap slips off.

A ratchet strap might work, I thought about putting one on there. But there is the hassle of fishing one out of the toolbox, keeping it lined up squarely on the shock as you are tightening it down, dealing with 10' of extra strap...

Jacking the rear of the truck from the trailer hitch worked for me. Leaving the plastic strap on you might be able to get it to fit without having to compress it by hand.

 

[saburai]

Yes on my truck they were too long even with the strap. And as soon as you start to compress them the strap slips off.

A ratchet strap might work, I thought about putting one on there. But there is the hassle of fishing one out of the toolbox, keeping it lined up squarely on the shock as you are tightening it down, dealing with 10' of extra strap...

Jacking the rear of the truck from the trailer hitch worked for me. Leaving the plastic strap on you might be able to get it to fit without having to compress it by hand.

That's what's I did. Luckily for me, the factory strap was just enough if I jacked it to the point where the tires were about to come off the ground.

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[saburai]

The shock boot wound up being very close to the exhaust. I made a heat shield from some DEI self adhesive aluminum/fiber material I had laying around. I'm not sure if the adhesive will hold up since it's installed backwards, so I added two stainless steel ties. I'm hoping that it will keep the boot from getting cooked. Time will tell...

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[saburai]

After a short while with the Bilstein's I can say that they are well worth the money spent. My old shocks were very tired, but not completely spent. The difference between them and the Bilstein's on the lousy, patched up 55 mph "main roads" around here is astounding.