Fasthotrod

No... I think they are talking about the bump stop located on the shaft of the front shock near the top. Picture attached for reference. Mark Sent from my Phone using Tapatalk

Quick search found this... hope it helps.

My first Corvette was a 1997 C5 with 30k miles on it. It got better mileage than my Suburban, so I drove it. A lot. Then I tuned it, modified it, more tuning, more mods, and drove it some more. I didn't have anything major go wrong, but did have a minor radiator leak and small crack on the surge tank. I replaced them both, then decided to swap the water pump, thermostat and hoses because I was way past 100k miles and figured it was easier now than to drain/purge the system again down the road. Did the belts and tensioners at the same time as cheap insurance. Finally decided to replace the car when I hit 200k miles and the 4L60E started slipping. I could have bought a GM remanufactured trans for $1,400 at the time, and I had already dropped the rear out to swap in a Z06 diff so I knew it wasn't too bad a job. Instead, I sold it to a friend who really wanted it, and he had the trans rebuilt, and it was still running like a raped ape last I heard. I replaced the C5 with a 2007 C6 Z51 3LZ with 32k miles for about $26k. Drove that one until I had 97k miles on it, and traded it in on my 2014 Silverado. I let the dealer have it for $19k because I didn't care to deal with selling it myself. They had it on the lot for $26,995. No idea what they ever sold it for, likely a bit less. I guess my point is, don't shy away from them... they really are great cars. Yes, there are some specific quirks, and some things that aren't a "normal" replacement item similar to the OP's Magnaride shocks, but it's not really THAT bad. (No knock against the Camaro, I dig them too. Hope you find a good one.) Mark

I had no choice than to disconnect the steering shaft... getting to the bolts on the pump pretty much required it. Looking back, I should have done that first instead of fighting it. Start your truck and rotate the steering so that the steering shaft bolt is easily accessable, then shut it down and lock the steering in place. Make sure that there isn't a bind between your tire position and steering, because once you take it loose, it's going to move on you. (Ask me how I know this. Oops.) Thankfully, my wife was able to get into the truck and slowly rotate the steering wheel while I aligned it back into place for reassembly. I also bought the little belt removal tool you'll need for the vacuum pump belt... but it sat a little high and got hung up on the aluminum housing above it. Rotating the crank with a large ratchet was fun... and the belt feel like it was slipping because the stupid belt removal tool wasn't allowing the pulley to continue to rotate. Your mileage may vary... but I hope you don't run into the same issue as I did. On mine, there was a small wiring harness that ran under the pump (not connected to the pump, just ran under it) that required me to disconnect some lock down tabs to free it up. Taking the pump out required me to pull/rotate the pump forward towards the radiator, as the pump pulley was too big to pull it back towards the rear and fit through where the wiring harness was located. I probably spent more time bitching about the GM Engineer that designed it that way than I did wrenching... definitely something that was designed to be installed on the assembly line easily without much thought towards ease of replacement. (Like a few other things on these trucks.) I found a bit of metal/debris in the lower part of the opening where it bolts to the block. I used a magnet, then my finger, a rag, and some spray to try and get that crap out of there... didn't want it getting back into the engine. Mark

Not necessarily... I did mine in my driveway, not on a lift. Yes, you pull and disassemble the shock/spring, but you can do that using a jack, jack stands, etc...

Not yet... Been to busy trying to get my shop built. Maybe once that's done I'll throw a block in the back, but so far it's been great. I didn't recalibrate my speedo, but it's only about 5% off according to my calculations. Last speed trap I rolled through showed it almost dead nuts... but who knows how accurate those things are, or how accurate the 'real' tire size is for sure? Sent from my Phone using Tapatalk

I think I recall something about the active nose cancellation in the Bose system having issues with external subs? I believe disconnecting a mic cleared that up? Might want to do a search on the forum... I know I've seen something about it on here...

I went with the Beststop powerboards that have the remote door sensors. The wiring connects to the battery and runs down to the boards. A small box with the brains lives next to the battery, and acts as a remote receiver. The four door sensors are transmitters that sit in the door jam, one per door. They attach with double sided tape. A magnet on the door allows the sensors to detect the door opening and closing, activating the steps. The only issue I've had is that you have to replace the small coin style battery in the sensors once a year, and the boards have a slight squeak that needs a shot of oil/WD-40 now and then. Other than that, they're decent. 4 years and 100k miles, and still going strong.

Per Bilstein... Sent from my Phone using Tapatalk

AC failure is common in this series truck. It's either the condenser, or one of the lines connected to the compressor. My guess is that you have a leak, and the pressure switch isn't allowing the AC compressor to kick on. It's designed this way so that the compressor doesn't run dry and grenade on ya. I'm dealing with a leak right now... Google search it and you will see what I mean. Good luck! Mark

Looks pretty cool to me, especially with that color truck.

Sure... if you look closely, you can see where the front tire rubbed the inner liner at full lock before I put the new shocks on it. Doesn't rub now, though.

I just recently did mine at max height setting, and didn't need to loosen the ball joint. I simply put the truck up on jack stands, removed both front wheels, removed both sway bar end links (left and right side) then went to work. The Bilstein 5100 increases the ride height a maximum of 1.85" but that doesn't mean that the length of the shock has increased that much. Measure the distance between the ring groves for yourself... that's the overall increase in length, which is less than the advertised lift. The reason you get the advertised lift is because of geometry: The shock sits about in the middle of the lower A-arm, so a small movement there is an increased movement on the end at the ball joint. (A-arm arc length.) If your reassembled shock/spring assembly was really 2" longer, then it likely wasn't assembled correctly, and wouldn't fit without removing the ball joint. If it is assembled correctly, it fits... but it's a close fit. There are a couple of things to look out for when reassembling the shock and spring, and getting it wrong can cause you fits. I snapped some pics when I did mine... I've been meaning to do a quick write-up about what I found and how I resolved some issues. Let me know if you think it would help and I'll try and get it put together. Mark

I run BFG KO2's in 275/70R18. I put them on long before I ever put the Bilstein shocks up front. I only had minor rubbing on the inner fender liner, and only at full lock when turning. Since putting on the Bilstein shocks at the highest setting, I've not had that problem at all. Kinda hard to see it as I took the picture at dusk after installing the shocks... but it sits pretty level. I might pop a 1" lift block in the rear to give it a little rake, but so far it's not been bad at all. Shocks are a bit more stiff than the Ranchos, but not in a bad way. Turns feel better without a lot of body roll, bumps are more firm and it doesn't take long to settle down after a large dip.

Sharp looking truck, Tanner!