Bilstein 5100 Help

[duke23433]

So took out my struts and had a local auto shop swap out the ranchos in my 2015 silverado for the bilsteins. Had them set for the highest height gain of 1.8" come home and dad says they "won't fit". (Had to run to band practice so he took over reassembly). He got pissed, said they're impossible to fit, took them back to the shop and they said it was a good thing you brought them back, it was dangerous and wouldn't pass inspection   so they put them back on the lowest ring setting. Which is not what I want. I didn't get a first hand look at them "not fitting" but I find it a bit ridiculous that these wouldn't fit and would make me fail inspection. Dad was convinced I had lengthened the strut and the only people that get these to work have to do "heavy modifications" to the front end of their trucks

 

My father has always been more mechanically inclined than I, so I asked him for help installing. however this has caused us to essentially stop Speaking. 

 

Sway bars were detached so thats not why it wouldn't fit. I would like to get these in myself but looks like I'm gonna be taking it to a shop for install because he threw a temper tantrum and got the shop to redo the strut assembly at a different height than I wanted. 

 

Help would be much appreciates 

[cbrsilv15]

maybe the spring wasn’t indexed properly. It has to be in the correct spot. It’ll just pop into place like the old one came out. Thousands of people run these without any issues. 

[O_J_Simpson]

We need before and after pictures.

[duke23433]

So a little more info, dad said the overall strut was sitting about 2" below where it should have been, claims they weren't seated wrong and that these shocks will lengthen the overall strut if adjusted to give the 1.8" level.

 

He says he was hitting the control arms and steering arms, also claimed the only way to make it work was to heavily modify it by taking the front end apart?  I tried to explain how they worked but he said by raising the spring seating higher it lowered the end of the strut, which doesn't make sense to me.  

 

No pics sorry, He went back to the auto shop and had them rebuilt at the lowest setting and already has them back on my truck.  Looks like I'm stuck paying someone else to do it at this point.  

[Sierra706]

So a little more info, dad said the overall strut was sitting about 2" below where it should have been, claims they weren't seated wrong and that these shocks will lengthen the overall strut if adjusted to give the 1.8" level.
 
He says he was hitting the control arms and steering arms, also claimed the only way to make it work was to heavily modify it by taking the front end apart?  I tried to explain how they worked but he said by raising the spring seating higher it lowered the end of the strut, which doesn't make sense to me.  
 
No pics sorry, He went back to the auto shop and had them rebuilt at the lowest setting and already has them back on my truck.  Looks like I'm stuck paying someone else to do it at this point.  

Sounds like he might have tried squeezing them in without loosening the upper balljoint? Does he know your trying to lift the front end? The strut is going to be longer, that’s how your getting the 2” lift out of it.


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[duke23433]

Just now, Bushleaguechew said:

 

Sounds like he might have tried squeezing them in without loosening the upper balljoint? Does he know your trying to lift the front end? The strut is going to be longer, that’s how your getting the 2” lift out of it.


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I wasn't aware you had to loosen the upper ball joint, I thought these achieved lift by shortening the spring travel.  From everything I read they just pop right into place?  I could be wrong though

 

[Sierra706]

I wasn't aware you had to loosen the upper ball joint, I thought these achieved lift by shortening the spring travel.  From everything I read they just pop right into place?  I could be wrong though
 

It helps and makes install easier. You don’t have to detach it, just loosen is. Otherwise your gonna need a pry bar. They achieve lift by making your strut longer and effectively removing 2” of down travel. So yes your geometry changes, your ride is slightly worsened when your wheel down travels, but no modifications other than the new shock itself are needed.


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[aaronarf]

Only thing I did on mine was undo the sway bar end links and use a pry bar to get enough room, was a PITA.  Next time I'll just pop the upper ball joint, would have been easier.  

[Huetatos]

One way to get em to fit in place is to just stand on the brakes a lil bit while you push the bottom in place. Top in first, then bottom in second. I'm guessing he didn't realize that you need to push the bottom down just a bit.

[Grjfer]

They will fit. I had no issues on  the highest setting in my 2015 gmc sierra 1500. 

[duke23433]

9 minutes ago, Grjfer said:

They will fit. I had no issues on  the highest setting in my 2015 gmc sierra 1500. 

any issues getting them in?  Did you loosen the ball joint?

[Grjfer]

4 minutes ago, duke23433 said:

any issues getting them in?  Did you loosen the ball joint?

Can you see the pictures? Yes loosen the ball joints. 

[2018GMC]

FYI - I was able to install fronts with only disconnecting swaybar link and then compressing strut with jack 1 - 2" to get it above lower control arm. My truck has steel upper and lower control arms.

 

Heres my post from another Bilstein thread...

 

Fronts were a lot of work! 

 

I put the ring on 3rd from bottom or 2nd from top. Got exactly 1.5” out of front. I now have a 1.25” - 1.5” of rake front to rear. Measuring from center of wheel to middle of fender. I’m happy with that since when I hookup trailer and throw camping gear in bed I will be level or slightly less vs nose high. I didn’t want to add a larger rear block and longer ubolts in rear. Rear stock height with 5100s. 

 

Purchased a $30 after coupon strut compressor from harbor freight. Worked fine. Always kinda nervous compressing springs especially since the safety pins wouldn’t work since springs are so large. I just took my time and made sure all looked square when compressing. 

 

Hardest part was was installing the entire assembly in truck. Only had to disconnect sway bar link. Everything was really tight and ended up putting jack and wood under strut to get it above lower control arm. 

 

Had and some bang bang rattle rattle on first test drive. Checked the middle strut bolt and had to tighten it a lot after truck was on ground. Talk about a PITA to tighten. I used the supplied nuts from bilstein but they must be anti back-out or something because very hard to turn. No I wasn’t cross threading. Tried using some thread lube. Didn’t seem to help. 

 

For or those of you attempting to do this yourself.

 

https://www.harborfreight.com/macpherson-strut-spring-compressor-set-63262.html

 

I clear coated bilsteins before install to try and keep the shiny silvery finish from rusting. 

 

Pay attention on how  the original is assembled. Like where the notches are in relation to spring position and lower shock bolt hole position. Also pay attention to how the top rubber has cutouts for the 3 top studs to rest in. 

 

If you are not a semi-home-pro auto mechanic or never worked on coil suspension, take it into a shop ;-)

 

I was was able to finish in 4 hours. 

[Fasthotrod]

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

[The Assassin Blevins]

Those of you with Bilsteins...  Have you been happy with the ride/shocks since installing them?  (Side note:  I'm trying to locate a set of stock 2014-2018 coils...  If you have a set you want to unload for a reasonable price or donate, please let me know)