Bilstein 5100 front shocks

[Interleukin6]

Believe or not, I had a bad experience with changing shocks with lift kit. Make a long story short, I had to sell my 4-year-old Wrangler Unlimited because of death wobble 1 year after installation of new shocks with 2-inch lift. The local shop who installed them & even Jeep dealer could not find the cause of death wobble and asked for $$$$ to pursue it. Almost killed by my wife, had to drive a minivan for years until I purchased a 2019 1500 WT 4.3L crew cab short box. Then I have learned death wobble often occurs in solid axle vehicles, especially with lifted. Can changing front shocks in Silverado cause any potential serious problem (like totally unexpected death wobble in Wrangler)? I installed rear shocks by myself 6 months ago and have felt great. Now, time to do the front (part# 24-293297) but installation looks complicated than the rear (and I don't have spring compressors and even jack stands). Also require an alignment after installation anyway. Where did you install them, in a local shop or dealer? How much did you pay for it? Can any local car shop do it or I need to go to a truck shop? Does it void any warranty except for the shocks themselves? Again, because of my bad experience, sorry for many silly questions. Thank you. 

[Gangly]

It's easy, and you can do it yourself for free in a single afternoon once you have a jack and stands.  There are numerous posts on how to install them on this website, utilize the search function, it is your friend.

 

Without the jack and stands though, it would be very difficult to put the truck in a proper position to effectively work on the front suspension.

 

As far as the death wobble is concerned, it is almost always seen in solid front axle vehicles.  With the independent front suspensions (IFS) on the Silverado and Sierra, you would be hard pressed to find a single case of the "death wobble" as you described unless somebody has severely worn tie rod ends or severely worn UCA/LCA studs which is extremely rare for a newer vehicle.   Once the trucks start getting 150k-200k miles on them you might start to see worn bushings and studs, but not this early in a vehicle models life cycle.   The IFS setup on these T1's is fairly robust for a stock vehicle and can handle a lot without being damaged.

[RWTJR]

I have owned 4 Wranglers and everyone of them eventually developed death wobble. It also plagues Ford Super Duty trucks. Death wobble is a solid axle issue.

 

Changing shocks alone should not incite any handling problems. Yes, the front shocks are more complicated and do require spring compression. Yes, a local shop can do the install and it doesn't have to be a truck shop. I would suggest a place that can do your alignment too. Any modification can be used as an excuse to not honor the warranty. If you dial up the lift on the Bilsteins, you "risk" warranty issues with the front drive train, cv axles, diff, etc. This, as with any warranty issue, is primarily dealership dependent.

 

If you read the threads regarding lifting these trucks, you'll see many people who have successfully done, or had done, what you suggest without any issues. Just remember as you read the threads to filter out the AT4/Trail Boss threads, as they are lifting an already lifted truck, which has it's own set of challenges/issues.

 

With the right tools and some patience this a good DIY project.

 

JMHO

No expertise implied or expressed

[Interleukin6]

Thank you for the good answers. So if I don't do any height adjustment which means remaining in a stock height while installing Bilstein 5100, I won't have warranty issues except for the front shocks themselves?

[Gangly]

Correct.