I just thought I'd share my experiences with installing a set of Bilstein 5100's on my 2012 FX4.
The Product:
Bilstein 5100 Series Ride Height Adjustable Shocks
5100 Series - Ride Height Adjustable
Part #'s are as follows:
Front = 24-239394
Rear = 33-187501
Nothing out of the ordinary to report about the product. I pulled my factory FX4 shocks out at 39k miles and they were much easier to compress than the Bilsteins and also decompressed much slower. The Bilstein is definitely a far superior product to our stock shocks, but will also firm up the ride a little bit which could be a good or bad thing. Price isn't too bad, you're looking at about $350 for a set of 4.
Installation:
If you don't have access to a decent set of tools, I would definitely hire a shop to install the fronts. You are looking at about $150 in labor plus alignment. You are going to need a standard socket/wrench set with sizes upto 30mm.
Rear installation is a breeze. Two bolts on each side and you are done. I did mine with the boot up as that is the way the stock shocks were installed.
Here is a comparison of old versus new. I left the shipping strap on until I got the top bolted up so that they would stay compressed for ease of installation.
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New rear shock in place.
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Front installation as I stated was a bit harder, but it's a pretty standard McPherson strut assembly. First, I disconnected my battery as I heard some people mention stuff about the electric power steering when doing maintenance on the suspension. After that, jack the truck up and remove everything. I left my brake caliper on the spindle and removed my upper ball joint, tie rod and sway bar and shock nuts. Biggest issue I had with dissaessmbly was on one side the ball joint nut got stuck halfway down on the ball joint stud. I ended up having to put a wrench on it then use a socket on the BJ stud to keep it from spinning. I also soaked it and every other bolt in PB blaster at that time. I'd hit everything with PB blaster first for smoother results. Put a floor jack under your lower control arm then hit the tie rod on the side with a hammer and the spindle as well to pop the upper ball joint out. I left the nut on the studs to catch the spindle once the ball joint pops out. I found it harder to pop the tie rods out than the ball joint. Once my ball joint was disconnected I knocked out the lower shock bolt and disconnected the 3 15mm bolts up top. One of them you will have to get from the engine bay on each side. From there, use a pry bar to wiggle the strut out.
I took my strut assembly and shocks to a friend to have the spring compressed and strut assembled. You are looking at about an hour labor if you do this. I paid him $40.
Installation is the reverse of removal, and it went much smoother. Be sure to double check every nut and torque to factory specs.
This video will be helpful if you've never worked on a coilover suspension before:
Factory suspension:
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Removed:
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New Strut ready to go in:
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Everything back together:
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Before:
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After (I went with the 2nd setting from the top, 1.5" lift)
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Measurements before: 36.875" (Drivers) and 38.875 (Passenger) with a full 36 gallon tank (which is on passenger side)
Measurements after: 38.25" (Drivers) and 39" (Passenger) with a half full 36 gallon tank. It looks like I gained exactly 1.5"
Measurements were taken from the ground to the top of the wheel well trough the center of the centercap.
The Product:
Bilstein 5100 Series Ride Height Adjustable Shocks
5100 Series - Ride Height Adjustable
Part #'s are as follows:
Front = 24-239394
Rear = 33-187501
Nothing out of the ordinary to report about the product. I pulled my factory FX4 shocks out at 39k miles and they were much easier to compress than the Bilsteins and also decompressed much slower. The Bilstein is definitely a far superior product to our stock shocks, but will also firm up the ride a little bit which could be a good or bad thing. Price isn't too bad, you're looking at about $350 for a set of 4.
Installation:
If you don't have access to a decent set of tools, I would definitely hire a shop to install the fronts. You are looking at about $150 in labor plus alignment. You are going to need a standard socket/wrench set with sizes upto 30mm.
Rear installation is a breeze. Two bolts on each side and you are done. I did mine with the boot up as that is the way the stock shocks were installed.
Here is a comparison of old versus new. I left the shipping strap on until I got the top bolted up so that they would stay compressed for ease of installation.
New rear shock in place.
Front installation as I stated was a bit harder, but it's a pretty standard McPherson strut assembly. First, I disconnected my battery as I heard some people mention stuff about the electric power steering when doing maintenance on the suspension. After that, jack the truck up and remove everything. I left my brake caliper on the spindle and removed my upper ball joint, tie rod and sway bar and shock nuts. Biggest issue I had with dissaessmbly was on one side the ball joint nut got stuck halfway down on the ball joint stud. I ended up having to put a wrench on it then use a socket on the BJ stud to keep it from spinning. I also soaked it and every other bolt in PB blaster at that time. I'd hit everything with PB blaster first for smoother results. Put a floor jack under your lower control arm then hit the tie rod on the side with a hammer and the spindle as well to pop the upper ball joint out. I left the nut on the studs to catch the spindle once the ball joint pops out. I found it harder to pop the tie rods out than the ball joint. Once my ball joint was disconnected I knocked out the lower shock bolt and disconnected the 3 15mm bolts up top. One of them you will have to get from the engine bay on each side. From there, use a pry bar to wiggle the strut out.
I took my strut assembly and shocks to a friend to have the spring compressed and strut assembled. You are looking at about an hour labor if you do this. I paid him $40.
Installation is the reverse of removal, and it went much smoother. Be sure to double check every nut and torque to factory specs.
This video will be helpful if you've never worked on a coilover suspension before:
Factory suspension:
Removed:
New Strut ready to go in:
Everything back together:
Before:
After (I went with the 2nd setting from the top, 1.5" lift)
Measurements before: 36.875" (Drivers) and 38.875 (Passenger) with a full 36 gallon tank (which is on passenger side)
Measurements after: 38.25" (Drivers) and 39" (Passenger) with a half full 36 gallon tank. It looks like I gained exactly 1.5"
Measurements were taken from the ground to the top of the wheel well trough the center of the centercap.
