[Boatwaco]

I have my Bilstein 5100s to put up front. I also now have new springs, upper mount, etc. I want to get the new springs installed on the 5100’s then do a swap out of the old assemblies.
Part of the R&R instructions from the workshop manual, as well as what I see done on the various YouTube videos, is to mark or index the upper mount, spring and shock assemble when you are going to reuse those components. I get that this helps align these when putting them onto the new shock.

If I’m building the new assemblies from scratch, so I need to know the old assembly’s “indexed position?

PS. In case you’re wondering, I want to replace the old springs just because I can.

 

[GearHead_1]

Yes, you kind of do need to know that simply because you want the upper three mount studs to align with the mount holes. As this setup is actually a coil-over shock as opposed to a MacPherson strut which has an upper bearing, it's very difficult to index the hat once all that spring pressure is on it. Sorry I didn't think about this the other day when we spoke.

 

[Justinjs]

I believe the bolt hole on the bottom of the strut rotates easier, use a long screw driver to line up the bottom hole/A arm bolt. Maybe mine got installed wrong though.

 

[Boatwaco]

Ok - good to know. I’m thinking I can get a visual of the exiting shocks mounted and the make an alignment on the new assemblies. I’m hoping the “precision” of the indexing is relative to the top bolts only so it doesn’t have to tight ( like no need to be aligned within + or - 1 degree).

 

[FanaticalKilla]

When your building them take multiple pictures compared from top to bottom so you can see where you need to be. If your within 10 degrees to 15 degrees you’ll be fine.

 

[Justinjs]

Are the three bolt holes evenly spaced (equilateral triangular)? And are you putting the springs on yourself with a spring compressor?

 

[Boatwaco]

I’ll be taking new stuff to a shop to assemble. Plan was to get those built, then do a swap at home.

I’ll look at the new parts soon and post some pics.

 

[Boatwaco]

Here’s the parts diagram.

 

[butthead]

Yes, you kind of do need to know that simply because you want the upper three mount studs to align with the mount holes. As this setup is actually a coil-over shock as opposed to a MacPherson strut which has an upper bearing, it's very difficult to index the hat once all that spring pressure is on it. Sorry I didn't think about this the other day when we spoke.

Terminology is something I do try and get right. Too many refer to these components as struts. Thanks! KM

 

[snakebitten]

I like your plan!
I know you already purchased springs, but are they oem (Ford original equipped spring 🤣) or did you by chance choose an aftermarket spring of the same rate?
Are you running stock wheel and tire weight combination?

 

[Boatwaco]

I bought (dare I say it?) OEM springs from Ford. I supplied my current spring tag number to the parts people and they supplied replacements based on what the truck came with. Then I sent that parts diagram I posted above and said I wanted 2x of everything. Stock wheels, stock tire size.

 

[snakebitten]

👍👍

Was just curious because I believe that doing what you are doing is a GREAT opportunity for guys that want to upsize to big beefy All Terrain tires to get much better results by increasing the spring rate a bit to manage that heavier damping burden.

Or put another way, it's expensive to change to a coilover that is designed for a beefy front wheel package. (Fox, Icon, King) But I always felt that a Bilstein mounted in a little higher spring rate would be a great value equation for the guys not wanting to throw 3 or 4 grand at the project.

But if you are sticking with factory weight wheel/tire, then factory spring rate with Bilstein damping IS a great improvement and value equation.

 

[Boatwaco]

Talking this through with my buddy and taking your feedback so far:
I’ll take off the front wheels and get an indexed alignment from the old assembly and use that to get alignment marks on new pieces 3, 5 and 6 as they would sit on the new strut / shock (above diagram). I’ll mark the new pieces, then get them assembled using that indexing.
When I take off the old assembly at a later time, I can verify old alignment to new alignment (index).
If it is off, an AutoZone set of spring compressors can be used on the new assemblies to take tension off, but not disassemble, the new assembly and I should be able to rotate part 6 with the bolts to the correct alignment.
It’s a plan. Let’s see how it pans out.
Unless there are other ideas?

 

[butthead]

It may be tough to turn the shock after building the coil-over but it is possible. Especially with all new parts. Just in case some adjustment is needed. For what it's worth I adjusted my Icons even mounted on the vehicle, with out jacking, and that involved several full turns against the loaded spring. KM

 

[butthead]

Mr. snakebitten,
Didn't you recently do some suspension improvements? Sway bars? How's that working out? KM

 

[snakebitten]

In an effort to not hijack too badly, I documented everything in the rambling thread.

But in short, yes. I used both analog (RAS-damping & Antisway bar) and digital CCD editing (software) efforts to dial in a nice empty truck ride.

I actually enjoy tinkering with suspension.

 

[faxedasto]

Are the three bolt holes evenly spaced (equilateral triangular)?

mobdro 2022

 

[snydmax]

Here’s the parts diagram.

I would note the orientation of the final wrap on your coils... try to set the new assemblies up the same way. Not sure if it matters on these trucks but I've seen where it can cause some clearance issues due to the geometry of how the spring compresses

 

[FanaticalKilla]

Are the three bolt holes evenly spaced (equilateral triangular)?

No they are not.

 

[Tom-Dirt]

The F150 is the most popular vehicle in America. When you bring your bilstein shocks to the local garage, there's probably an F150 there on the lot to reference the spring alignment.