[GearHead_1]

The bump stop not being available separately amazes me. I've seen dozens of bump stops that have been riding around on a bad shock that are destroyed. Someone would have to sell that part separately.

 

[Boatwaco]

I hope you are right - it probably is available; I didn't find one earlier and I'm focusing in on the spring seat searches currently.

Edit - bump stops are readily available.

 

[Upshifter]

As for the spring perch, should you find all the other pieces, I believe the following should work for you from Halo Lifts (used to be called F150 Lifts):

Threaded Sleeves to convert your 5100 Bilstein Shocks so they are Adjustable while on your truck, w/ Spanner Wrenches - HaloLifts

This threaded sleeve slides over your Bilstein 5100 Series shock and along with our spring and top mount converts your Bilstein 5100 shock to be adjustable

halolifts.com

They are pricey, but would also allow adjustability for height while on the truck.

They are 5 mins from my office, have chatted with them a few times, super knowledgeable and build the struts they sell in house, and are always happy to chat (they are 5 mins from my office). A call could probably answer questions.

 

[snakebitten]

Hey, those are pretty cool!

Sure, a little pricey, but you are using them on dampers that are a real bargain, not to mention they overcome the one regret folks often have after installing 5100's.....wishing they had set them at a different level.

And in THIS case, they are the answer to another dilemma.

 

[Boatwaco]

As for the spring perch, should you find all the other pieces, I believe the following should work for you from Halo Lifts (used to be called F150 Lifts):

Threaded Sleeves to convert your 5100 Bilstein Shocks so they are Adjustable while on your truck, w/ Spanner Wrenches - HaloLifts

This threaded sleeve slides over your Bilstein 5100 Series shock and along with our spring and top mount converts your Bilstein 5100 shock to be adjustable

halolifts.com

They are pricey, but would also allow adjustability for height while on the truck.

They are 5 mins from my office, have chatted with them a few times, super knowledgeable and build the struts they sell in house, and are always happy to chat (they are 5 mins from my office). A call could probably answer questions.

Just chatted with one of the guys at HaloLift (Kevin) about those threaded sleeves @Upshifter introduced us to. First off - yes, he is a nice person to talk with and very helpful. Here is what I garnered from the call:

1. Yes, their sleeve kit replaces the stock lower spring seat / perch. No need to hammer these off of the OEM shocks and reuse those.​
2. They recommend setting this up on either the 2nd or 3rd ring from the bottom on the 5100's, so you have adjustment room up or down after installation​
3. Adjustment takes a significant amount of force. Raise the truck to take some load off the spring, use their spanner wrench to turn the nut up the sleeve. Cheater bar probably required, but you don't ever have to take the strut assembly off and remove the spring to adjust the height.​
4. Their website lists these as for the 2WD - this is an error in their web catalog. Ignore that if you have 4WD.​
5. They also will build you a pair of strut assemblies with the Bilsteins and these sleeves - kind of for guys like me who don't want to mess with a spring compressor. I'm too far invested in my little project to go this route now...​

I've ordered a set of these to be the guinea pig. I'll report back soon.

 

[B52U]

Just chatted with one of the guys at HaloLift (Kevin) about those threaded sleeves @Upshifter introduced us to. First off - yes, he is a nice person to talk with and very helpful. Here is what I garnered from the call:

1. Yes, their sleeve kit replaces the stock lower spring seat / perch. No need to hammer these off of the OEM shocks and reuse those.​
2. They recommend setting this up on either the 2nd or 3rd ring from the bottom on the 5100's, so you have adjustment room up or down after installation​
3. Adjustment takes a significant amount of force. Raise the truck to take some load off the spring, use their spanner wrench to turn the nut up the sleeve. Cheater bar probably required, but you don't ever have to take the strut assembly off and remove the spring to adjust the height.​
4. Their website lists these as for the 2WD - this is an error in their web catalog. Ignore that if you have 4WD.​
5. They also will build you a pair of strut assemblies with the Bilsteins and these sleeves - kind of for guys like me who don't want to mess with a spring compressor. I'm too far invested in my little project to go this route now...​

I've ordered a set of these to be the guinea pig. I'll report back soon.

This is going to be awesome, being able to adjust your spring preload to your satisfaction at any time will be worth the price IMO.

 

[B52U]

Another question, with the threaded adjusting sleeve do they have a starting point marked on it for initial installation. Like the very middle of the threaded section or something?

My experience with these on my UTV is that you want to witness mark the ring so when you adjust you can make sure you know the number of turns and do it evenly on both sides.

 

[Boatwaco]

They suggest setting the snap ring on the Bilstien body to the 2nd or 3rd from the bottom, then installing the sleeve and spring seat. I do not think there is a default or starting mark, but it would be easy to measure and scribe a mark during install to establish the baseline. Good idea - thanks - I will do this when I get them.

 

[snakebitten]

You da man Boatwaco!

We want to know.

 

[Boatwaco]

And I got a card to prove it too!

Indoor laser shooting range

In an effort to earn my man card, and since I do not yet have all 3 required air compressors or a transmission sink, I’ve decided to start building an indoor laser shooting range in the back of my garage. I’ve been using Strikeman and their app / laser cartridges and upgraded to their Strikeman...

www.f150ecoboost.net

 

[mlesch]

I rebuilt mine and have come to the conclusion,buying them ready to install is the only way to go....unless of course if you can get someone else to do it for you.....

 

[Upshifter]

Thanks for letting me spend your money!! That was fun.

Cant wait to see the results!

 

[snakebitten]

Thanks for letting me spend your money!! That was fun.

Cant wait to see the results!

He's really not that difficult.

 

[Boatwaco]

I often think of this as the F150EcoBoost.net fortune vs. forum, as it has cost me a small fortune over the last 15-16 months. None of which I regret!

 

[snydmax]

Unfortunately- parts 7 and 9 as shown below are not available separately. So unless I find a pair of donor struts, it’s back to Plan A. I did read a similar case where the guy bought a preowned truck with aftermarket strut assemblies; when he wanted to go to Bilstein 5100’s he had to find old struts on FB market place and reuse those spring seats.
Edit - part 7 - bump stops - are available after market.

View attachment 184678

Do you need part 7 for the Billies?

 

[Boatwaco]

Do you need part 7 for the Billies?

I do. Was planning to look online for those soon.

 

[Boatwaco]

Update on the HaloLift kit for 5100s:
Not the best news...
The HaloLift kit I bought (after a long talk with HaloLift) was the one without their top spring mounts and without their springs. I bought this as I was planning to use the OEM top spring rubber discs and OEM top mounts. But, without the HaloLift top mount the adjustable collars would be virtually impossible to turn and the spring rubber against the top mount would have too much friction.
I had a follow up call with HaloLift yesterday and we shared a bunch of pictures back and forth. HaloLift confirmed that their set up requires their spring and top mount, to allow the collar and spring to rotate much more freely (but still requires a lot of force using the supplied spanner wrench). We even discussed placing one of their supplied thrust washers (which are huge metal flat washers) between the spring and the top and bottom mounts to allow the rotation with the wrench onto the OEM rubber disc as it sits inside the top mount. But their metal thrust washer's ID is a hair to small to fit over the OEM top mount's center core. HaloLift said "maybe you can find another huge washer or use a Dremel to take a little off and squeeze it over the lip". Not something I want to do...

My options are:
1. Buy their springs and top mounts - I would basically have their completed strut assemblies without the 5100s but disassembled.
2. Buy a set of their complete 5100 strut assemblies (return the kit I bought as credit)
3. Return the kit I bought and forego the adjustable struts.

I'm debating next steps as I already invested in everything else that I would need (OEM springs, top mounts, top spring rubbers, hardware, a pair of 5100's).
Yes, I could try to sell or return what I've bought but then I am deviating from my little test project to prebuild my 5100's and do a driveway swap out of old to new. (I am still searching for the lower spring seats off an old set of shocks - these are the only pieces I am missing).
Or I could buy the HaloLift springs and top mounts (they are giving me a small discount and free shipping due to the misunderstanding on what I needed).

I'll ponder and report back soon.

PS - if I were to start over and didn't have this little project of pre-building the struts from OEM pieces, I would not hesitate to get the complete HaloLift struts with 5100s. The adjustability without removing the struts is the bee's knees. I just never realized how difficult it would be to get lower spring seats!

 

[snakebitten]

Research projects often run out of willing funders.

But it's been awesome so far!

 

[Boatwaco]

Research projects often run out of willing funders.

But it's been awesome so far!

Round 3 of funding is in.
And, I know a really great forum with a For Sale section if I decide to part with parts.

 

[FanaticalKilla]

Man I’ve been rooting for you through this. You could buy a complete set of Halos and build the other set using your components? Sell the less fancy set.