Bilstein 4600s

[koolbreeze]

I installed new Bilstein 4600s on my truck today and I'm very pleased with the ride. The old shocks were completely toast. They had nothing left in them and stayed collapsed. The shocks are:

24-104050 front
24-020435 rear

But I'm a little concerned about the amount of travel left on the rear shocks. They've got about 6 to 7 inches of travel left before they are collapsed. I had to move the boot down an inch or 2 on the left side to keep it from being wadded up. The right side wasn't like that, so I just attributed it to the boots being in different spots on the 2 shocks. I think the truck sits level but I should probably measure it now that I think about it to see if something else is out of whack.

Anyway, I pull a heavy trailer some times that squats the truck in the rear. I'm concerned that with only 6 or 7 inches of shock left, that it may bottom them out and do some damage. Has anyone had any problems with these shocks on these trucks?

 

[Supercharged111]

Don't forget that, being mounted at an angle, the motion ratio is not 1:1 so that 6-7 inches of shock travel does not equate to 6-7 inches of suspension travel.

 

[MIHELA]

I have Bilstein 5100s on my truck with a 4 inch shackle flip and I had to move the boots. I'm pretty sure thats normal.

 

[koolbreeze]

I checked the measurements this afternoon and I mis-spoke above. With the shocks installed and the truck on level ground with no load, the right rear shock measures 21.5 inches from center of the bottom mount to the top mount. On the left rear, it measures 19.5 inches. So there is 2 inches difference. The difference appears to be where the top mount points are located on the frame.

On the right side, I have approximately 6 inches of shock left. On left side, it's approximately 4 inches. On both sides, I've got 4 inches of travel until the rubber bump stops hit the springs. But regardless, since the shocks are slanted, the bump stops should hit before the shocks do.

For future reference, I measured the shocks that came off the truck (original equipment as far as I know) and they were are follows:

Front (center of mount to center of mount)
11.25 inches compressed
16.50 inches extended

Rear (center of bottom mount to top mount)
15.50 inches compressed
26.50 inches extended


I found these specs for the Bilstein 4600s online:

Front
11.69 inches compressed
16.56 inches extended

Rear
15.61 inches compressed
24.63 inches extended

Not enough difference to matter.

 

[abailey55]

I checked the measurements this afternoon and I mis-spoke above. With the shocks installed and the truck on level ground with no load, the right rear shock measures 21.5 inches from center of the bottom mount to the top mount. On the left rear, it measures 19.5 inches. So there is 2 inches difference. The difference appears to be where the top mount points are located on the frame.

On the right side, I have approximately 6 inches of shock left. On left side, it's approximately 4 inches. On both sides, I've got 4 inches of travel until the rubber bump stops hit the springs. But regardless, since the shocks are slanted, the bump stops should hit before the shocks do.

For future reference, I measured the shocks that came off the truck (original equipment as far as I know) and they were are follows:

Front (center of mount to center of mount)
11.25 inches compressed
16.50 inches extended

Rear (center of bottom mount to top mount)
15.50 inches compressed
26.50 inches extended


I found these specs for the Bilstein 4600s online:

Front
11.69 inches compressed
16.56 inches extended

Rear
15.61 inches compressed
24.63 inches extended

Not enough difference to matter.

Great info. Thanks a lot.

 

[Iowan]

I have Bilstein 5100s on my truck with a 4 inch shackle flip and I had to move the boots. I'm pretty sure thats normal.

How's the ride with the 5100s?

 

[Supercharged111]

My 1 ton rear Bilsteins were 32" fully extended IIRC.

 

[MIHELA]

How's the ride with the 5100s?

Incredible. I also have GMT900 cab mounts in the back.

 

[Iowan]

Incredible. I also have GMT900 cab mounts in the back.

Are those able to be in all the body mounts? I'm looking at replacing my bushings when I do my shocks.

 

[MIHELA]

The hydraulics are only for the rear. You would just want standard rubber for the others.