Bilstein 5100 shocks junk after 1 year!!

No I got the 5100's in the rear from allprooffroad, they are the 10" shocks. I have the e-mailed receipt. I have trouble believing that they're over extended with only 3" of lift. Any recommendations for a rreplacement? I see that all pro sells the 5125's now, how do they differ from the 5100's?

 

I am lifted pretty good in the rear. My OEM bilsteins were bottoming out as soon as the lift went on. I purchased these from downsouthmotorsports. For the rear option I went with the 3-4" lift application. Aka the RCD B110 bilsteins.
http://downsouthmotorsports.com/i-1...lstein5100-ride-height-adjustable-shocks.html

One year later and no leakage. But I may just be lucky...
Not a bad price for all four either.

 

Yeah I don't need anything for the front but I'll check those rears out.

*edit yeah those are all for the second gen and they're essentially what i'm running right now. My front bilsteins came assembled in the coilover.

 

Hey sorry about that. Didn't read the first gen part. Didn't mean to pass along misguided info.

 

Had same problem with the 5100s. Went with Rancho 9000s and for 3 years now, no leaking.

 

Hmm just checked those 5125's out on AP's site. 26" might be enough for your fully extended length but I'm not sure.
IMO you really just need to measure and check to see what your fully extended/fully collapsed length is. (remove the shock to do this..)

 

yeah that's the same length as my dead 5100's on there right now. 26" extended and 16" compressed. (10" travel)

 

I would still measure to see if they are the right length. Who knows maybe they are a 1/2" off or something.

 

lol, no OP do not put ranchos on your truck. over the years i have ran ranchos (5000s and 9000s) and they sucked. they would fade after only a few miles off road and would be overheated. i upgraded to bilsteins and never had that issue again.

best bet is to just flex the truck out with no shocks and see the max and min lengths and find a shock that matches, if you cant, add either bumps or straps to keep it in that area.

 

I had a conversation with my mechanic about it. He looked at the shocks and confirmed that they're definitely dead. He said that the 5100's are really more so that people can support a taller ride height and still have a comfy ride, and that they are not built for hard regular use. He also said that the added spring rate from my AAL is stiffer than what's appropriate for the relatively soft 5100's. We're thinking a firmer shock, possibly one with a reservoir, would be a better match. Something with just a little more travel might be a good idea, too. We both agree that we want to stick with the monotube design. He's gonna talk to Bilstein (maybe a 5150?) If they ship to him, and he installs them, and they shit the bed, then he deals with bilstein instead of me... which is good.

 

Might want to look into 7100's if your going with remote resi. I believe a few ppl on here run those.

 

Thanks, Chris. That's good to know; I'll mention that. For the difference in price I feel like getting the right shock is a no-brainer. Compared to all the other stuff we do to these trucks the difference in price for rear shocks is not that bad (for my application I mean, I realize when you start going waayyy up there things get little different). I wish I had done a little more research and spent more on a shock that was better suited to my setup/driving habits. Knowing that people on the forum run the 7100's with success is definitely a selling point.

 

This was a very good thread full of useful info. I just picked up a set of 5100's for my second gen.

 

your mechanic doesn't know what hes talking about. saying that the 5100s are soft is stupid. 5100s come in a wide variety of valving, they also come in 15 or so different lengths.

also, having the aal being stiffer would actually make the shock work less not more, so it would have lasted longer. there is something else going on that caused that shock to die. either a bad shock or using it as a suspension stop.

now 7100s are also awesome shocks, however, if you use them as a suspension stop you will kill those also (you can rebuild 7100s though) you can also go up to the 9100s if you have the cash but again, you will need to figure out the best size and valving for your truck.

 

You'll be wasting your money, no matter what, unless you measure your travel, you could put 10 different shocks back there but if you don't measure your travel you might destroy each and every one of them. Again, measure. your. travel.

 

5125's and 5100's are essentially the same shock. 5100 series means they are built for a specific platform, in this case, the 1st gen Tacoma with 0-3" lift. 5125's are generic sized shocks for custom lengths/applications. Most ppl who go for a 3" lift, get the 5125's for the extra down travel.

This guy is an idiot. Dont listen to him. 5150's are no longer sold as they dont make much difference. 7 series shocks are pretty expensive. I think 5160's are what you need (if you want a resi).

To do this right, you need to remove your shocks and max your flex on both sides, measuring the max and min length between the shock mounts with a tape measure (it may vary on each side). Generally speaking, you wont find the perfect shock that matches both down and up travel so you will need to get limit straps or bump stops as applicable to match the shock lengths and suspension travel.

Unless you have a LT setup, I would suggest maxing the down travel and get bump stops.

 

No, my mechanic is not an idiot. He's worked for a Toyota dealership (did a lot of the recall frame replacements), and he's owned and offroaded Tacomas before. Some of his specific shock model info might be a little out of date, which he acknowledges (which is why he's talking to bilstein). He said that it's misconception that stiffer springs will make your shocks work less because they stress shock rebound after a hit. Springs that are too soft obviously hurt shocks as well. He really didn't think that I was overextending the shock, but he had me flex it way up on a trailer bed to be sure and then he measured the shock length and compared it to the rated extended length for the part#. It looks like I still have 1"-1.5" left. I know what you guys are thinking, why didn't you just pop them off to be sure? Well, he was doing this in between appointments as a favor to me and couldn't take a lot of time. I'd suspend judgment here, guys. He's actually seen the truck.

 

Two year old 5100’s on a double cab Taco started handling funny. Looked in back to see the shock shaft sticking out of the boot and hanging down. Pulled it off and expected it would be broken. It’s not. Threads on the shaft still look decent and the threads on the eye still look reasonable . Just when you screw them together they don’t engage till the last two threads and then just spin when tightened. The tolerance is so poor on these threads it looks like they are off by one size. Rule of thumb for thread engagement is length of thread should be two times the Diameter minimum this design falls well short of that. Junk in my opinion and I won’t be putting another set on anything I own. Purchased at Rock Auto. NEXT !

 

i think its just that the rust ate the threads away. if the shock was still good and that was the only issue, i would just screw them back to together and tig weld it on. if its bad, get a good shock setup