Shocks (advice please)

O.K. I'm trying to figure out what the proper shocks would be for my truck. I've got my share of bad advice so far, so I really need help. I have an '01 tacoma I recently put a 3" lift kit on. Before all you pros start. I bought this truck new in so in 20 years its been of road maybe 6 times. Any way it has 2 blocks in the back and I want to put a set of Bilstein 5125s on it. Upon the advice of others I bought a pair of

$94 33-186542 Bilstein Shock, B8 5125 Series, Monotube, 15.12 in Compressed / 24.35 in Extended, 46 mm, Steel, Zinc Plated, Each

33-186542. Put one on and it seemed way to long. I got it on but seems like there wouldn't be much room for compression. I called 4WP no help. They gave me Bilstein 800#. Called them they said, take it to a shop and have them measure extension and compression of my truck. I don't want to go that route.
Any advice.

 

First, general rule of thumb here on TW is don't use the word "Help" in your title. That's reserved for people that are broken down and in need of "Help". Please change your Thread title and remove the word "Help". there are many threads here on TW that deal with only shock questions. Have you tried the search option with your shock number, give it a try, and have a great day.

 

The shocks you purchased are

Collapsed 15.12
Extended 24.31

The two sets of shocks offered for our trucks by Bilstein for their 5100 series are

$104 Bilstein 5100 Series 96-04 Toyota Tacoma Rear Left 46mm Monotube Shock Absorber (33-247724)

33-247724 21.26 Extended 13.62 Collapsed Driver side shock
33-247717 22.09 Extended 14.07 Collapsed Passenger side shock

BE5-D559 21.6 Extended 13.9 Collapsed Driver side shock
BE5-D560 22.6 Extended 14.7 Collapsed Passenger side shock

The above shocks work for lifts ranging between 1" up to 3"

It's only natural that, a shock with a longer extended length, will yield a longer collapsed length.

To protect your shocks from collapsing, you need to extend your bump stops which I assume you haven't done yet?

It's recommended even for the slightly shorter shocks I listed above (while being longer than stock).

Anyway, whoever gave you that advice for the 5125 without telling you any more that you needed to know, sucks.

 

Thank you. Apologize for thread title. New hear but now I know.

 

No kwikvette, I haven't got new bump stops yet. Been trying to deal with this shock issue first. Trucks sitting in the driveway with no shocks on it now. I see your from Monterey county. I grew up in San Jose and used to go to Monterey all the time. Went to motogp at Leguna Seca several times. Awesome experience.

 

No Problem, quite a few newbies to TW, make the same mistake. I hope that you figure out your problem. There are quite a few people here on TW that are very knowledgeable about these trucks, and are always willing to help you out with any problems that might arise. I've been blown away with their friendliness and willingness to share what they've learned with others.

 

So in short, your shocks will be a bit too tall to use without risking bottoming them out.

Best advice is, ditch the 5125 altogether and go with a set I posted above.

You could then get away without getting extended bump stops since you mentioned not off roading anyway.

Here's the rear of my truck with extended bump stops and a 2" lift.



And yes, when MotoGP or other events come out, it's badass to watch.

Ran a few cars there myself but holy shit you've got some really fast drivers there.

 

If my memory serves me correctly, I think I'm currently running the

$94 33-186542 Bilstein Shock, B8 5125 Series, Monotube, 15.12 in Compressed / 24.35 in Extended, 46 mm, Steel, Zinc Plated, Each

33-186542 - same ones as OP originally bought.

I have them paired with some Old Man Emu leafs plus their Add-a-leaf. Gives me roughly 3" of lift in the back?



Haven't taken this new setup off-road yet for some wheeling, but curious to see if anyone thinks I will run into issues with this setup? I recall several other members on here run a similar setup.

Another thing to point out is the valving (the shims? I can't remember the correct term) inside the shocks. The 33-186542 has a more restrictive flow than the Bilstein recommended shocks for our Tacoma's. So theoretically, you'll be able to absorb better when you have significant weight in the back, but when you're running with nothing, it's going to feel stiff.

I think AllPro pairs their Expo leafs with these shocks...

 

Well, I dont have AAL setup. As I stated, I don't go off road much. So the 2" blocks give it a better look with the 33s. I know when I put those 6542s on, I only had 4" of compression left. For a shok that is 24" full extension that didn't seem right. And I'm going to pull a 2300lb boat with it so I'd like to have more travel than that. I went ahead and ordered the ones mentioned by kwikvette. And 2 other reliable sources said that was the shock I should run with my setup. But I'm glad the 6542s worked out for you and I appreciate the reply.