Front suspension mess up

I will take more photos when I get a chance, but I don't think it's corrosion, as it is only superficial (at least in the shocks and springs). There seems to be at least one ding, hopefully I can capture that with a photo for you.

The hole was definitely on the inside, and not visible until shock was removed

 

Here are some close ups of the damage, sorry about how long it took to take those photos


Bottom of the shaft broken off - corrosion is there, but it is superficial, as the truck sat for a bit before the shock was taken off



Superficial corrosion on the shaft



Some scuff marks here and in one other spot, threads are slightly damaged



I will make an attempt to clean that up, to see how deep the rust is. This is the most corroded part, but as I said, the truck sat for a couple weeks in moist and salty conditions, temperatures going above and below freezing after the shock was already broken



This dimple is sticking up, like the shock was hit by a small item from the inside



I might have a better picture than that, but here are the internals again


Shaft clearly bent

 

Definitely looks to me that shock never had any oil in it, its dry as a bone (no oily residue to be seen anywhere, lots of rust). Somebody at Elka done screwed up by sending that out the door (assuming the shocks are as they came from Elka, not from a 3rd-party that tuned them).

I can't imagine the ride was any good with that.

 

Well, that's the thing: the ride was good the first year or two. No issues at all. Then for a couple years there was squeeking, but still no real issues until just before it broke. So to me, it seems it was bent at initial installation, but only a little. It worked, but started wearing out from the inside. When it wore a small hole, squeeking started, because it lost the oil. Then when it completely wore through, it bent and broke the shaft when I hit a pot hole

But, at this point, I have no difinitive proof, so I'm just going to send it out and get it rebuilt. I will send the passenger side along, so they can assure me that the other one is good

 

I really doubt that the shocks will be rebuilt, too far gone. The height in one of your pictures looks like its too much, I suspect that there wasn't any down travel left in the shock. Constantly topping out (Bang Bang Bang), along with 2 years of salty roads corrosion likely contributed to the failure. I have seen some Toytec (Elka Shocks) with the same shaft failure over the years.

You cant really bend a shock shaft during an install. Plus the failure took two years. He could have added too much preload though and left 0 down travel which is not healthy for the shock.

You cant combine Elka springs with 5100's it makes no sense to do so, you wont get an accurate height going into it, the diameter of the springs are different, length...ect

Bilstein 5100's clips are meant for stock coils only, but can be used on the bottom clip with old man emu and Dobinson springs as their height then determines the lift.

 

What part of that shock do you think they can save and rebuild?

go buy a new one

 

I spray mine with FF in the spring and driving throughout the summer on gravel roads gives it a more rugged coat. It lasts all winter no problem (maine). I’ll rinse the frame and underside off with a garden hose low pressure throughout the winter and the water just beads right up. A local guy that provides FF spray service told me it’s a myth that the “dust method” helps. So take it with a grain of salt but first hand experience shows me it works very well. I reapply every spring right over the old coat