Are my 5100’s upside down?

Here is my experience with the 5100's. I had all 4 5100's installed on my truck by the Toyota dealer when they where replacing the frame. Well they ended mounting the rear so the rubber boots where up, not down. Fast forward 4 months, I blow a seal in the rear one with only 2,000 miles on it. Call Bilstein, and they say the shocks where installed incorrectly (showed them pics of how they where mounted/ leaking). They said call the Toyota dealer. So I did and Toyota made good on it. Bought me a brand new 5100 rear shock, and installed it for free, as they messed up. Hope this helps.

 

Those don’t look like the factory leafs
Mine have a huge overload on bottom and no middle leaf

 

Yah it’s just hard trying to find a good quality set of leaf springs that still retain the factory height, as I don’t want to lift the rear of my truck. I called Toyota today and was quoted $1000 for just the leaf springs, there definitely not giving those away.

 

Yah now that you say that they aren’t the same as mine either

 

correct, those are not factory/stock (3+1)

honestly those look like Dakar or AllPro?

 

Pass, hard pass. I got a set of factory take-offs from a 3rd Gen, with like 6k miles on them for $60. $100 for spring with 130k is ridiculous.

Then I put an Add-a-leaf on it for another $80.

 

OP

Where are you located? i have a brand new set of factory springs sitting on the floor of my garage. They came with my new frame, but I reused my Alcans. I'd let them go for $100.

 

I want them!

 

It makes perfect sense to install them like this

I agree with both of you. When the Bilstein Fairy brings me some I intend to install them this way and am prepared to argue with random strangers on the street about it... change them back! Now! Dooooooo it...

 

Torque Specs (Thank you, @eon_blue)

Shock absorber to frame: 53 ft/lbs
Shock absorber to axle: 53 ft/lbs

 

See the weep holes on the boot? Yeah thats to drain any liquid inside. Yes liquid can still get inside even if they're ziptied up.

 

All Pros don't have that flat angled overload in them, at least not like the Dakars have. It's just a thick pack of leaf springs all arched upward



All Pros on the top

 

I'll give you mine for $100, they've got fewer miles, too:

So, this is what springs with ~100k miles look like

 

Since we're on leaf spring topic - has anyone removed an AAL with the springs on the vehicle?? Or is that not recommended?

 

TLDR, test drive with either orientation.

My 5125s were upside down (I believe dust boots up top, I don't remember). My ride quality was horrible, the compression and rebound felt ass backwards. The internets kept coming back with "it's monotube, it doesn't matter" so I lived with it for a long time, and poor downsouth Motorsports, I called them out for saying the 5125 rides fine. Then when getting something else fixed on the truck and shooting the shit with the mechanic and getting onto it about the rear ride, he said 'flip em over'. He did it in a jiffy, I drove off and bam, ride was the way it should have been.