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Bilsteins Shocks on My DC

Discussion in '1st Gen. Tacomas (1995-2004)' started by dustinuhls, Jan 15, 2009.

  1. Jan 15, 2009 at 3:16 AM
    #1
    dustinuhls

    dustinuhls [OP] Well-Known Member

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    I have an '01 DoubleCab that I bought used in '05. It has Bilstein shocks all around, but I keep reading threads that all DoubleCabs in this year came w/ Toxico's. I was thinking about replacing the shocks, but was wondering how to know how old these are, b/c if they're not factory then I'm assuming they've already been replaced. How do I know when my shocks really need to be replaced anyways???
     
  2. Jan 15, 2009 at 4:14 AM
    #2
    Delmarva

    Delmarva Mayor of TW

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    It's the wife's T4R so it's stock
    Push down on the front bumper. If it seems to be un-naturally "springy" your shocks are worn.
     
  3. Jan 15, 2009 at 4:41 AM
    #3
    dustinuhls

    dustinuhls [OP] Well-Known Member

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    The front's really "stiff" anyways from the coil-spacer lift, so I'm not really sure how "springy" it should be. The back also has add-a-leafs. Is there any time limit on how long you should run your shocks?
     
  4. Jan 15, 2009 at 4:55 AM
    #4
    Delmarva

    Delmarva Mayor of TW

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    It's the wife's T4R so it's stock
    friend of mine says there really isn't a time limit -- you ride them until they fail. Replace them if:

    1. they're leaking
    2. If you hit a pot hole and truck is still "moving" after you've gone through it.
    3. Feels like you're driving a boat.
     
  5. Jan 15, 2009 at 5:17 AM
    #5
    dustinuhls

    dustinuhls [OP] Well-Known Member

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    Anybody know a "lifespan" on shocks? If these are factory, then they're abount 8 years old. Good... Bad...?? Like I said earlier, I can't feel a "moving or floating" motion with them b/c I think my suspension is stiff enough already with the lift. I don't think my shock are bad, but was just wondering the average lifespan of them.
     
  6. Jan 15, 2009 at 5:24 PM
    #6
    tacomaman06

    tacomaman06 Carolina Alliance: Enforcer

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    getting there....
    companies(some anyway) say its good to replace shocks every 50k miles. some cases thats probably so...especially with junk shocks, but i have seen different shocks go as far as 70k miles before they really needed to be replaced. i guess 50k miles,especially if the truck is offroaded alot, is a good round number.

    i got my 04 with 46k miles on the clock........been offroaded alot, and the tokico blue shocks(piece o shat) were shot to hell. got the bilstein 5100's on there now.....aint gotta worry about them for a good while.
     
  7. Jan 22, 2009 at 1:42 AM
    #7
    dustinuhls

    dustinuhls [OP] Well-Known Member

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    The truck has 65K on it now and I bought it completely stock. I'm pretty sure they've never been replaced. I'll probably just but a new set soon. Even if I don't "need" them I guess it won't hurt to do it anyways. I'm gonna buy new brakes for it first though. Thinking about going w/ the Baer rotors and Hawk pads on the front discs. I'd love to do the disc conversion for the rear, but that's really expensive! Don't the rear brakes generally last a lot longer than the fronts anyways? How do I know when to replace the rear drum pads?
     
  8. Jan 22, 2009 at 2:14 AM
    #8
    Delmarva

    Delmarva Mayor of TW

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    It's the wife's T4R so it's stock
    The majority of your stopping power in your truck is form the front brakes. The rear drum pads will squeak when they need to be replaced like the front brakes do.
     
  9. Jan 22, 2009 at 2:24 PM
    #9
    ETaco23

    ETaco23 Marshall offroad Fabrication

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    I gotta get new front shocks, mine feel bad with them having 100K on them. But Im going to get rid of my front spacer and go with the Toytec coil lift instead with new shocks. Make the ride a little better.
     

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