Looking for help with my front 5100 bilsten struts / bottoming out

that coil does not look like it has much room left to compress.....shock should have plenty of room to compress. If you decide on replacing, I personally like ome nitro shocks over the gas used in 5100. Pair it with a match coil will give you a more cushioned ride IMO.

 

The tuff country lift in its installation instructions says to use the stock coils ad a stock length strut. With this being said I'm not sure why there is a problem. I can just go out and keep buying more junk. I could get new stock oem springs

 

The 2 highlighted are the same...

 

I don't understand....
What if I get a 3 inch lift spring and set the struts at 2.5 this will be one more inch taller then the spacer. Can I do that? Or does the lower cross member have to come off and go back to stock?

 

Those coils are likely totaled. Need new ones

 

What about the idea oh removing just the spacer and installing a 3 " spring and putting my struts at 2.5? Will this work?

 

^If you mean a spring intended to provide a 3" lift, no it won't work with the shocks set at the 2.5" setting.

 

Why? That's 5.5?

 

You shock will have no down travel at that point, it unfortunately doesn't work that way

 

I would buy some new springs they look pretty shot, a newer spring will be stiffer and hopefully not want to fully compress as easily

 

So it's going to be really stuff then. ....so why couldn't I get spring that lifts 4 inches and I just the shock to 1.5? I'm just going to park this truck or sell it if it can't be fixed. Iv been adding my recorded and after buying the truck for 9,500 I'm already at 13,900. It's been a money pit

 

The shock length does not increase when you move the spring perch up to the 2.5" setting, it just preloads the spring. Trying to preload a longer/stiffer spring intended for 3" lift will just keep the shock extended all the time. You'll get just ~3" lift, with a really rough ride and no suspension travel.

 

And so you say get a oem stock spring and the bottoming out should go away? What about bump stops ? The lower control are has two per side . They have five inches between them and the frame. The sway bar King on the back wouldn't allow long ones

 

Try these with the shocks set at 0": They offer minimal lift (so your DB lift geometry is maintained), but the rate is stiffer at 500 lb/in vs 465 lb/in stock.

 

i would not get a spring intended for lift and preload at the highest 5100 notch. That is just too much preloading and would just kill that shock faster while getting you no travel at all. Also this would not get you the desired lift you wanted, just a really big disaster waiting to happen when that tension lets go at a failure. You could use the existing 5100, preload the existing spring if it is still good and find a smaller top spacer.

If you decided to preload to 2.5, it would be a bitch to compress a spring to that level, especially one with that is stiffer rating than a stock spring. Compressing my 886 coils on a ome shock scared the shit out of me

 

Ok. Thanks for explaining that to me. How can I really tell if the spring is bad. Am the shop is going to say it is. I also didn't install the struts. I paid to have them installed

 

cant tell until you have them taken off from the strut. Also from the looks of the photo you have the massive top spacer ontop as well as a smaller top spacer sitting between the top hats and the spacer. I am guessing this is adding too much tension on the coil and compressing it further. I think you can get back some travel and comfort if you remove that small spacer.

 

I'll look. I'm not sure what small spacer you are talking about. Did you see the video by chance as well?

 

i just watched the video, you need bigger bump stops to prevent the shock from bottoming, you spacer lift is literally stealing all of your down travel on your coils and strut. looking at the photo again, you are stacking spacer lifts, meaning you have two, remove one so you dont completely snap your strut because the coils are already bending/ touching before you even compress the strut - just a matter of time they just break in two.

 

That's the way the tuff country 5 inch system comes. You can feel the shock bottom. I also stated that longer bump stops on the back wouldn't fit pastvthecsway bar. This kit also didn't come with bump stops. I'll bring this stuff up to the shop tomorrow where I got the struts. The old stuck ones didn't bottom out like this. They did wave a little bit not a slamming when going over gravel holes or rutted roads.