Your experience with the bilsteins 5100's

Still on the fence in way but, have pretty much made up my mind about putting new bilsteins 5100's on the truck to replace the original oem struts. anybody tell me a little bit about your experiences with them( positive or negative). The installation would be a by shop and the truck is a rear wheel drive and not lifted............ yet( hmmmm?)
Thanks as always. haufwiterzen

 

i put billy 5100's on all 4 corners of my 04 double cab...left the fronts at stock height,and i have to say.....they ride tons better than the stock shocks. the tokico's i took off were busted......3 of them were anyway, but the 5100's are nice as hell.

 

I put 5100s on the front of my 09 double cab (did it myself in about 2-3 hours) about 3 months ago. Also installed the Toytec AAL on rear. The front was set at 2.5 inches. Very happy with results. The ride is stiffer, but now it feels like a truck instead of a SUV. The only hard part is figuring out how much you want them to lift the truck since you have to compress the spring to change the height later. I don't think you'll be disappointed.

 

i put the 5100 billy's on the front of my 02 access cab and cranked them all the way up to 2.5" and put the billy's in and new leaf packs in the rear from hellcreek suspension which gave me like an 1" to 1.5" lift in the rear and also brought my payload up to a HD half ton pickup. this whole setup rides great, i mean it's a little stiff but what would you expect from a lifted truck right?

 

so you would recommend going with another option on the rear suspension rather than bilsteins on all four wheels? What are some of my options for the rear suspension? Ocaisionly the truck does take on a hefty load in the back what witht he tools, welding machine, and related debris. thanks for your reply.

 

If you haven't already read it a good place to start is http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/suspension/11282-tacoma-lift-faq-guide-read.html From there you can find all kinds of links, info, and opinions. The key is to remember what you use your truck for. If you do serious off-road travel your opinion will be different than if you drive on the highway and carry a load. My truck is mostly used for the highway commute, but I live in the mountains and take it down unmaintained forest service roads frequently. I don't take it over large rocks since I have an ATV that fills that need. The AAL made a noticeable difference in the way the back end settled with weight added (but I also had one of the dreaded 09 yellow stickers inside the door). I also upgraded to LT 265-75-16 BF Goodrich KOs and love the look and performance with a 2.5 lift in the front and 1.5 in the back. BTW, I ended up doing the carrier bearing drop in the rear to remove a small vibration that was noticeable when starting from a dead stop. In retrospect I would spend the money and add a shim while the leaf spring is disassembled. If you think you would want more lift then you get into some serious money and require a lot more aftermarket parts to make the suspension work well. You will learn a lot of useful information about your truck from this list when researching the process.

 

Thanks for the link kagrimm, very informative. After going through the different descriptions I think I will still go with the bilsteins 5100's in the front and the toytec AAL in the rear. Unfortunately the link didn't work in the sticky about the Toytec AAL's. What's the cost of 'em? What should I expect to pay to have 'em installed?

 

The direct link to the site is If that doesn't work google toytech lifts. I don't know what the install would cost since I did it myself. I would guess 2-3 hours of labor at shop. If you have any mechanical skill, a jack, and some tools you could do it yourself. I had never done it before but I found a couple good write-ups on TW and decided to give it a go. I ordered the 5100s from Downsouth http://downsouthmotorsports.com/ (they give a small discount to TW members) and the AAL from Toytech. Both orders were exactly what I ordered and delivered without any drama. The front suspension procedure is at http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/suspension/31862-how-front-shock-spring-removal.html and the rear springs are at http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/suspension/31118-how-install-add-leaf-w-pics.html. The factory service manuals are online at and from there you can see the parts and get the torque specs. Worked out well with only a couple bloody knuckles. Remember you will also want to do an alignment when done which will cost about $75+/-. I was disappointed with the first shop that did my alignment because they messed up the steering. Then I went to a local 4x4 shop and they gave me the name of the alignment shop they used and it was done perfectly.

 

I installed mine back in May with OME Heavies, set at 0" w/Billstein's and have the Toytec AAL w/Billsteins on the rear and have had no problems. I have used them with some med. trails on Eagle Rock in COS and they wrked great.

 

Can I see a pic of yours from the side ?

 

Bilsteins on all four? Even with the toytec AAL? Is this feasible?

 

yeah i just got some pics today i'll put them up asap

 

Are there any good write ups on installing new bilsteins 5100's on a 2WD toyota tacoma? I could really use one. thanks

 

I just installed a set of Icons and a set of 5100's on the rear, It is really simple just remove the 3 bolts on top (14mm)of the strut and the one on the bottom (19mm). if you lifting the front you will need to remove the torsion bar (17mm and 6mm allen wrench). The rears just pull out the old ones and lift the truck higher when you're ready to install the 5100's. They're larger than OEM shocks. Let me know if you need help and I will walk you through it.
I used 2 floor jacks. 1 4000 lbs 18" with some wood blocks and 2 ton to life the spindle.

I have a 2004 Prerunner DC 2WD.

 

OK, so the parts are on their way
I went with the bilsteins 5100's( front and rear) as well as the toytec AAL on the rear leaf springs.
Now, are are there any good write ups on on the instillation of the bilsteins?
I hope to finish this up in a day, is this a good labor/ time estimate?
Does anyone have any recommendations as to which should be installed first?( the bilstein shocks or the AAL)
also any problems anyone encountered installing them, themselves would help as well

 

Here is some info/pictures from a few weeks ago when I did mine. I only replaced the front shocks. I have an 03 double cab.
http://www.customtacos.com/forum/showthread.php?t=138312
Matt

 

The install was easy first time I have done it and it took just about 3hours and I think I could do it now under 2 hours easy, and with another set of hands doing one side and me on the other under an hour for the fronts. youll wanna get a spring compressor though.

 

I have a 02 double cab, I haul dirt bikes and tools alot. I went with the 5100s in the front set at the second clip, I run Firestone ride rites (air bags) with KYB Mono max in the rear, I like the air bags because when your not hauling gear you can air them down and she rides like stock.

 

What can I expect from the different settings on the bilsteins? What is the bets set for them the 1' or all the way up to 2.5"? On all four tires? Even with the Toytec AAL in the rear as well? Just wondering what I should set these struts at?

 

If you aren't raising the rear, I would stick to the middle setting (1" lift). 2.5" would likely make the front higher than the rear. The AAL may give you enough of a bump in the rear to make the 2.5" lift in the front look right.

As you may know, only the front 5100s are adjustable.

Matt