NotEnufGarage

The Bilsteins arrived Friday afternoon and I put them right on the truck.

The rear shocks (Bilstein BE5-6249-T5) went on with no issues and only took about 1/2 hour. They're about 3.5" longer at full extension and 2.5" compressed than the Monroes I took off and it looks like I have about 6" of travel in each direction on these.

The fronts shocks (Bilstein BE5-6248-T5) were a little more work. I took off the old Monroes and the first thing I found is the bushings on the Bilsteins are only 5/8", so they wouldn't go on the 11/16" studs. I ended up taking the bushings out of the Monroes and putting them in the Bilsteins. Once I did that, eveything worked fine. I've got about 4" of upward travel and all the downward travel I could want (about 6"). I trimmed the bump stops to limit me to about 3" of upward travel (I cut about 1/2" off the tip), so even with bump stop compression, the front axle should only go up about 3.5", keeping the shock from bottoming out.

I went camping this weekend, so I loaded up the quad (about 700lbs), a couple 5 gallons cans of gas and a few other things. With the spare tire, 50 gallon aux tank (almost full) and rollbar, I probably had about 1500lbs in the bed. This put me about 1" off the overload springs. I headed out Saturday for about a 45 mile trip, which was 5 miles of suburban roads, 20 miles of freeway, 10 miles of country highway (California 49), 3 miles of side road (paved) and 3 miles of dirt road. The last 6 miles is fairly rough, with lots of pot holes, washboard roads and ruts.

If you've been in California lately, you know our roads suck, due to lack of maintenance. I could tell an immediate improvement just on the roads from my house to the freeway. Potholes, dips and man hole covers that would previously give me a very bouncy ride just caused a thump-thump as I went over them. The freeway ride was great, with the same kind of reaction on expansion joints. The country highway and side road manners were excellent. I never bottomed out on potholes that have previously caused me to hit the bump stops. The dirt road reaction was excellent.

All in all, I'm very pleased and I think this was the best $270 I've spent on my truck so far. I'm looking forward to a 2000 mile round trip to Montana at the end of the month and I think it'll be a very smooth ride! I think with a steering stabilizer to minimize the vibrations from the 33's, I'll have a nice trip.


Just so you know, my truck has about a 1" spring lift. In the front, I have the stock top spring and under it I have leafs 2 through 4 from a 4" lift kit I took of a '76 W100. In the rear, I have the original top and 3rd spring, and all the rest are from an unmolested pack from my old '93 D250, plus an extra 2nd spring and overloads on top of that. This all brough my front end up about 1" and the rear is about 3 - 4" taller (less with the aux tank, rollbar and spare). With the bed empty, except for those items, I have about 2" of clearance from the helper springs.

I think for the road trip, I'll take the helper springs off, since I could hear them knocking when the bed would travel down. I'm not going to be carrying much, so I really won't need them and it's not that difficult to remove them.

Rickcher

How long did your Monroe's last? And how is the ride now compared with the Monroe's (new)?

NotEnufGarage

The Monroes were on there less than a year and it's not that they wore out, they were just never enough for a heavy pickup like this, plus they don't have enough downward travel to begin with. When I'd hit a pothole, they're hit full extension, then cause the truck to shake as they pulled the frame down, rather than just the axle.

Rickcher

Think they'd be any different on a two wheel drive 3/4 ton?

NotEnufGarage

I don't think they make the 5100's with the right stud top type and ears on the bottom like you'd need for the front end on a 2WD. The rears should work, depending on your springs and ride height. They make some that are a little shorter, too..

They do make the Bilstein HD to fit as stock replacement on the 2WD and I'd bet they're much better than Monroes or Gabriels or whatever your local parts house has.

james1

I'm glad you're happy with the new shocks, but based on the above statement you have obviously stiffened your ride.

Bilstein is a monotube, which is clearly a superior technology compared to the twin-tube Monroe -- because they are less prone to heat up and “fade” (due to cavitation). This is particularly important for racing and extreme off-roading.

BUT, a potential downside is that monotubes make the ride stiffer, which is not the objective of everyone driving a First Gen truck. I regret purchasing my ProComp monotubes and would advise anyone wanting to SOFTEN the ride to think twice before purchasing Bilsteins (or other monotube shocks).

oilcan64

i think im gonna put new shocks all around before i register her...since i took the utilty body off the rear rose like 3"...so it now looks like a hotrod b/c the rear is soo dam high and the front low...so my question is can i put longer shocks in the front or stiffer leafs to jack up the front a little

ridlangus123

Just curious if you think these will work on a stiock 93 w250?

Thanks

sooty

I aqree about the ride, ive been using the rancho's my whole life, and since they went to the nitrided shaft, the life is very short, every vehicle ive installed the bilsteins on, was immediately improved with very noticeable upgrade in ride quality. for what you pay, you get your money's worth, only time will tell with how long they last.

ofelas

I used -

Front Bilstein 5100 - BIL-33-185590 (0-2”)
Rear Bilstein 5100 - BIL-33-185569 (0-2”)

The ride is stiffer compared to the Monroes, but more controllable.