Shocks/suspention questions (1 Viewer)

[ats4x4dotcom]

Hey....we know there haven't been any bad 80-series L-shocks.

Well, I would of said all of them, hence why we stepped away from the 8 years ago.

It all depends on the measuring stick you applying them against to start with, as to wether they are poor, average, value for money or overkill, peoples opinions, and experience will always differ, but generally the higher the experience, the more the set standard of what it does, and what it should do, is measurable.

 

[fish2live]

recent discovery...

Interesting note on this.... I had about #200 lbs of plywood in the back over the weekend hangining out the tailgate - went over some speedbumps and the loud bumping from the front end was MUCH less... WTF?

So, clearly that weight in back took some "pressure" off the shocks and created a slight lifting or lightening of the load on the front... what does that mean? Any suggestions?

So as of now the only solution to this issues has been to put back the OEM shocks, not acceptable to me - yet...

I'll be loading the rear of my LC with my 250# KTM Motorcycle on a hitch mouinted tilt-a-rack along with another 150# in gear and gas in the coming weeks and well see if that takes the bumping out completely...

Fish

 

[KathmanduCruiser]

That would be a tough thing to periodically have to do - to overload the cruiser so that the suspension does not thunk.

I wish you luck in getting to the root of this.

Interesting note on this.... I had about #200 lbs of plywood in the back over the weekend hangining out the tailgate - went over some speedbumps and the loud bumping from the front end was MUCH less... WTF?

So, clearly that weight in back took some "pressure" off the shocks and created a slight lifting or lightening of the load on the front... what does that mean? Any suggestions?

So as of now the only solution to this issues has been to put back the OEM shocks, not acceptable to me - yet...

I'll be loading the rear of my LC with my 250# KTM Motorcycle on a hitch mouinted tilt-a-rack along with another 150# in gear and gas in the coming weeks and well see if that takes the bumping out completely...

Fish

 

[jditom]

Interesting note on this.... I had about #200 lbs of plywood in the back over the weekend hangining out the tailgate - went over some speedbumps and the loud bumping from the front end was MUCH less... WTF?

So, clearly that weight in back took some "pressure" off the shocks and created a slight lifting or lightening of the load on the front... what does that mean? Any suggestions?

So as of now the only solution to this issues has been to put back the OEM shocks, not acceptable to me - yet...

I'll be loading the rear of my LC with my 250# KTM Motorcycle on a hitch mouinted tilt-a-rack along with another 150# in gear and gas in the coming weeks and well see if that takes the bumping out completely...

Fish

I would remove the front shocks and reinstall them. Fronts are easy compared to the back.

 

[Greg B]

I would remove the front shocks and reinstall them. Fronts are easy compared to the back.

x2 on this recommendation. The fronts are easy to change out. You might even try putting the stock shocks back in to make sure that is truly your problem. If the stock shocks make no noise, then re-install the OME shocks. If the thunking comes back, there's something wrong with one or both of the OME shocks. At least you'll know for sure that the shocks are the culprit.

 

[JamesInLV]

Okay guys, I'm resurrecting this thread because I think I found the fix, and I'm just verifying it with the guy at "shocksandsprings" on eBay. It sounds like the washers get curved away from the bushings, and so Bilstein's instructions aren't great and confuse people, laypersons and mechanics alike. I just got the Bilstein's installed and have this clunking noise. I'm hoping it doesn't apply to the rear too only because the shop might charge me a little for their incompetince on this one (and how much of a PITA the rear shocks are to do in the first place), but the fronts I'm pretty sure they'll take care of at no charge.

Here is a picture of the front right. The washers are curved around the bushing, like <O>. From what the guy at shocksandsprings said, it sounds like it should be >O<. Somewhat counter-intuitive, but that should fix the issue. Does this sound right? Check out the attached picture.

 

[Mark SR.]

Here is a picture of the front right. The washers are curved around the bushing, like <O>. From what the guy at shocksandsprings said, it sounds like it should be >O<. Somewhat counter-intuitive, but that should fix the issue. Does this sound right? Check out the attached picture.

I do not agree. I copied the way my OEMs were set up and they were like your picture shows. In my opinion those bushings look too compressed (top nut too tight compared to how I did mine and how the originals were). Unfortunately I don't have a close up pic of my bushings but I know they are not that tight. Also, there are 4 washers and 2 bushings at the top of each shock. The bottom washer of the top bushing is unique and must be placed properly to seat down in the suspension piece on the truck.

Again, sorry no photo.

-Mark

 

[JamesInLV]

Hmm. Does anybody have (or can scan) the original Bilstein instructions for these...if there are any? I didn't find anything on their website, and I handed over everything to the shop when these were installed.

 

[Mark SR.]

I still have 'em.

-Mark

 

[Mark SR.]

Does anybody have (or can scan) the original Bilstein instructions for these...if there are any?

My mistake, now that I looked, mine are that tight.

I have 4 sets of instructions. I can't scan them but I could mail you one. Let me know.

-Mark

 

[JamesInLV]

Thanks for the offer on mailing the instructions. I'm taking off on a long road trip so I wouldn't get them anytime soon...don't worry about it for now. The guy at shocksandsprings said this thunk sound has been fairly common due to impropper bushing placement. I may very well pull the front shocks myself and re-do the installation to see if they simply missed something along the way. When the time comes, it will be done after talking with Bilstein tech support and/or the guy at shocksandsprings (who gave me the contact info for Bilstein already). For me it's only the front right that makes the noise, and they said the lower ball joint was a little worn/loose. Funny thing is that they said they checked the tolerances on the front left too, and said that one was even worse. I just can't believe that before, everything was just fine, and now with the new shocks the noise is there. I got the same story as an earlier post about replacing the worn shocks just brought up weaknesses in other areas. I'm more inclined to accept the opinion that if it wasn't there before, then it's a problem with what was changed.


This what the guy at shocksandsprings had to say on my first message:
[FONT='Arial','sans-serif']I have had this happen before.

The shop that installed the shocks did not put the washers and bushings together correctly so the shock does not tighten all the way.

The installation instructions from Bilstein are vague.

Basically the washers need to dome AWAY from the bushings. I bet the installer has the washers doming towards the rubber bushing. When the shocks are installed correctly the washers almost look backwards.

What you are hearing are the shocks moving up and down as the suspension travels. [/FONT]

 

[Mark SR.]

Here is the instruction diagram. I believe the fronts are Type 8 and the rears are type 29, or vise versa. See the flare (on typ8) that the 2nd and 3rd washer have? That fits down (up) in the hole in the control arm (shown as the dotted line between the bushings and washers) and centers the bushings. I had trouble seating these and my guess is that if they are not seated they can make noise.

-Mark

 

[4Peanut]

Resurrecting a nearly five year old thread because I want to confirm I installed my front Bilsteins correctly. My washers are positioned as Mark describes above and the bushings are similarly compressed as in his photo three posts up. I do not have any thunking or noise, just OCD on my part. Can someone confirm I'm good to go?

I did have to lower the front via the torsion bars one turn (1/4") post install to achieve the same static height and droop. I know the Bilsteins are shorter than stock, but I wasn't expecting to have to make that adjustment.

 

[4Peanut]

...I want to confirm I installed my front Bilsteins correctly. My washers are positioned as Mark describes above and the bushings are similarly compressed as in his photo three posts up...

Anyone?

 

[4Peanut]

...I want to confirm I installed my front Bilsteins correctly. My washers are positioned as Mark describes above and the bushings are similarly compressed as in his photo three posts up. I do not have any thunking or noise, just OCD on my part. Can someone confirm I'm good to go?

Can someone with Bilstein HDs confirm their bushings are similarly compressed as in Post #63. Gracias.