Installing Bilstein shocks?

[billsMax]

Just ordered Bilstein shocks from Kennedy. Is there anything special I need to know about installing? Never installed before but looking at OEM shocks and it looks fairly simple.
Putting on 2005 2500 crew cab 4wd.
Thanks for any help

[DmaxMaverick]

Piece of cake, nothing special. Don't reuse self-locking nuts. Torque everything to spec. and use Loc-Tite if you have it. A loose shock bolt/nut can end up with a broken mount. Don't overtighten the front shock upper nut, or you could damage the insulators.

Do not remove the shipping/installation ties from the shock until it is necessary. If you have the truck on a lift, raise/lower the axle/control arm to match the level of the shock mount hole. You can remove the tie once the mounting bolts are in place. Some shocks ship too retracted to do this. If you install the shocks without a lift or jack (like I normally do), you can mount the top bolts, remove the tie, and stab the holes as it passes the mount. They don't extend violently, but can be quick, so don't hesitate, and watch your fingers! If you miss the hole, you can retract the shock with arm strength, but it's slow against the gas and oil.


Torque specs:

Front upper: 15 ft. lbs.
Front lower: 59 ft. lbs.

Rear upper: 70 ft. lbs.
Rear lower: 70 ft. lbs.

[ 11-24-2005, 10:03 PM: Message edited by: DmaxMaverick ]

[Kennedy]

One of the best features of this site is that it extends beyond the forums (actually the forums are just a small extension of the main site) with detailed technical articles and product reviews like this one:

http://www.thedieselpage.com/reviews/bilstein.htm

[billsMax]

Thanks for the installation info. looking forward to getting them and installing. Hope I see the differance.

[VtRv]

I'm not much of a mechanic, but I ordered mine through Kennedy. Replacing them was one of the easiest thing I've done with my truck. I replaced mine in my garage in about an hour. 20 minutes of that was finding the right wrench. Have fun.