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I will have to check that calculation (is it tensile strength?), if I can find it, to see the difference. I know the strength is along the circumference and that it is greater than just a flat proportional total from the diameter/radius. Anybody have whichever calc I am thinking of?
Also, I read somewhere that someone in a GX thought the OEM was hollow, maybe their rear? It didnt feel hollow to me, but I am going to scientifically test it by banging it really hard with another chunk of metal, and I will report back my scientific results.
Only installed the rear swaybar and the rear endlinks. The drivetrain must be lowered for the swaybar install. And the passenger side tire well had to be massaged to be able to get access to tighten the top nut of the endlink. It was a great improvement! I developed a slight metal squeak; but turned out to be that I had lost the driver side endlink bottom washer and nut! It drove like a champ after I figured that out.
Thanks for the reminder; I need to put in the order with Apache Offroad and I will keep ya better up to date.
We pretty much lost a solid week here in Texas as our houses are not built to withstand Arctic Blasts. 2.5 hours in the attic beforehand fixed me up, but then it was days of helping buddies with their burst pipes, and about a week ago started to feel back to normal. If anyone is building a home soon, make sure your plumbing is PEX (thin red & blue tubing!
Chris,
That's pretty crazy that your shocks expired first. I thought the normal failure was air bags leak causing the shocks to overwork and then fail.
If the airbags leak you'll be riding on very not comfortable bump stops, with seat hitting you in the arss.
My rear shocks failed as well as having a leak in the air system. Other than replacing the entire system and shocks with OEM or aftermarket equal, or going with the Bilstein 5100s, does anyone have any affordable suggestions for an on road with a decent ride?
Arnott bags are probably the best OEM alternative. Still probably cheaper to upgrade to coilover and rear spring conversion than to keep replacing the OEM suspension.
Hi Jeff, i know this doesn't answer all your questions, but this is what i did and how much it cost for shocks only.
First I got all 4 Bilstein 5100 shocks shipped to me for about $380. Maybe you can get rear shocks only for now?
Rear shocks replaced at a local shop (labor $170) then a few weeks later the fronts (labor $200). Some shops wont put on customer parts.
In the front i kept my original spring. The great thing was no lights came on the dash when I went non stock.
To replace the air bags with springs, there are several spring and spring mounting options to investigate.
Good luck!
Hi Jeff, i know this doesn't answer all your questions, but this is what i did and how much it cost for shocks only.
First I got all 4 Bilstein 5100 shocks shipped to me for about $380. Maybe you can get rear shocks only for now?
Rear shocks replaced at a local shop (labor $170) then a few weeks later the fronts (labor $200). Some shops wont put on customer parts.
In the front i kept my original spring. The great thing was no lights came on the dash when I went non stock.
To replace the air bags with springs, there are several spring and spring mounting options to investigate.
Good luck!
Hey Cagx, thanks for sharing what you have done. $380 for the shocks isn't bad at all. How do the Bilsteins feel on the road in comparison to the OEM, I always consider them an off-road shock.
Hi Jeff, I used to drive my gx in the sport setting all the time. With the Bilstein, i don't miss the adjustments at all. I really like the way shocks feel. They are no stiffer than the sport setting, maybe the same and definitely don't turn the car into some jello mobile. Just to be clear it was $380 for the parts. If you know what you're doing and have access tools, jacks and safe jack stands, I bet the rear shocks would be very simple since that is your immediate need.
I knew my oem shocks had to go when they were leaking oil. My airbags will be next, seems the truck is maybe....just maybe starting to sit low in mornings, but pumps back up if i cycle to the high setting.....for now!
Hi Jeff, I used to drive my gx in the sport setting all the time. With the Bilstein, i don't miss the adjustments at all. I really like the way shocks feel. They are no stiffer than the sport setting, maybe the same and definitely don't turn the car into some jello mobile. Just to be clear it was $380 for the parts. If you know what you're doing and have access tools, jacks and safe jack stands, I bet the rear shocks would be very simple since that is your immediate need.
I knew my oem shocks had to go when they were leaking oil. My airbags will be next, seems the truck is maybe....just maybe starting to sit low in mornings, but pumps back up if i cycle to the high setting.....for now!
Thanks Cagx, I like the tight feel of sport mode so maybe the Bilsteins are the way to go. My GX definitely has a saggy butt in the morning unless I remember to pump it up before I get out of it the night before. There is an issue of some type with the air bags, most likely a crack in one of the bags that as long as it is full doesn't leak, but in a partially low position does. I want to fix this and like you have an issue with the shocks themselves. The rears have definitely leaked fluid and bounce a bit. Will those 5100s accept coilover springs do you know?
You can do this step by step and if handy the rear shocks yourself. Plenty of videos out there. The front looks a lot more complicated, beyond my ability. Going step by step made me fell like I was able to keep costs reasonable.
the rear shocks are not contained in a coilovers. So you can just do the shock.
When you decide you have had it with the airbags you can ditch them and put in springs on the rear axel. There are lots of options for switching to springs and I am already planning on it.
the fronts are coilovers and I just had the Bilstein put in place of oen shock. 1 notch from bottom (front Bilstein is "adjustable" upon installation). Rear Front
I just recently replaced my front shocks with Bilstein 4600 and reused OEM coilovers. The ability to adjust the stiffness is gone, but I find the truck rides about one notch below Sport Mode from a stiffness perspective.
for the rear I went with Luftmeister shocks. These are excellent and still allow for height adjustment. My airbags are still good so I didn’t want to do the conversion yet.
I do not plan to do any lifts or off-roading apart from gravel roads
[QUOTE=CAGX70;11052494]You can do this step by step and if handy the rear shocks yourself. Plenty of videos out there. The front looks a lot more complicated, beyond my ability. Going step by step made me fell like I was able to keep costs reasonable.
the rear shocks are not contained in a coilovers. So you can just do the shock.
When you decide you have had it with the airbags you can ditch them and put in springs on the rear axel. There are lots of options for switching to springs and I am already planning on it.
the fronts are coilovers and I just had the Bilstein put in place of oen shock. 1 notch from bottom (front Bilstein is "adjustable" upon installation.......
Just curious Cagx, I see the electrical connectors that were on the OEM rear shocks hanging, did this cause you any issues or lights?
01-27-21, 11:12 AM
