Front Shock Bolts

[techieman33]

Weird, I would swear I posted the order of the nuts and bushings yesterday:scratch:

 

[manaen]

My Bilstein shocks did not come that way,they only came with one nut. So i installed it rubber bushing - through frame - rubber bushing - nut.

some shocks have the large cupped washer welded to the top of the rod, in which case your installation is correct. The nice thing about the ones that have the two nuts is you can always dial the rod down a little bit for some added flex. Especially if you added a spacer(gen1) or TT (gen2).

 

[Clutchless1995]

bilstein installation issue

I am installing Bilsteins now and do not see how it is possible to tighten the one nut (with nylon insert) they provided. There is no place to grip the shock shaft. It just turns the shaft when screwed on to the nylon insert. I am about to purchase another nut without an insert to screw onto the shaft so I can then tighten the upper nut as instructed earlier in this thread. What do you guys think? How did you install Bilsteins in front?

 

[gijoecam]

Not all of them have the nut on the bottom... If the instructions that come with it show both nuts on the top, then I would put them both on top too. If they show one on top and one on the bottom, I'd install them that way. Don't worry about the promotional photos. They're useless.

Monroes' bottom cupped washer sits on a tapered spot on the shaft. No nut on the bottom.

-Joe

 

[Clutchless1995]

Nevermind, found the allen wrench hole at the top of the shaft! Shocks installed.

 

[spotdog14]

Nevermind, found the allen wrench hole at the top of the shaft! Shocks installed.

That also adjusts the hight of the shock, I am thinking that mine are to high, and might need to be lowered.

How do yours look?

 

[Cobraguy]

Not all of them have the nut on the bottom... If the instructions that come with it show both nuts on the top, then I would put them both on top too. If they show one on top and one on the bottom, I'd install them that way. Don't worry about the promotional photos. They're useless.

Monroes' bottom cupped washer sits on a tapered spot on the shaft. No nut on the bottom.

-Joe

I agree Joe...in fact, I've never seen a shock with a nut underneath. If it comes with two nuts, one is a jam (lock) nut. If there were a nut underneath, it would have to be welded to the shaft some how or another to do any good in this case.

 

[Clutchless1995]

My shocks look fine! LOL! Ride height looks the same. The allen hole does nothing to adjust height. It is just to hold the shaft for installation of the lock nut.
Since a torque wrench cannot be used with an Allen wrench stuck into the top of the shaft, I just tightened it until it was screwed all the way down and guesstimated 30-40 pounds torque based on experience, the bulge of the bushings and the fact that I was using a ratcheting 17MM box wrench. Ride is much better than the worn out Edelbrocks, in fact, better than the new Edelbrocks! The old ones had no rebound left when removed. It was difficult to compress the Bilsteins to line up the installation bolts.

 

[gijoecam]

That also adjusts the hight of the shock, I am thinking that mine are to high, and might need to be lowered.

How do yours look?

You should never need to adjust the height of a shock absorber made to factory specs. All that would change is the location of the top and bottom of the stroke (and, therefore, the suspension travel end points).

My shocks look fine! LOL! Ride height looks the same.
Since a torque wrench cannot be used with an Allen wrench stuck into the top of the shaft, I just tightened it until it was screwed all the way down and guesstimated 30-40 pounds torque based on experience, the bulge of the bushings and the fact that I was using a ratcheting 17MM box wrench. Ride is much better than the worn out Edelbrocks, in fact, better than the new Edelbrocks! The old ones had no rebound left when removed. It was difficult to compress the Bilsteins to line up the installation bolts.

That simply means that the old ones had lost their gas charge. Losing the gas charge and not extending to their free length is no indication of their rebound damping.

 

[Clutchless1995]

Then what does that indicate? Doing the old push on the fender test with the old shocks it just kept rocking and rocking. When I removed the old shocks they pushed up easily for extraction. I then test pushed on one and it did not expand afterward. When driving over bumps your teeth would rattle. These were 7 year old, 70,000 mile Edelbrocks. I also have (for 7 years) Explorer Express sway bars which make a big difference in handling.

 

[gijoecam]

Then what does that indicate?

That indicates that they've lost their gas charge. The gas charge keeps the oil from foaming when subjected rapid movement.

Doing the old push on the fender test with the old shocks it just kept rocking and rocking. When I removed the old shocks they pushed up easily for extraction. I then test pushed on one and it did not expand afterward. When driving over bumps your teeth would rattle. These were 7 year old, 70,000 mile Edelbrocks.

That's an indication of worn shocks. They're no longer effectively damping the motion.

The two problems (lack of damping and loss of gas charge) do not necessarily go hand in hand. Each of the last four sets of shocks I've replaced on mine have lost their damping, but not their gas charge. The two symptoms are indicative of two different problems, and are not always coincident with each other.