Bilstein HD shocks...will they fit?

[mrtsobe]

I just purchased a complete set of Bilstein BST Heavy Duty shocks from Shockware house in preparation for installing a lift this weekend. After giving it some thought I am wondering if the rear shocks F4-BE5-A335-H0 are going to be long enough when the rear axle articulates down/side to side? I am installing Tahoe Z71 rear springs, .75" spacer (possibly more if I can find some). I am afraid the shocks are going to be for stock replacement and too short. Any thoughts? Thanks.

Thomas

[Trail X]

You are correct. A lot of us have gone to BDS rear shocks, because they will allow about 6" more down motion.

Some people have speculated about finding a bilstein made for a lifted Tahoe, but noone has tried it yet, as far as I know.

[mrtsobe]

Son of a gun, that's what I was afraid of. Guess I will get to test out their return policy on the rears. I may check and see if like you mentioned, there are any other Bilsteins that would fit my application. Does anyone know the compressed and extended length of the BDS (plus body length)? I will try and use this info to find a comparable shock..........................or just get the BDS, although I have heard a lot of mixed reviews of them. If I decide to run the Bilsteins are the risks limited articulation, pulling them apart and premature wear?.......Pretty much everything terrible I guess.

[Trail X]

Found in the "rear shocks" thread...

The BDS shocks for our platform are designed to go with a 2" lift on our stock springs. Most of us haven't seen a stock TB rear spring in some time... add to that, the 2" of lift using spacers. The shocks are not designed to handle the added spring rate and extra lift we've put on our vehicles. You can't fault the company on that... if you want to get on them for anything... get on them for not having as wide a selection for our platforms as for others.

They list the shock specs on their site... perhaps it could be of use to you, though, looking for a replacement.

SHOCK ABSORBER SPECIFICATIONS: Part #55619
Raw Cylinder - 5266
Extended Length - 25.95
Collapsed Length - 15.42
Body Diameter - 2"
Top Mount - EB1
Bottom Mount - EB1


A - 5/8
B - 1.44
C - 1.25

[mrtsobe]

My next question is, will the front strut (F4-BE5-A333-H0) fit on my TB with a 2" lift and 87s? As I understand we are pretty limited to choices in the front. What do most people here run in the front? Thanks.

[fishsticks]

My next question is, will the front strut (F4-BE5-A333-H0) fit on my TB with a 2" lift and 87s? As I understand we are pretty limited to choices in the front. What do most people here run in the front? Thanks.

Yes it will. There are other limiting factors in the front suspension that really negate the need for a longer shock.

[mrtsobe]

I just got off the horn with shockware house and fortunately my order has not shipped yet. They do not carry BDS and I was checking around on some of the threads here and found some other Bilstein shocks listed. Does anyone have any personal experience with these or is it speculation they will work (based on dimensions). The shocks listed here are: REAR: Tahoe/Yukon 4x4 Replacement: F4-BE5-E375-H0 and
REAR: Avalance/Suburban/Tahoe/Yukon Replacement: F4-BE5-E380-H0. Glad to hear I at least ordered one thing that will work(the fronts).

[fishsticks]

From what I've seen, Bilstein doesn't make a lifted application shock for Tahoes either.

[mrtsobe]

So today I contacted Bilstein directly in hopes of finding a rear shock to match my front HD. I gave them the dimensions of the BDS shock that so many people have found to work and told them it was for a 3" suspension lift.

SHOCK ABSORBER SPECIFICATIONS: Part #55619
Raw Cylinder - 5266
Extended Length - 25.95
Collapsed Length - 15.42
Body Diameter - 2"
Top Mount - EB1
Bottom Mount - EB1

I was given two options a firmer and softer. The firmer ones part # is 33-185552 http://www.summitracing.com/parts/BSN-33-185552/, and the softer is http://www.summitracing.com/parts/BSN-33-185842. I was told that both shocks have the same dimensions as one another :
Extended Length (in) 25.930 in.
Collapsed Length (in) 15.910 in.
Body Diameter (in) 2.000 in.
Upper Mount Eyelet
Lower Mount Eyelet

Before I go and order either one of these, I figured I should check and see if anyone sees a reason why these won't work?!?! If these fit it would be nice to have matching shocks.

[Gordinho80]

If these fit it would be nice to have matching shocks.

Simply because of aesthetics? I for one am very happy with my BDS shocks in the rear. They were inexpensive and they have served me well so far. Your call though.

[bgwolfpack]

Before I go and order either one of these, I figured I should check and see if anyone sees a reason why these won't work?!?! If these fit it would be nice to have matching shocks.

I don't see any problem. Go for it!

[Trail X]

I'd make sure I understood what dimension "A" was, above. That could prove to be a noisy problem.

Also, the TB shocks have a wider bottom bushing/mount than top. At a minimum, I'd make sure the mounts weren't wider than our top mount, otherwise you'll have problems fitting it in there. If it's skinner, at a minimum you can shim it with washers.

[mrtsobe]

So does the BDS shock use the same size EB1 mounts at both ends or are they different and thats why the work? Or are yall having to shim the end at the wider bracket. If I go the BDS route will it be a simple take them out of the box and plug and play? Turns out I can't get the Bilsteins till the end of next week, plus they're $80 a pop. So far I have gotten my 1.5 spacers and Z71 springs, now I am just waiting on the lift, front coils and 4WD disconnect parts.......oh yeah and the darn shocks.

[janesy86]

Yea, the BDS's come with a couple shims that make them fit properly. Otherwise most likely with any Tahoe shocks they will require a few washers per side, atl east that's how it was when I used the Z71 takeoffs. Not a big deal but something to be aware of...

[mrtsobe]

So after all this great discussion and investigating, I decided to go with the tried and true method and just run the BDS rear shocks. They were half the price of the Bilstein and b/c the Bilsteins were racing shocks they came with no warranty. Thanks for the help.