edit: my bilstein 5100 weren't actually bunk

doctahjones · Postby **doctahjones** » Mon Dec 09, 2013 12:58 pm

so for almost the past month the pathy hasn't felt right when going over bumps at higher speeds. it would sway in this left right motion that was a 'new' feeling.

also when going over speed bumps at low speed i would hear like a scraping or thud kind of sound, which sounded like when your strut goes out.

i didn't think too much of it and was thinking i just needed new struts.

took it to the dealer for some seat heater work and the service guy said the tires looked a little feathered. i didn't think too much of it because i did need to rotate as it had been a good 5k miles.

i had looked at my struts before but didn't notice it until the other day, but it seems one of the rings for the ride height has come off or slipped down:

you can clearly see the bottom groove for the height ring on the drivers side, however on the passenger side you can't see it at all.

pics where taken in the garage so it's "level", however one thing is strange to me...the drivers side is 36.5in high (from floor, through the nissan logo on the rim, to the bottom of the wheel well) but the passenger side is 37in. i'd figure it would at least be the other way around.

anyway since i haven't been not so pleased with these bilsteins to begin with, i now get to order a couple of the rancho 9000xl coil overs.

BigEz · Postby **BigEz** » Mon Dec 09, 2013 5:21 pm

that sucks.. well hopefully the ranchos last longer. I'm happy with how the ranchos ride , but it took a while to get them right. I do not like the plastic knob on the ranchos, though. they can be a bit stiff to turn and knobs seem a little weak.

not on the rug · Postby **not on the rug** » Mon Dec 09, 2013 5:55 pm

BigEz wrote:that sucks.. well hopefully the ranchos last longer. I'm happy with how the ranchos ride , but it took a while to get them right. I do not like the plastic knob on the ranchos, though. they can be a bit stiff to turn and knobs seem a little weak.

I agree. I really like the way they ride, but turning that knob is awful sometimes.

NmexMAX · Postby **NmexMAX** » Tue Dec 10, 2013 10:09 am

That's a great looking CV angle.

Mine is far different.

XVTer · Postby **XVTer** » Tue Dec 10, 2013 11:31 am

The lean toward the driver's side is pretty common as the fuel tank is on that side - my Xterra was the same way - no matter what lift combo I had on it it always leaned toward the driver's side ~0.5".

As for the rings showing - it should look the same on each side no matter if the shock/spring is loaded or not. It almost looks as though you either have a ring missing on the passenger side, or the driver's side lower spring mount isn't seated properly - this may be the case as the angle of the spring mount doesn't really look right though it could just be the angle for which the pictures were taken. Crawl under there and check to make sure that the rings/shocks are seated in the middle of the lower spring mount.

How many adjusting rings did you install originally?

doctahjones · Postby **doctahjones** » Tue Dec 10, 2013 11:36 am

i know for sure the ring on the passenger side is now "missing". ranchos were ordered last night (@$173 a piece, free shipping!).

you can also see how the spring seat is not level with the strut, as it is on the drivers side (which is the pic with the arrow in it).

originally i put them in at the 1.5in mark (i wanted to keep factory rake). i had heard of some others having the ring fail, guess i'm now one of them!

XVTer · Postby **XVTer** » Tue Dec 10, 2013 11:45 am

Bummer. I had this style lift-strut installed on my '08 Silverado when I sold it - glad I didn't have to deal with that.

Hope the Rancho's Treat you better

NmexMAX · Postby **NmexMAX** » Tue Dec 10, 2013 12:05 pm

Man, you coulda gone with the PRG's with the $$ spent. Maybe next time. Or save for more on the Jeep.

doctahjones · Postby **doctahjones** » Tue Dec 10, 2013 12:43 pm

when you say prgs, i assume you mean the rad flo's? i didn't think those had adjustable dampeners? that's one of the reasons i'm going with the ranchos...

NmexMAX · Postby **NmexMAX** » Tue Dec 10, 2013 4:42 pm

doctahjones wrote:when you say prgs, i assume you mean the rad flo's? i didn't think those had adjustable dampeners? that's one of the reasons i'm going with the ranchos...

Yeah, PRG tunes the RadfLo's to your needs/wants. Or, you can go get the RadFlos from 4x4 aprts.

In any case, yeah you're right.

They're adjustable height, which essentially changes the stiffness, but also the height.

I usually adjust the stiffness of my ride linking with air pressure.

Riding now at 30psi, good combo for light OR'ing and decently comfortable on the highway.

doctahjones · Postby **doctahjones** » Fri Dec 13, 2013 1:28 pm

SOB!

so i'm an idiot, the reason the strut basket/seat looked crooked was because i was looking at the 'back' of it. the ring is still in tact and bushings are fine.

but still thinking maybe the strut itself went out, i installed the ranchos.

then i took it out, and the same damn sound is there. sounds very very similar to when your strut/shock has gone out.

so, anyone want to buy some bilstein 5100s?

(i'll make a post in the classifieds).

here's some shots.

the 'bad' one removed, next to the new rancho. hard to tell but the rancho is .5in longer than the bilstein (i had the 5100s at 1.5in, not the full 2in);

i didn't take this little bracket off on one side but i did on the other. it makes it -tons- easier to get to one of the top strut bolts.

i'm beginning to wonder if it's my UCA that's making the sound. so this picture is the passenger side and the UCA can freely move up and down, no problem. i didn't notice any side to side movement. however on the drivers side the UCA it's hard as heck to move up or down, it likes to just sit where it sits.

and here's the tools i used...

volvite · Postby **volvite** » Fri Dec 13, 2013 1:52 pm

So what you are saying is they are not actually bad? How much of a PITA is it to remove and replace? I still have my OEMs on my 08 with just under 80K miles.

doctahjones · Postby **doctahjones** » Fri Dec 13, 2013 2:27 pm

the fronts aren't hard at all. i think it took me about 2 hours? 30 min of that was getting all my tools together, and then i also accidentally re-used the top strut bolts on one side, so i had to take it apart again....but don't forget you'll need to get it aligned after. and now i -do- need the front camber adjustment bolts, but just barely. i'm in the middle of being perfect and being out of spec. my caster angle is -way- off now though.

now the rears are a major pita, mainly because the upper shock mount is nearly impossible to get to. air tools aren't really necessary on the fronts, but i would -highly- recommend them on the rear. the passenger side rear is the easier of the two, but you only get about a 1/4 turn on the wrench (unless you use air) each time. you can access the bolt from under the car on the rear side of the muffler. the drivers side i could only seem to access from through the wheel well, and i only barely got one 'click' on the wrench per turn.

BigEz · Postby **BigEz** » Fri Dec 13, 2013 5:18 pm

Wow.. what a nightmare. Sorry man. But you know your noise is somewhere else, and hopefully the ability to make adjustments will be worth the change?

The change-out photos are great.

doctahjones · Postby **doctahjones** » Fri Dec 13, 2013 11:03 pm

volvite wrote:So what you are saying is they are not actually bad?

yup, the original bilsteins are apparently not bad, since i still hear the sound after changing over to the ranchos..

edit: my bilstein 5100 weren't actually bunk

edit: my bilstein 5100 weren't actually bunk

rancho

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