15 Z71 Bilstein Install Front

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AJMBLAZER

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I ended up having to impact mine on tighter in order to get them to tighten up.

Worked. Maybe not the correct method but it worked.
 

Kpwweb

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I actually ended up double-nutting my upper mounts. The Bilstein nuts never fit right, so I got four nuts, torqued the bottom two and then used the upper two as a lock nut. Trust me, sitting in a parking lot 300 miles from home trying to tighten the upper strut bolts is no fun!
 

olyelr

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Why is there an issue with the upper strut nuts? Seems like once you tighten the nuts down, they would be tight, no?
 
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UFBeef

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Why is there an issue with the upper strut nuts? Seems like once you tighten the nuts down, they would be tight, no?

Upper strut nut installs on threaded end of strut rod, when you start to get tight on it the rod will spin within the shock, not allowing it to get tight. Plus once the entire unit is installed and seethes out and the force of the coil spring takes the brunt of the weight of the vehicle, it pushes up again on the shock exposing more threads that require retightening. The very top of the rod is flat, I'm guessing so you can put a wrench on it to keep it from spinning and tighten the nut, but you can't put a normal torque wrench on it so you have to do your best.
 

AZCreeker

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Fixing to give the fronts a whirl this weekend. Only gonna bump the front up an 1" or so, second groove on the self leveling shocks. Any advice, notes, etc...not much info or videos on the install. Done alot of shocks, struts, just never messed with coil springs that much. I have the coil spring compressor tool and plan on doing it myself. Did the backs last weekend, was fairly straight forward.

I am looking to get 5100 all around done for both the front lift and the improved quality in dampening. I was wondering is there any reason to change the rear as well?
Will it do anything for me?
Are the issues discussed with ride quality and improvement just due to replacing the front?
Maybe I can save a bit by not doing the rear, anyone with experience with both vs front only can chime in?

thx!
 
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UFBeef

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I am looking to get 5100 all around done for both the front lift and the improved quality in dampening. I was wondering is there any reason to change the rear as well?
Will it do anything for me?
Are the issues discussed with ride quality and improvement just due to replacing the front?
Maybe I can save a bit by not doing the rear, anyone with experience with both vs front only can chime in?

thx!

I did both, mainly because it has 96k miles and it was ti
I am looking to get 5100 all around done for both the front lift and the improved quality in dampening. I was wondering is there any reason to change the rear as well?
Will it do anything for me?
Are the issues discussed with ride quality and improvement just due to replacing the front?
Maybe I can save a bit by not doing the rear, anyone with experience with both vs front only can chime in?

thx!

It will do something if your current shocks are shot. I think the Bilsteins are a significantly better shock than the stock stuff. I feel the ride is better, cornering and braking are all better with the Bilsteins than the wore out shocks on that was on ours. I'm a proponent of changing everything of similar specifications at the same time, wouldn't just do front brakes, I'd do all four, wouldn't just change 2 tires or 2 spark plugs, make sit easier to keep up with age/miles down the road knowing it was all done at once.
 

olyelr

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I am looking to get 5100 all around done for both the front lift and the improved quality in dampening. I was wondering is there any reason to change the rear as well?
Will it do anything for me?
Are the issues discussed with ride quality and improvement just due to replacing the front?
Maybe I can save a bit by not doing the rear, anyone with experience with both vs front only can chime in?

thx!

Do you have the factory air shocks in the back? If not, I would definitely get the new shocks, regardless of their age.
 

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