Where are you at? I just took my stockers out tonight to put Bilsteins on, you are welcome to borrow mine.

 

Thanks for the offer. I'm in Kansas City and have a 6" lift.

 

Yes, I've had my Bilsteins wear out after 80K miles. I bought a second pair, isn't worth the hassel to take them off, ship them and hope they agree with you.

 

I'm at 90k on mine and the firestone dealer told me the rear where bad because the tires had chop wear in them. Didn't believe them. Thought they wanted to sell me a new pair. Now i am wondering.

 

Call the place you bought them and ask about the warranty

Not with Bilsteins, but I did have a shock go bad on an 81 Toyota 4X4 pickup several years ago. It was a KYB, and also had a lifetime warranty. I just called KYB and talked to them, they asked why I thought it was bad, I told them I had extreme tire wear on a right front tire, and suspected the shock was bad. They issued a RMA number and shipped the replacement with a return UPS tag and I installed the new one and shipped the damaged one back to them in the same package. They called me a few days later to confirm the shock was bad and that they would not charge me for the new one. Very easy process, and really made me think twice about not buying KYBs for the DMAX. The replacement solved the tire wear problem, and the other 3 are still working 30 years later but I could not really find anyone running them on a DMAX, so I went with Bilsteins for the DMAX when I replaced the stock shocks. I hope if I ever have a Bilstein go bad, that the replacement process is just as easy.

 

How can you tell if they are bad. I have the chop wear on the outside of the front tires and some light bounce. Do shocks just go bad or does it degrade over time?

 

Bushing's are trashed after 50.000 mi going with something else

 

Bilsteins are a great stock but like any other shock they will wear out. It is not like you buy one set and are good forever. Of coure they will need replaced after 80K or 150K...I would say that with how cheap Bilstein 5100s are and how awesome a shock they are you definately got your moneys worth. Get another set and enjoy or go with a rebuildable shock like Kings or Foxs...if they wear out they just need a refresh.

 

Cheap??? I paid $330 for mine, that isn't cheap to me...

 

re

well for 4 shocks it is cheap !

 

If your driving a Duramax which is a $40-50K truck then $350 or so for a good set of shocks is cheap. Take the OP as an example. He got 150K out of his Bilsteins before they need replaced. If you got any old shock off the shelf you would need three sets to run 150K at the recommended and rated 50K miles per set of an average shock. In the end you have less hassle changing shocks are you are money ahead in just having to purchase one set. Bilsteins are a great shock and are very reasonably priced. Even if you got 80-100K out of a set you did well.

 

I would love to get 80-100.000 mi out of a set. Mine were less than 50.000.

 

I am now at 94K. I wish I could tell if they are bad or not. I really like my truck in top condition.

 

At 65k I just took off my front yellows to put on my lower bushings that I got free from Bilstein. There was a noticeable difference in the rebound. It doesn't take long to take them off to check there condition.

 

Most of my customers get about 75k-85k service out of the 5100s. My LBZ is at about 90-95K and the rears are shot. I know the trailering has had a severe impact on the life of the rear shocks. The back end of my LBZ bouces like crazy. My dually has about 60K on the shocks but its been so long since I drove it IDK if they are good or not LOL.

 

I had both fronts go bad after 20k miles. They werent blown but they had no rebound. The front started getting real bouncy. Replaced for free.