acdii

DON'T! I mean it. DON'T!

Don't Wait!

Get them!

Oh man, after driving my 2016 for 10K miles on those OEM junk shocks, all I can say is, I got me a New Truck after installing a full set of the 5100's!

Now when I go over bumps, and believe me, in IL/WI there are a LOT of them!, the truck handles like a new truck. Gone is the back skitter going over tracks or large bumps, Gone is the double or triple rebounds, Gone is the excessive nose dive when stopping, Gone is the excessive rolling when turning.

Why Ford couldn't have the stock shocks work like this is beyond me. The ride is not harsh, but smooth, yes bumps are felt, but the are felt just once, not 3 or 4 times. Now I think I will put the LT tires back on and see how they ride. The combination of crappy shocks and stiff flexible sidewall tires made for one very uncomfortable squirrely ride.

If you are considering it, just do it!

360

Would the rear wheel well liners need to be removed to change the shocks?

AlaskaCub

Honestly I don't know how Ford sells these trucks with the stock shocks they come with. The ride is soooo bad, it's like riding around in a worn out lazy boy. I have never bought a new truck and felt the need to immediately modify the suspension to make the truck feel safe and functional. The difference is huge!

When I removed the rear shocks on my brand new truck the shock took like 2 seconds before it started to expand, retarded!

redranger04g

OP (if you don't mind me asking) what did the shocks set you back?

Did you have the front's installed or do it yourself?

acdii

Yes, but with the wheel removed they pop right out and back in. When I first installed them with the truck on the ground and the tires on, it took me an hour. When I jacked the truck and pulled the wheel, they slid right out. Putting them back in took less than 2 minutes. With the wheel off you can put it in at an extreme angle, hook the left side into the fender, then rotate the entire thing up and it pops right into place.

When you install them with the wheel on, you have to put it in over the top of the tire and don't have room to hook it in, and that is why they are difficult to install.


I wanted to do a video showing the difference, but no one was around to hold the camera while I compressed and released the shocks. The Bilstien shot out to its full length while the OEM slowly extended. The OEM also took half the effort needed to compress. I have pulled worn shocks that had more life in them and were leaking oil at the time!

Mitch Lewis

I thinking about doing this and my truck doesn't even have 1000 miles on it yet! lol!

JB 1 TIME

I know this thread is about the bilsteins, but I just installed fox 2.0s in the rear yesterday and I've noticed an immediate change! It's sooo much better! And like another member in this thread said, when I took out my stock shocks it took a couple seconds for them to expand! I thought I had faulty shocks but nope, they're just that bad!

acdii

$395 shipped. I did all 4 wheels and installed them myself. I don't recommend doing the fronts unless you have done struts before, and have the proper tools. They are a **** to get out with those long pressed in studs, and you need a strong spring compressor. The one I got you could see the bolts bending under the stress.

The fronts I highly recommend having a shop do, not worth the risk if you never did struts before.

And Yes, they are struts. They are not McPherson struts, but they are struts nonetheless. There are components to them that make them a strut as opposed to a standard coilover shock.

Asputin

i just ordered the rears. hopefully will help. Ill do fronts if the ride still sucks.

acdii

The rears are where they are needed the most, you will see an immediate improvement in how the rear is less prone to hop around and be more stable in general. Doing the fronts just makes the truck ride a lot better and have less dipping and diving when turning and braking.


I should mention that I have a 2016 502a Lariat with FX4 package.