Bilstein 5100 - Blown Rear Struts

[Old 97]

I've had Bilstein 5100s on all 4 corners for 2.5 years now. Just came back from having some Dobinsons coils installed alongside them only to discover that both rear struts are blown. They were fine 6 months ago when I had my last oil change, and I haven't done any significant off-roading during that stretch.

Any ideas what might have caused this to happen, on both sides no less?

The guy who installed my coils suggested that getting something sturdier than the 5100s for my rears, but my understanding was that the 5100s had no issues with the weight of a mostly stock SR5.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[beedee]

I'm not sure, but this is concerning. I have 5100's that have been on for 14 months now, and will be installing Dobinsons springs as soon as they arrive, hopefully late December. Mine have seen trails maybe 7-10 times in the past year, but nothing abusive.

Which shop did you go to? I see you are in Costa Mesa, I'm in Long Beach.

 

[Old 97]

Which shop did you go to? I see you are in Costa Mesa, I'm in Long Beach.

Signature Performance on Harbor Blvd here in CM.

 

[DougR]

I have about 70,000 miles on rear Bilstein 5100s with no issues. My wife hardly slows down for speed bumps, so perhaps that may count as off-road duty.

Are the shocks wet, streaking, dripping and staining the pavement? Misting with dust accumulation is NOT a "blown" shock. Misting indicates good seal lubrication and extends shock life. Posting pictures would be helpful.

 

[manofsteele2003]

Funny you mention this. I just discovered my 5160s are blown, about 4 years but only 25k miles or so. This is right after I replaced one of the front coils that broke on my 6112s, same mileage. Needless to say I have not had good luck with Bilstein and I will never buy them again. This is the third set between the trucks I own and I haven’t been impressed.

 

[Marine0369]

I have 5100's on my Ram 2500 4x4 for 100,000 miles at least and they are still going strong.
This is what I will replace my Dobinson rear shocks with as one side is leaking at 2.5 yrs.

 

[Old 97]

I have about 70,000 miles on rear Bilstein 5100s with no issues. My wife hardly slows down for speed bumps, so perhaps that may count as off-road duty.

Are the shocks wet, streaking, dripping and staining the pavement? Misting with dust accumulation is NOT a "blown" shock. Misting indicates good seal lubrication and extends shock life. Posting pictures would be helpful.

Hey Doug, I appreciate the feedback. I'm still getting my feet wet in this area, so communicating with pictures should definitely help. From what I can see, the lower shock plastic sleeve is soaked with oil/grease, as well as the lower mount point. I've attached some pictures to illustrate.

Do these look blown, or is my mechanic just trying to upsell me something?

 

[DougR]

Hey Doug, I appreciate the feedback. I'm still getting my feet wet in this area, so communicating with pictures should definitely help. From what I can see, the lower shock plastic sleeve is soaked with oil/grease, as well as the lower mount point. I've attached some pictures to illustrate.

Do these look blown, or is my mechanic just trying to upsell me something?

You do not have grease on these shocks. Your shocks are misting, not leaking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCvKsw8tcjk is an excellent video explaining the difference between misting and leaking. It also explains why misting is necessary for long seal life. Take careful note of misting images at time 1:30 and leaking images at time 1:35 in the video. The dirty appearance of your shocks is the normal result of properly misting shocks. The bushings may be dirty and still function as designed. Misting will not destroy the bushings. Misting is the condensation of a negligible amount of hot oil vapor that eventually attracts dirt when the vapor condenses onto a cooler surface.

Nothing is visibly broken in the photos. Do either of the shocks compress easily? A bounce test will indicate if something inside is broken and replacement necessary.

Are you the original purchaser? Bilstein expects shocks to last about 80,000 miles in normal service. Normal wear and tear is not covered under warranty. See https://productdesk.cart.bilsteinus.com//media/products/bilstein/warranty_all_v2.pdf

 

[CutthroatSlam]

We have 195K miles on Bilstein 5100s and they are still good. We do off-road the vehicle, but 95% is highway.

 

[MAST4R]

I've had Bilstein 5100s on all 4 corners for 2.5 years now. Just came back from having some Dobinsons coils installed alongside them only to discover that both rear struts are blown. They were fine 6 months ago when I had my last oil change, and I haven't done any significant off-roading during that stretch.

Any ideas what might have caused this to happen, on both sides no less?

The guy who installed my coils suggested that getting something sturdier than the 5100s for my rears, but my understanding was that the 5100s had no issues with the weight of a mostly stock SR5.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.

How did you "discover" that they are "blown"? You will tell a blown shock when driving. See below for what is normal in terms of appearance.

If the monotube is blown, you won't need to discover anything. Your rear will lean uncharacteristically when making a half-abrupt lane change and the like or offroad it will feel like you just have the springs but the shocks are doing nothing.

For stock is different cause they are pretty much non existent anyway, lol.

You do not have grease on these shocks. Your shocks are misting, not leaking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCvKsw8tcjk is an excellent video explaining the difference between misting and leaking. It also explains why misting is necessary for long seal life. Take careful note of misting images at time 1:30 and leaking images at time 1:35 in the video. The dirty appearance of your shocks is the normal result of properly misting shocks. The bushings may be dirty and still function as designed. Misting will not destroy the bushings. Misting is the condensation of a negligible amount of hot oil vapor that eventually attracts dirt when the vapor condenses onto a cooler surface.

Nothing is visibly broken in the photos. Do either of the shocks compress easily? A bounce test will indicate if something inside is broken and replacement necessary.

Are you the original purchaser? Bilstein expects shocks to last about 80,000 miles in normal service. Normal wear and tear is not covered under warranty. See https://productdesk.cart.bilsteinus.com//media/products/bilstein/warranty_all_v2.pdf

Great post!

 

[Old 97]

How did you "discover" that they are "blown"? You will tell a blown shock when driving. See below for what is normal in terms of appearance.

Apologies if that wasn’t clear from the original post. The mechanic called while installing the coils and said my rear shocks were “blown with fluid all over the place”. My first through was that this guy does suspension work all the time and should know what he’s talking about. But then I figured it would be worth asking around to see if they’re legit blown, or if he’s just trying to sell more hardware.

The problem is I’m just not savvy enough yet to know if what I’m seeing in those photos is an actual problem. To your later point, I don’t feel anything different when driving, but that’s only been on pavement the last few months.

Appreciate the response.

 

[MAST4R]

Apologies if that wasn’t clear from the original post. The mechanic called while installing the coils and said my rear shocks were “blown with fluid all over the place”. My first through was that this guy does suspension work all the time and should know what he’s talking about. But then I figured it would be worth asking around to see if they’re legit blown, or if he’s just trying to sell more hardware.

The problem is I’m just not savvy enough yet to know if what I’m seeing in those photos is an actual problem. To your later point, I don’t feel anything different when driving, but that’s only been on pavement the last few months.

Appreciate the response.

A blown monotube should be very noticeable on pavement. Maybe wash them well, see how easy/hard they are to push in by hand (should be pretty hard for most of us: only true for monotubes like 5100; stock are very easy to push in).

When I blew an Icon 2.0, I knew it the moment I made a lane change on the interstate (after faster/longer offroading). Then it was easier to push and had less liquid than it should have when I opened it (those are rebuildable).

 

[manofsteele2003]

Mine had a noticeable thud, I guess you could call it, in the rear end when going over bumps. Like the shock wasn't absorbing like it should, not a clunk. When I removed them to change the rear springs, they were easy to compress and the piston did not come back out unless I pulled it out. I just replaced them with 5100s and she rides right again.

 

[<<<<]

5100's don't just get blown on both sides in such a short time. Your suspension guy is trying to buy a boat or some fancy car and needs money