Bilstein Leaking!

[Kraeken]

It's been a rough winter and it's turning out to be a rough spring on my truck! The decay and potholes from the oversalted roads here in NYC have turned them into a legit offroad course. It's unbelievable. And I still drive on them fast...

I recently had my tie rod ends replaced under warranty by the dealer. A few hours ago I was getting my diff and transfer case fluids changed by a friend and I mentioned to him how the truck still didn't feel quite right. He took a look and told me the universal joint on my steering column has a lot of play, and one of my rear shocks is leaking.

I'm 99% sure the extended warranty will cover the U joint, but I have to buy new rear shocks. I bought them from a member here, so I don't think Bilstein will replace it under warranty because I don't have a receipt. Has anyone had experience with getting a shock replaced by Bilstein? They're great shocks for the money, and I've had them for over 50k miles.

 

[Ducmonsta]

The best thing you can do is send them a note stating exactly that. Several years ago, Bilstein was very helpful to one of my customers and sent him 4 replacement shocks. He had to pay for them up front but with proper RGA#s was able to get reimbursed within a couple of weeks. Just keep everything in order and pay attention to the return process and you might have good luck. It's such a minimal investment for a company like Bilstein to honor these types of warranties in exchange for some good PR. Worst case scenario, they say no and you have to buy 2 new shocks.

 

[slyangel9]

http://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/96639-steering-column-u-joint.html

Agreed, the salt in NYC is insane. I did this to my 4th gen awhile back. Maybe your friend can do it.

 

[Range]

It's been a rough winter and it's turning out to be a rough spring on my truck! The decay and potholes from the oversalted roads here in NYC have turned them into a legit offroad course. It's unbelievable. And I still drive on them fast...

I recently had my tie rod ends replaced under warranty by the dealer. A few hours ago I was getting my diff and transfer case fluids changed by a friend and I mentioned to him how the truck still didn't feel quite right. He took a look and told me the universal joint on my steering column has a lot of play, and one of my rear shocks is leaking.

I'm 99% sure the extended warranty will cover the U joint, but I have to buy new rear shocks. I bought them from a member here, so I don't think Bilstein will replace it under warranty because I don't have a receipt. Has anyone had experience with getting a shock replaced by Bilstein? They're great shocks for the money, and I've had them for over 50k miles.

How many miles are on those shocks that caused them to go bad?

 

[Kraeken]

I guess the U joint is a fairly common problem! I have the Toyota Platinum warranty, it should be covered. My tie rod ends were covered. I'm not much of a mechanic, and I have to say that warranty is great!

The shocks have about 50k on them. The other three are fine, but I'm going to replace both rears.

You folks outside of NYC have no real idea how bad the roads are here! Its like a war zone. I hit a brand new pothole near my house the other night and I lost one of my center caps, and the impact somehow sheared the end off one of my splined Gorilla lug nuts. Its brutal. Antman told me I drove too fast on the trails at The Cove, but to me it was flatter than the roads I drive on in my neighborhood...

 

[BobsTrail]

If Bilstein won't replace it under warranty, it's a good excuse to replace both rears with 5160s.

 

[Kraeken]

I definitely can't afford the 5160's. They would be nice though.