Tough time installing rear Bilstein 5100's

[crespoh69]

Hey guys, so I recently got my rears delivered and I was able to remove the old ones by crushing them but when it came time to actually install them, I'm just not able to. On my 99, I need to compress the shock by pushing into the top hole which I'm struggling with as it decompresses almost immediately. I can push it into the lower mount which slows the decompression but it still happens slowly and eventually it pops out. I've already had it fall out and hit me in the temple lol

No matter how hard I try, I can't seem to screw in the lower bolt, it never catches the threads. What am I doing wrong? It's the stock rear spring and I have a washer on the frame, bushing that came with the shock, shock eyelet, other bushing that came with shock, washer and then bolt.

I've already tried hammering the bushing in with a rubber mallet but this only keeps the shock in place for as long as I'm wacking but as soon as I stop it slowly proceeds to fall all again and if it does I need to compress it again. I've done it a few times now and the strength in my arms is going to give soon and so far I've only done one side so far. Any tips? The fronts were easy compared to these when I did them a couple of days ago.

 

[bdjcl]

Yea, you aren't getting the bottom part of the shock over the bushings tight enough to catch the threads. What I did recently was wrap a tie strap around the shock, hooked the tie strap eyelets around the hitch and cinched the hell out of it which pulled the bottom of the shock towards the back of the truck and got it tight as a tick over the back bushing. Then I could just slide the front bushing in the shock and torque the bolt down.

 

[TheExplorer]

Put the top of the shock in place, then use a jack on the bottom to keep it compressed and it can be adjusted as needed. I used a small bottle jack to do this.

 

[Dezert4Runner]

I found it’s easiest to put the shock on the lower mount and tap it on with a rubber mallet or deadblow hammer. Then with the shock outside of the frame rail, compress it by hand and maneuver the stud into place on the upper mounting hole. It helps having the side you’re working on drooped out as much as possible too.

I've struggled much more when starting with the upper stud mounted first. I believe it’s because the lower post mount is angled up a little, so the bushing won’t slide over it unless you can match the angle. Much easier to accomplish if you start with the lower mount first.

 

[nissanh]

I tried all these methods and that thing is compressed like a rock. Try wrapping a rope when fully compressed and slowly release the rope while directing the upper shock mount to frame. Also leave some flex on the upper rubber mount (don't tight it all the way) because one of my upper shock stud broke off so had to get a replacement.