Tundra Bilstein 5100 failure

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Whoaa that's crazy... I have never heard of that happening before. But it seems to me like it is due to install error and not on Bilsteins part. I have ran the 5100's on my previous Tacoma with Eibach springs for a few thousand miles before I sold it and had zero issues on or offroad.
 
I'm wondering if they installed the lower coil mount upside down like I've seen a few people on here do...luckily the few that did that here were smart enough to fix it before failure.
 
cj80cruiser said:
I was looking for a set of Tundra 5100's for a friend when I ran across this thread Bilstein 5100 front shock revisited - TundraTalk.net - Toyota Tundra Discussion Forum

Has this happened to anyone here? I've never heard of the snap ring failing. Seems like it's locked in place when you slide the lower spring mount over the ring.
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yes, the spring cup would slide over the ring, containing it.

or so i would assume based on the pictures, i havent installed any of these yet.

also, check the last post on that thread.




When the guy put the second one on the snap ring gave way and the spring released! The guy was a little shaken up and told me it was a poor design and that he had never installed these type of shock before (which then made me uncomfortable.) I called Bilstien and they told me to bring them in, (they have a warranty department in Poway near my house, which was convenient.) The tech looked at them and right away said, "These were installed incorrectly." He said that the spring cups were upside down!
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it seems as tho many are people putting them on wrong, and that WOULD allow failure, since there is nothing to hold the ring.
 
nevada said:
yes, the spring cup would slide over the ring, containing it.

or so i would assume based on the pictures, i havent installed any of these yet.

also, check the last post on that thread.






it seems as tho many are people putting them on wrong, and that WOULD allow failure, since there is nothing to hold the ring.
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nevada said:
yes, this would allow the ring to pop out.
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I only got to the middle of page 2...:doh: still looking for a set of the cheapest Tundra 5100s I can find so I kept searching and quit reading.
 
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After dealing with these shocks on a daily basis for the past 3 years, the only time i've ever seen a C clip fail on one is when the spring perch is installed upside down.
 
i had mine almost fail... drivers side tundra 5100
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now while i think that sure the added weight i have might have been a partial factor in this, lets take a look ad a few other things here;

1. the tundra weighs more
2. if the strut was never designed to be ran at the top two settings, why did bilstien build them with that capability?
3. installing a c-clip is not rocket science...

now i didnt ask for my 5100s to be on the 4th setting, i said 3rd setting to the tech that adjusted them, so maybe he is a idiot and cant properly install a c-clip idk, but as you can see i was barley hanging on... that could have been a nasty failure and cause a nasty crash possibly even deadly crash...
 

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kid, how was the perch oriented?
was it sitting correctly, or upside down?

if it was correct, i dont see how its possible for the clip to come out, since its being contained by the perch.
 
nevada said:
kid, how was the perch oriented?
was it sitting correctly, or upside down?

if it was correct, i dont see how its possible for the clip to come out, since its being contained by the perch.
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i know how to instal coil perches, and what to look for, if the shop had put them in wrong i would have noticed. they were installed correctly
 
If the seat is on correct and the clip is fully in the grove, the seat snugly encases the ring. I would say installer error, I have installed hundreds with no issues
 
the kid said:
i had mine almost fail... drivers side tundra 5100

now while i think that sure the added weight i have might have been a partial factor in this, lets take a look ad a few other things here;

1. the tundra weighs more
2. if the strut was never designed to be ran at the top two settings, why did bilstien build them with that capability?
3. installing a c-clip is not rocket science...

now i didnt ask for my 5100s to be on the 4th setting, i said 3rd setting to the tech that adjusted them, so maybe he is a idiot and cant properly install a c-clip idk, but as you can see i was barley hanging on... that could have been a nasty failure and cause a nasty crash possibly even deadly crash...
Click to expand...


Well i guess that i can now say i've head on a C clip failing without the perch installed upside down :lol:

Even though the perch wasn't upside down, i bet the C clip either wasn't fully seated or the shop stretched it out when trying to move it.

As for point #2, The shock is fine to be run on the top clip setting. BUT, that only applies when the shock is installed on a Tundra with a OEM Tundra coil. Installing it on a 4Runner with a Tundra or a Toytec coil isn't the same thing and its going to give it too much lift.
 
steezemcqueen said:
Well i guess that i can now say i've head on a C clip failing without the perch installed upside down :lol:

Even though the perch wasn't upside down, i bet the C clip either wasn't fully seated or the shop stretched it out when trying to move it.

As for point #2, The shock is fine to be run on the top clip setting. BUT, that only applies when the shock is installed on a Tundra with a OEM Tundra coil. Installing it on a 4Runner with a Tundra or a Toytec coil isn't the same thing and its going to give it too much lift.
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sshhhhh!
 
I have a 5100 that is leaking from the lower weld on the shock. I talked with Bilstein and they said they would warranty it so I'm not too worried. Anyone see this happen before? It is such a subtle leak though that I barely caught it. I only noticed it when it started soaking my brand new LBJ with shock oil.
 
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