Busted Bilstein 5100 Shocks

[wbsnow93]

2018 Ram 1500 crew cab 5'7" bed
My front drivers side bilstein shock appears to have broken through the top mount of the strut assembly. I've had them installed for 8,000 no problems at all at the highest 2.8 setting. I have towed a trailer before as well My most recent trip was from San Diego while towing a trailer to Seattle. When I arrived in Seattle I realized something was off and noticed the end of the shock sticking through.
Has this happened to anyone?
I'm planning to order the top part of the shock mount again and just replace that part.

 

[buddy guy]

damn.I believe they were installed incorrectly. there is a taper on the strut shaft of the Billys so there is specific instructions on how that washer needs to be installed. if it's not put on correctly (below that top hat I recall), the shaft will push through eventually. your installer messed up.

if they f'd up one, they probably f'd up the other as well.

ps- if it was you who installed them, see the instructions. lol.

 

[JB1]

Yup they were installed wrong, that washer goes under the tophat mount, not under the nut. That little washer prevents it from busting thru like yours did.

 

[Tim Garceau]

Pains me to see it, so I’m just going to leave this.

 

[Whitd5]

Feel good about highlighting this issue for future people that will hopefully get it right when they do it! It gets mentioned a lot throughout different posts but this really drives home the importance.

 

[ram1500rsm]

Ouch, let the installer know they were put together the wrong way.

 

[JB1]

You better check the pass side too, I’m sure it’s close to busting thru as well. Better buy 2 top hats

 

[wbsnow93]

Welp I installed these and was pretty confident that I installed them correctly. At first I thought the washer busted through but there's definitely no way that could've happened. It's hard to tell if the washer can be seen under the nut on the passenger side but it does slightly look like there is a small gap. I'm guessing I should probably replace the shocks in addition to the top hat? It looks like the part of the shock that should be resting on the washer has worn down slightly.

Ugh I hate doing things twice and was just getting ready to sell this rig, but I'm glad I'll be able to fix this and not have to have the buyer deal with it down the road. Thank you all for your feedback

 

[rwhjr]

Honestly it looks like the one that hasn’t pushed thru might be done correctly. Or maybe I’m seeing it wrong but I’m not seen by the washer on top there.

The one that pushed thru you def put washed on wrong side.

It’s possible you had a mental fart and did the one side wrong......

 

[JB1]

View attachment 174730 View attachment 174731 View attachment 174732 Welp I installed these and was pretty confident that I installed them correctly. At first I thought the washer busted through but there's definitely no way that could've happened. It's hard to tell if the washer can be seen under the nut on the passenger side but it does slightly look like there is a small gap. I'm guessing I should probably replace the shocks in addition to the top hat? It looks like the part of the shock that should be resting on the washer has worn down slightly.

Ugh I hate doing things twice and was just getting ready to sell this rig, but I'm glad I'll be able to fix this and not have to have the buyer deal with it down the road. Thank you all for your feedback

Looking at those pics....yes I would replace the struts too

 

[Tim Garceau]

I'm amazed the rubber stopper takes some people thousands of miles to push through, I would've guessed the first decent speed bump or set of railroad tracks would overcome that washer.

Yeah, you might be able to salvage the shock if you have an m12x1.5 Die to clean up the threads. Although my version did not have the large chamfer at the thread to rod transition, washer may have spun that naturally from beating the top side of the strut hat.