Bilstein Shock Life

[Roy W]

I bought front and rear yellow and blue Bilsteins from JK and put them on my '05 at about 20K miles and now have 115K on the truck. What is the expected life on these shocks. The truck is used mainly as a daily highway driver, with about 5,000 miles a year towing. They show no evidence of leaks, and no porpoising over bumps. Obviously, the old "jump up and down on the rear bumper" trick won't work with the 3/4 ton suspension. Any ideas ???

[More Power]

I've got about 75K on mine. Based on ride quality, they seem to be about the same condition as when they were installed.

You could unbolt the bottom of one of the shocks on the rear axle, pull that end off and see if the nitrogen gas pressure extends the shock. It should. Then see how the shock performs when pushing/pulling it by hand. My guess is that it'll still produce shock action comparable to when new.

Jim

[JohnC]

I have been using them since 1975 (not the same set...) and have never had to replace one.

[DickWells]

I put them on my Sierra in 06, or early 07, and now have close to 100,000 miles on them. Been wondering the same thing, but, since I get no indications of worn-out shocks, I'm going to hang on for a while. For what it's worth, my driving involves well over 60% towing of a 12,000 lb travel trailer, and that 100K includes a trip for the whole rig to AK and back in 07. I'm pretty happy with my Bilsteins.
Bilstein advertises 98% efficiency after 100K miles, and I'm inclined to believe it.

[EdHale]

I'm glad to hear that Dick. I two heavy too, but not nearly as much as you. My shocks were put on somewhere around 2007 and I'm not inclined to remove them anytime soon.

[DmaxMaverick]

About 8 years and 150K on mine. I had one rear off last year, and it was just as difficult to install as it was when new (gas pressure), with no sign of leakage. I know of folks who've replaced Ranchos, KYB and other brands (less expensive at the time) more than once since I installed mine, if that means anything. I tow heavy (12K+, mostly 5th wheel), about 2-4K miles a year.

[Roy W]

Thanks guys.....I feel like my Bilsteins are still like new. I was just curious how others felt.

[AKMark]

I had a set of Blisteins that kept leaking in the winter. They were rebuildable, so I fixed them.

Other than that, I loved them.

Alaska winters are tough on all shocks....

[drcook]

I had 4 that I got about 50 thousand out of. Then they were weak on the compression cycle and didn't expand back out well. Had them replaced under warranty.