Shocks Recomendations

[E350]

Originally Posted by BajaSportsmobile

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Put a little dab of grease or vaseline on the bottom of the rubber bumpstops above your front axle. It is a Quigley, it is bottoming out - you will see the transfer of grease to the contact point on the axle to confirm this.

I think I will also post a photo of the gap between the 7.3L motor mount crossbar support and the front differential on the front 4x4 solid axle on my Salem-Kroger conversion. The gap is really small, no more than 3", so I bottom out all the time. I wonder how UJoint deals with this issue?

[05 Sprinter]

Here's the photos of the Bilstein 7100 series installed using the stem adapter kit.
The lower hanger was drilled out to 1/2" for a tighter fit on the heim joint.
I had to make a 1/8" thick shim with a 7/8" OD and a 5/8" ID to fit on the stem adapter to keep it from wobbling in the existing upper stem mounting hole.
The first photo shows the old shock with stem style mount..only 1/4" of threads, not good.
Tom

[E350]

Interesting. I have only installed the Bilstein 4600 and 5100 series. So are the 7100 series air adjustable?

[BajaSportsmobile]

Pictures can be deceiving, but it looks like you have less available shock travel than you have suspension travel. The distance from the axle tube to the rubber bump stop looks to be significantly longer than the exposed shock shaft and you will bottom out on the shocks first. Put a Zip Tie around the shock shaft and go hit some big dips and some grease on the bottom of the rubber bump stop and see what happens.

Bilstein 7100's are the standard fully rebuildable 2" "Race Shock" available with or without a reservoir.

[05 Sprinter]

When the previous owner had Deaver springs installed, no changes were made to the stock bump stops. So far this hasn't been an issue.
If I ever get back down to Puertocitos or Three Sisters, I'll consider making those changes and maybe adding limit straps.

[E350]

tneuer: Just a head's up. It was a bitch extracting a broken shock bolt on my wife's Dakota when the shop put shocks on with less shock travel than suspension travel. You run the risk of ruining your heim and brackets if Baja is right.

[Stumpalump]

Wrapping the exhaust pipe with heat wrap where it runs next to the shock helps keep it cool and performing well.

[Wimpy27]

Hello,
I bought a 2006 Quigley E350 with a 6.0L and it is badly in need of new shocks for the front and rear. I want to get rid of the silly welded on bracket additions on the rear shock mounts and put in the correct size. I have had bilstien 5100's before on another truck and was really happy with them so I was hoping to do the same on the van. Do you have any recommendations/ part numbers/ insight on what shocks I should get? I assume this has been done before...

After reading this thread it seems someone will know exactly what I am talking about. Any help is much appreciated!!

Thank you,
-Dan