Bilstein Installation

This is a pictorial version of the installation that I did on my Tacoma. It is a record of my own personal experience and is NOT intended to be a replacement for the manufacturers installation instructions.




1. The Bilsteins came out of the box with a pesky little, unsightly white decal affixed to the tube. It had the part number on it, and was not going to peel off easily. I sprayed it with some foaming engine degreaser and let it soak for a several seconds.
2. After letting it soak, it peeled off fairly easily using my thumbnail. Finally, the residual glue was wiped off with a paper towel.

3. Removing the bushings was easier than I expected. While gripping the edge of the bushing with ViceGrips and twisting it, I sprayed a little WD-40 into the void between the twisted bushing and the metal shock eye. This helped to lubricate it while I continued to grab and twist with the ViceGrips.

4. Continue working it out by tugging on the ViceGrips and twisting. It's amazing how resilient this rubber is. After successfully removing the bushing, I wiped all of the WD-40 out of the shock eye. I didn't want the new bushing to have any lubrication - I wanted it to stay in there for good.

5. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the new bushing being pushed into the shock eye. I lined it up with hole and used the palm of my hand to press it into the shock eye while my fingers were curled over the top, gripping it. It takes a bit of effort, but they go right in.

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