[clev]

I replaced the OEM Rancho shocks on my 2012 F350, long bed, King Ranch, in Feb, 2013 with Bilsteiln 5100's; 8 years and 65000 miles ago. 60k of that 65k miles has been pulling/towing an 18,000 pound fifth wheel (no off road). I also replaced the tires with the next larger size and added Air Lift air bags with onboard compressor. We just completed a 4k mile trip with the five, and the truck seemed to hit hard on every bump. Being disabled, it literally beat me to death. I've talked with Bilstein Tech Spt about the life of the shocks, and can't get a definitive answer. Is it time for new shocks? I don't mind the expense, but don't want to spend ~$500 if it's not needed. I don't see a lot of traffic on this forum, but I really need an answer.

 

[clev]

With 65k miles of heavy towing, this was probably a dumb question. I’m going to go with 5100’s back on the front, and 5160’s on the rear

 

[DENNY]

Bilsteiln shocks seem to last forever. It might be more the tire/air bags than the shock. I would play with the pressure in the air bags and see if that helps.
DENNY

 

[clev]

I ordered 5100's again for the front and the 5160 for the rear (has the auxiliary cylinder attached to the side). The replacement was easy peezy. In case someone does not know, there is no way to use a wrench to hold the top of the front shock, but there is a hole for an Allen Wrench in the top.

 

[Geezerhood]

In case someone does not know, there is no way to use a wrench to hold the top of the front shock, but there is a hole for an Allen Wrench in the top.

I just installed a set of 5100's on a new to me 2006 6.0 Super Duty. Did you torque the top nuts on the front shocks to spec and if yes, how did you accomplish the task? I sure couldn't figure out how to do that with my standard torque wrench. For the next install, this looks to be the ticket and I would have ordered one had I known I would be wanting it. Strut Nut Socket.

I got pretty close by estimating the torque, but I do like to get stuff precise.