So I put in the Bilstein 5100 adjustable ride hight version at stock level with the ring in the lowest position. The project went as smooth as I could have hoped. I did a lot of research on this forum and was a little nervous after seeing threads about missing washer and Bilstein not supply what was needed. read where people were using 2x4s to pry the suspension to get the struts out. No problem here, I have a really nice set of jack stands and chocked the rear wheels while lifting both sides of the front end. After removing the three upper nuts and the large lower bolt the struts came right out. I used the loner spring compressors from AutoZone to compress my spring and remove them from the old strut. This did take some serious cranking, it was a good workout with my cross force ratchet wrench. After I pulled the old strut out i slid the new Bilsteins in, removed the nut at the top and took everything from the original setup and slid it on to the new Bilstein. My Bilsteins came with the large washer on them and I never took it off only removed the nut to slide on the top works from the old setup. I Didn't mess with the old washer that was fixed to the boot of the old shock, just took everything else and put it on the new strut. After tightening up the retaining nut on top of the new shock, I released the the spring compressors. The new setup slid back into the truck. I then put the 3 top nuts in place and with some minor persuasion got the large lower bolt in. The whole thing took me about 3.5 hours alone. My Armada has over 99,000 on it and this was overdo. It rides a hell of a lot better. I also had some steering wheel shake when braking to a stop and that is gone. No more hitting dips and feeling like we are in a boat.
I am very impressed with the way it went and how the truck feels now. I would like to thank everyone on the forum for the info that helped me get this done.
Special thanks to Pops. Your posts have helped me several times with question about my Armada.
I am very impressed with the way it went and how the truck feels now. I would like to thank everyone on the forum for the info that helped me get this done.
Special thanks to Pops. Your posts have helped me several times with question about my Armada.