H2 shock absorbers?

[The_Mountain]

Took my truck into the shop for a preflight ahead of my upcoming road trip, and it appears I need new front shocks. Assuming I stay with an OEM replacement, what's the consensus on the "best" shock to put in?

 

[Big2dabank]

I had Rancho adjustable RS9000XLs for a few years and I was pleased with them, but I sold them and went back to OEM for a while to figure out a few other mods. I know a few others that run Bilstein 5100s and I know they are very pleased.

 

[Zach]

I'm running Bilsteins. On my second set. Great shock and about the same price as OEM

 

[carlossi]

Bilsteins are a good replacement. They provide good ride quality for several years.

 

[The_Mountain]

Good to know on the Bilsteins. I'll definitely look into them. My main reason for asking is that I used to own a mid-2000s Suburban, and when I had it in the dealer shop for something, I got to talking to a mechanic there about shocks. Apparently, the stock non-Z71 Suburban had really great OEM shocks. They were expensive, but gave the truck a really plush ride. A lot of the z71 owners swapped their "off-road" shocks for the regular ones when the originals wore out. I didn't know if the H2 got similar shocks that were worth sticking with, since it is based at least partly on the same chassis.

 

[The_Mountain]

I've been doing research on this, and I can't seem to find Bilstein 5100-series for the rear axle of an unlifted H2. They make a 4600, or I could get the 5100-series remote reservoir. Does anyone have the part number for the correct rear Bilstein 5100?

 

[Polar Bear]

I had Bilsteins on the rear of my H2 and I went thru two sets in less than 5 years. I was not pleased with the ride or the damping. I am now trying a set of Monroe Reflex shocks and overall everything is much much better!

Both sets of Bilsteins had seals blow out and leak, not impressed for a supposed high quality shock.

Note: My H2 weighs in at 8700lbs, I run 39" Michelin Military tires and I offroad it heavily so maybe those were all contributing factors either way I will see how the new shocks do.

 

[Mb30sdl]

How is it you weighs 8700, are u carrying slabs of concrete with u?

 

[Polar Bear]

How is it you weighs 8700, are u carrying slabs of concrete with u?

Pretty Close! My rock bars weigh 225lbs each, my full length UDP weighs in at just under 200lbs. I have a front mounted 15000lbs winch in a custom bumper, rear mounted 10000lbs winch in a customized OEM bumper, custom interior tool box with full on board air with a 5 gallon air tank and 50 feet of air hose. I have pretty much any tool or part that you would need for a trail repair! I guess you could call my H2 a rolling repair shop!

 

[The_Mountain]

I had Bilsteins on the rear of my H2 and I went thru two sets in less than 5 years. I was not pleased with the ride or the damping. I am now trying a set of Monroe Reflex shocks and overall everything is much much better!

Both sets of Bilsteins had seals blow out and leak, not impressed for a supposed high quality shock.

Note: My H2 weighs in at 8700lbs, I run 39" Michelin Military tires and I offroad it heavily so maybe those were all contributing factors either way I will see how the new shocks do.

How have things been with those Monroes, and how much did they cost? I have already waited way too long to get my front balljoints done (money money money), and I can tell the shocks are getting worse too. Once I get the joints out of the way, the next purchase for the truck will be a set of shocks that I'll install myself, and I don't want to have to do it twice.

 

[The_Mountain]

Does anyone here have experience with Pro-Comp shocks?

 

[The_Mountain]

Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

 

[guruerror]

No info for you on the Pro-Comps; but back to the Bilsteins. There are no 5100s for the rear of a non-lifted deuce.

Bilstein says 4600s for the rear (24-185912) and 5100s for the front (24-186735). I had this setup on my last truck and it rode great. The 5100s are about 2" longer that the stockers, so they're really good if you've got your rig leveled. At $79.99 a pop you really can't beat it...this is on my "list" of summer work for my current H2.

 

[LoJac963]

^mine as well. I have so many things I need to address with my rig. Shocks being one of them. I'll be going with Bilsteins since they generally have great reviews and the stainless exterior looks great as well. Are the 4600's stainless as well?

 

[Fish]

I need new front shocks and I'm leveled so you say 5100's are good for that..? I had Bilsteins on my H3 when I leveled it and they were too soft, but that was in 06 and apparently they were the only option.

 

[glpd74]

Not to sound stupid but is there a height number for the front of h2 like h3 were you don't go over 23 1/4?


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[The_Mountain]

No info for you on the Pro-Comps; but back to the Bilsteins. There are no 5100s for the rear of a non-lifted deuce.

Bilstein says 4600s for the rear (24-185912) and 5100s for the front (24-186735). I had this setup on my last truck and it rode great. The 5100s are about 2" longer that the stockers, so they're really good if you've got your rig leveled. At $79.99 a pop you really can't beat it...this is on my "list" of summer work for my current H2.

Thanks for the info. I'm really hoping to find a less expensive solution, since I'm also facing needing to replace both lower ball joints at a minimum of $600. Another $300+ for shocks is going to put a pretty big dent in the old piggy bank. I'm kind of leery of the Monroes. I did some research and the Monroe front shocks only have 3" of travel, and a "jounce bumper" in the bottom. Granted that the H2 front end doesn't have pre-runner amounts of travel, but 3" plus whatever the jounce gives seems restrictive for a heavy offroad truck. That's only about 1.5" either way, if I assume that at rest the suspension is sitting in the middle of the shock's travel.

 

[guruerror]

No info for you on the Pro-Comps; but back to the Bilsteins. There are no 5100s for the rear of a non-lifted deuce.

Bilstein says 4600s for the rear (24-185912) and 5100s for the front (24-186735). I had this setup on my last truck and it rode great. The 5100s are about 2" longer that the stockers, so they're really good if you've got your rig leveled. At $79.99 a pop you really can't beat it...this is on my "list" of summer work for my current H2.

Hmmm...I may have to retract my statement regarding there being no 5100s for the rear of the deuce. I ordered all my shocks last week (same part numbers listed above) and they just arrived. The rears both have the same part number (24-185912) on the box, but one label says 4600 and the other says 5100. When I cracked them open both shocks actually say 5100 series on the side. It's weird that Bilstein's site lists them as 4600s though...I dunno. So, you CAN put 5100s all the way around a stock or leveled truck. I must have never noticed this on my last rig.

^mine as well. I have so many things I need to address with my rig. Shocks being one of them. I'll be going with Bilsteins since they generally have great reviews and the stainless exterior looks great as well. Are the 4600's stainless as well?

Yep...stainless.

I need new front shocks and I'm leveled so you say 5100's are good for that..? I had Bilsteins on my H3 when I leveled it and they were too soft, but that was in 06 and apparently they were the only option.

IMHO the Bilsteins are better than stock and/or Fox for leveled trucks; they've got more length and more travel then either. The 5100s up front with either the Cognito or Kryptonite UCAs will give you a factory, or better, ride quality when leveled.

 

[LoJac963]

Those things are beautiful! Where did you order them from and what price did you pay for all 4. I desperately need to replace my entire suspension minus my aftermarket rear trailing arms lol.

 

[guruerror]

Those things are beautiful! Where did you order them from and what price did you pay for all 4. I desperately need to replace my entire suspension minus my aftermarket rear trailing arms lol.

Amazon! They cost under $70 a piece.

 

[twinmill28]

Man I love Amazon, it's amazing the stuff you can get on there and if you're a Prime member, the shipping pays for the membership in no time....

 

[LoJac963]

You wouldn't happen to have that link to the seller would you?

 

[guruerror]

You wouldn't happen to have that link to the seller would you?

It was Everything-Aftermarket
https://www.amazon.com/sp?_encoding...581850&seller=A3CM4NUYDVGV5D&tab=&vasStoreID=

...but it looks like he bumped his prices up about $10 each. On June 24th I got the fronts (24-186735) for $66.84 each and the rears (24-185912) for $67.05 each; now he's listing the fronts and rears for $76.21.

It looks like autoplicity.com and streetsideauto.com have them listed for $68 and some change, but after you throw the $9-13 shipping on there it all washes out.
https://www.google.com/webhp?source...e=UTF-8#q=24-185912&tbs=vw:l,p_ord:p&tbm=shop

I also went with the Bilstein 5100 series steering dampener (33-174525) which ran $75.58 from Amazon vendor Award Products, but he's also jacked his price up to $84.75.\\

Dunno why the price hike...I guess I just happened to stock my cart at the right time.

UPDATE:
Fronts $68.91 + free shipping: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bilstein-24...ash=item33a8403dd9:g:urUAAOSwkNZUkiid&vxp=mtr
Rears $68.91 + free shipping: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bilstein-24...ash=item5d51f450e9:g:FmYAAOSwj0NUkigW&vxp=mtr
Dampener $78.56 + free shipping: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bilstein-33...ash=item5d5cfd6080:g:vrkAAOSwHmhV7z-h&vxp=mtr

 

[The_Mountain]

Found another possibility on shocks that I'm exploring, if I can nail down the price. KYB makes a shock called the Monomax that is supposed to be suited to heavy SUVs, offroad driving, and other severe usage. I can get a set of 4 for about $195 from autozone. It kills me that I don't have my tools anymore. Installing shocks is something I could do otherwise.

 

[WarMongur]

Before I got rid of my Hummer I swapped out my exploded Bilsteins for some KYB .... I regretted it the first day. The Bilsteins are superior in every way! comfort and functionality


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