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If you put the blue boot down - the Bilstein Logo and Name would be upside down too ...
like i said before i'm not sure about ex's but mine (2000 f350 4wd)are boot down you can read the sticker correctly there are holes in the boots to allow water to escape and bilsteins tech told me to do so.i think they know how to mount there shock. my suggestion was to just double check for your specific application. i posted bilsteins tech # in a previous post in this thread.
With the boot style on the Bilstein Shocks if you mount them with the boot on the bottom they would hold all kinds of dirt and water, That would not be good for the cylinder shafts or seals. Some of the off road style shocks have an accordion style boot that gets clamped or cable tied top and bottom,I believe those shocks can mount either way. Bilsteins go BOOT UP!!!
my shocks are the accordion style boots and they have holes in them to allow water to come out.
like i said before i'm not sure about ex's but mine (2000 f350 4wd)are boot down you can read the sticker correctly there are holes in the boots to allow water to escape and bilsteins tech told me to do so.i think they know how to mount there shock. my suggestion was to just double check for your specific application. i posted bilsteins tech # in a previous post in this thread.
Yeah I think the Bilstein models are different on the Ex. or at least I really hope so because I really don't feel like having something else to do tomorrow and having to flip them the other way - LOL
i know what you mean. i checked after i installed them, after hearing on this forum about how others have installed them. off topic...are you happy with your rear hellwig sway bar? my truck did'nt come with one.
The shocks really made the truck handle a lot better and made it actually feel a lot less like a 3 and a half ton truck in the turns and bumps ... The rear sway bar definitely made a difference too - even without towing. I noticed the real difference the other day in the rain on the parkway. I actually looked down at the speedo because I couldn't believe how the truck came in and out of a particular turn on the Northern State Parkway ! Much better control and the truck felt a lot more sure footed.
I got the rear sway bar from carparts for a great price and did it along with the shocks. The directions that came with though were horrible... If I had to do it again I could probably do it in under an hour knowing what to and how to put it all together ...
I ordered mine sunday, looks like they may have been sent out today. No tracking # though it seems? What company delivered your shocks from shock warehouse? UPS/FedEx or something else?
Oh and so we are very clear, blue boot goes UP on the excursion right? I dont want to be the guy fliping them a day later either! lol
Oh and myblkex, did you have the stock rear swaybar and went to the hellwig, or did you have no stock rear bar and added one?
I ordered mine sunday, looks like they may have been sent out today. No tracking # though it seems? What company delivered your shocks from shock warehouse? UPS/FedEx or something else?
Oh and so we are very clear, blue boot goes UP on the excursion right? I dont want to be the guy fliping them a day later either! lol
Oh and myblkex, did you have the stock rear swaybar and went to the hellwig, or did you have no stock rear bar and added one?
Mine didn't have a rear sway - the heliwig was a new mod
I ordered mine sunday, looks like they may have been sent out today. No tracking # though it seems? What company delivered your shocks from shock warehouse? UPS/FedEx or something else?
Oh and so we are very clear, blue boot goes UP on the excursion right? I dont want to be the guy fliping them a day later either! lol
FedEx delivered mine. You can go to the site, click on check order status, enter your order number, and you should see a FedEx tracking number to click on.
We're still debating whether the blue boot goes up or down. Shock Warehouse says the blue boot goes up, Bilstein told me the blue boot goes up, but somebody else says Bilstein told them the blue boot goes down. If you install with the blue boot on the bottom, it will fill up with grit, dirt and small gravel. This can't be good for the shock.
Does anyone know which steering stabilizer works on my '00 4wd? I thought I would order a stabilizer as mine is weeping, but shockwarehouse.com has several options for OE replacement. Which one have you guys used and what is your opinion?
Thanks,
Scott
Last edited by ltbrkm3; Mar 31, 2009 at 08:35 AM.
Reason: Another question.
I ordered mine sunday, looks like they may have been sent out today. No tracking # though it seems? What company delivered your shocks from shock warehouse? UPS/FedEx or something else?
Oh and so we are very clear, blue boot goes UP on the excursion right? I dont want to be the guy fliping them a day later either! lol
Oh and myblkex, did you have the stock rear swaybar and went to the hellwig, or did you have no stock rear bar and added one?
I just did V's, modified B's, Bilsteins, Steering Stabilizer, and Hellwig. I put the Hellwig on a week after everything else. I have to say the Hellwig made the biggest difference.
I put my Bilsteins boot DOWN because thats what the instructions said to do that came in the box.
FedEx delivered mine. You can go to the site, click on check order status, enter your order number, and you should see a FedEx tracking number to click on.
We're still debating whether the blue boot goes up or down. Shock Warehouse says the blue boot goes up, Bilstein told me the blue boot goes up, but somebody else says Bilstein told them the blue boot goes down. If you install with the blue boot on the bottom, it will fill up with grit, dirt and small gravel. This can't be good for the shock.
i don't want to beat this up...but my application with the heavy duty shock goes boot down. i was surprised also. they are the accordian style boots with holes in them to allow water to drain out. i never said excursions were that way. i just suggested to double check. i'm glad you did.(is your boot the open style thats smooth on the outside?)
..... but mine are the smooth open boot with no weep holes that I installed boot up.
Same here. Once stuff gets in the boot, it would stay in the boot. It would eventually fill up with sand, dirt, grit and small gravel.....with no way whatsoever to escape.
OK, anyhow, I just got off the phone with Bilstein technical again, I wanted a second opinion from them. This second guy claims you want to be able to read the BILSTEIN label correctly once installed, so this means the blue boot would go up on the Excursion. If you put the blue boot to the bottom, the BILSTEIN label would be upside down. He went on to say that they really could be installed either way and do their job, blue boot up or blue boot down. He agreed blue boot down didn't sound like the best way to install them since they would fill up with crap over time.
I appreciate the advice here so far, but I think I am going with blue boot up. Blue boot down would also look goofy, IMHO.