Installing rear TRD Billies froma 02 trd xcab 4x4 on a 97 xcab 4x4....the rubber eyelet mounts/rubber washers - the rubber things on the shock body eyelet from my 97 stock rear shocks seem to be too small for the 02 TRD bilstein eyelet...

I mean they go in to the billies - but they wiggle a bit

they fit nice and snug in the 97 rears they came off (obviously)


can I mount these billies with these rubber pieces not fitting snug in the eyelets?(basically if you tip the shock to one side the rubber washer thingy falls out)
I was under the impression that the trd and non trd shock eyelet size were the same.


Please help!

 

Put them on, tighten the bolts, make sure you have the washers on correctly and then try to move the eyelets. When I put the bilstiens on mine, i questioned that too but once tightened all was fine. If it is still loose then you probably need new rubber bushings. They are 8 years old.

 

ok thanks paul - thats reassuring I'll go try and just throw them on and see if they move around - I am sure I will know on the highway at 80 if the shocks are loose



I will be going with an OME setup in the future so I can replace the bushings then.

 

I would say they should fit snug or get some new ones.

 

Brian - might be a bit too late

anyways - they are on there - there is a bit of play horizontally in the shock - they arent MOVING side to side - just when you shake the shock there is a small bit of play in the eyelet area.

well - I'm gonna drive it and see what happens

if there is too much play will I notice vibrations or anything - or will the shock just not do its job as well?

(I will replace those little rubber bas$ards when I get a chance -might just wait for the OME rears though)

 

oh -ahhhhh - I should also mention that one of the top eyelets moved independently of the (plunger?) you could kind of just twirl it around on top while holding the top of the shock still.

not sure if thats normal.

wasnt able to check the other billie as it was allready on

 

anyone?

 

If just the eyelet is twirling then that is not good, if the whole top half of the shock turns, that is normal.

 

bump.

 

nope held the plunger/piston still and the eyelet still moved - wierd cause I called local toyota stealer in the area and they said it was perfectly normal -which I find hard to believe...but -any one know definetively here? basically I know its not good - but I am not sure it is a big problem as instead of rotating at the bottom (where the piston enters the resevoir) it now also rotates up top too - I dont know

is it a problem? I dont want this thing snapping off on the highway or something

 

I just checked mine and the eyelets will not turn by themselves. The bottom turns with the body and the top turns with the piston. Hope this helps you.

 

I'll check the ones I took off my rig this past weekend. They are original, the newer ones are much wider diameter...

 

yeah - thanks for the replies guys...I called Bilstein today - and as expected they said that the eyelet should NOT move indepently of the piston...

hopefully there is something holding it in there other than the tight clamp that was holding it onto the piston body....

 

don't bilsteins have a lifetime warrenty on them. You might be able to get brand news ones then. Worth a try.