Bilsteins and spring perches

[grdsman]

While I'm at it spending a bunch of money on other repairs, I thought I'd order some Bilsteins and do my wife's shocks as well. I'm going with

https://www.stage3motorsports.com/2...100-Front-Strut-Assemblies-0-1-Lift-Pair.html

but don't necessarily want to tear apart the old shocks to get the spring perches off, unless I absolutely have to. Is anyone making spring perches that are available? Will perches from a 2014 work just fine? Also, are the rears pressed on as well?

Mike

 

[Black]

All pressed on.
You won’t find new perches anywhere trust me. All the factory struts now included pressed on perches.
You can pull older ones from a junk yard.

NAPA perches can be special ordered separately but they do not fit Bilsteins.

 

[grdsman]

How hard is it to get the pressed on perches off of the stock shocks?

I'll be taking it to a shop on base to do the work myself.....they have a press, so hopefully that should do the trick.

 

[Black]

With a press it is not too difficult.
Without a press you’ll drill a hole to relieve the pressure (do it outside and with safety glasses) then cut the tubes and pound them off.

 

[richs fishes]

I'm not following why you'd need to drill hole and relieve pressure?

I put my old/stock struts in a vice upside down, liberally squirted PB Blaster where the perch sits on the tube, and then pounded away with a 3 lb sledge until the perches worked their way off of the tube.

 

[Black]

I'm not following why you'd need to drill hole and relieve pressure?

I put my old/stock struts in a vice upside down, liberally squirted PB Blaster where the perch sits on the tube, and then pounded away with a 3 lb sledge until the perches worked their way off of the tube.

You have a 2008 model and the perches were not pressed on they just fit snuggly and a little sledge action would knock them off without issue.

Ford has since changed the design and the are pressed on. If you don’t have a press to get them off you have to cut and deform the shock tube to get them off.
Therefore you need to relieve the fluid pressure inside the shock tube before trying to deform it.

 

[Adam N Davis]

Guys I have a 2014 EL Limited 4wd with Self Leveling rear suspension(I have given in to the fact I will have to go OEM replacement on rear). I cannot tell by looking if the perch in the front is pressed on. I am up in the air on whether to buy the OEM one and not hassle or upgrade the front to the Bilstein. I am also a little confused if these are designed for the 2015 and up with 3.5L and I still have V8 then are they valves correctly for the extra weight?

 

[Black]

They are close enough it is not an issue and still valved worlds better than the OEM crap.

Think the F150 Bilsteins (which I have) are valved to fit the 2.7, 3.5, and 5.0.
So you are going to be within a working margin.

 

[Eric Mowrer]

The perches on my 2013 took 4 whacks with a dead blow hammer. Had I cleaned the crud off first, probably 2 whacks. LOL!

 

[wstcoaster07]

So if I understand this right my 2017 spring perches will not come off without a press unless I tear apart the old one? Is there a specific name for a spring perch press so I can verify where to find one before I start the job? Thanks.

 

[Black]

The only place you will find a spring perch is at the junkyard and you’ll likely have to buy the whole assembly.
If you don’t want to destroy the shock any mechanic should be able to pop them off for you for cheap if you remove the assembly yourself.

 

[Adam N Davis]

Bilstein call the perch a "spring seat"

 

[wstcoaster07]

I did my suspension over the weekend and can confirm the perch or spring seat is NOT welded or difficult to remove. I put the shock in to a vice upside down and it took a couple wacks of a 3# sledge to get it off. I sprayed some pb blaster in it too so it slid down quicker.
This was on a 2017 Expedition EL XLT 4WD without load leveling

 

[ExplorerTom]

The only place you will find a spring perch is at the junkyard and you’ll likely have to buy the whole assembly.

And if you have the self leveling shocks, you’ll also need the spring (possibly the upper spring seat) from the donor non-self leveling shock. The spring on the self leveling shock has a wider overall diameter- and more importantly a wider INNER diameter.

 

[Black]

I did my suspension over the weekend and can confirm the perch or spring seat is NOT welded or difficult to remove. I put the shock in to a vice upside down and it took a couple wacks of a 3# sledge to get it off. I sprayed some pb blaster in it too so it slid down quicker.
This was on a 2017 Expedition EL XLT 4WD without load leveling

That is a huge plus. Not a chance mine were coming off without a press.

 

[Steve Owens]

The Bilsteins ride like a buck board, just took them off my 13 expedition after a month. Awesome on the freeway, very bad on the rough streets. Don't think the wife will like the ride.

Plan to also get them off my Jeep Wrangler this weekend.

 

[ExplorerTom]

The Bilsteins ride like a buck board, just took them off my 13 expedition after a month. Awesome on the freeway, very bad on the rough streets. Don't think the wife will like the ride.

Plan to also get them off my Jeep Wrangler this weekend.

I noticed the same thing. However, it is a truck, not a Lincoln Continental. I don’t mind the harsher ride. I’m very happy with them.

 

[Rexpedition]

For my fellow internet sleuths... These should do the trick. I'm ordering a set and will delete this if they don't work.

Hardware Kit

cart.bilsteinus.com

Bilstein part number:
B4-KT1-Z333A01

 

[mjp2]

For my fellow internet sleuths... These should do the trick. I'm ordering a set and will delete this if they don't work.

Hardware Kit

cart.bilsteinus.com

Bilstein part number:
B4-KT1-Z333A01

I've ordered them. They're too small.

Buy the cheapest Motorcraft Expedition shocks you can find and strip them down. You'll get the spring seat as well as the isolator. Used to be a bit cheaper but these days ASH24742 is $40 from rockauto.