Finally got my Bilstein 5100s (front) from an F150 and Bilstein 4600 (rear) for the Expedition with Readylift rear 2” spacer on my 2016 Expedition.
Have a buddy help! - Lining stuff up for reinstall needs an extra set of hands.
If using jack stands (like me) do the front and rear separately so only one end is off the ground at a time.
Get it as high in the air as high as you can especially the rear. Those rear lower control arms need to come WAY down to get the strut assembly reinstalled with the spacer. I did not have it high enough and had to raise it a fair amount with both ends on jack stands. That was not fun.
If you are going to compress the springs yourself.
DO NOT even bother with one of those rental spring compressors that I call the side squeezer.
https://m.autozone.com/loan-a-tools/loaner-strut-spring-compressor
I could not compress it enough with this unit.
Rent one of these instead. Takes a little coordinating because most stores do not have them but you can have it shipped to your house or store.
https://m.autozone.com/loan-a-tools...erbuilt-strut-coil-compressor/537058_0_0?aqs=
Or just remove the strut assembly and take it to a shop to be compressed. Won’t cost much. I got lucky neighbor owns an auto shop and does lots of work at his house happened to ask him if he had a compressor at the house I could borrow. He did not but told me to run the assemblies to his shop and they would take care of it.
So I did not have to fight/destroy the OEM shocks like NASCARMike did to get the perches off. HUGE time saver. I ate at Wendy’s while they did the hard stuff. He said they were a beast to get off.
If you opt to use the 5100s instead of a front spacer the lift amount specified for each notch in the instructions on the strut (spec’d for the F150) DOES NOT, I repeat DOES NOT correlate to the lift for our Expeditions due to different spring rates. I did not expect such a huge difference between the lift rates. I set it at the highest notch which is 2.1” (spec’d for the F150) I got 4” of lift which is WAY to much lift.
So I got the joy off pulling all apart and doing it again at the 2nd notch which is .79” (spec’d for the F150) and I got right at 2” of lift.
To move the snap ring the strut has to be fully removed from the assembly for some reason. One could not compress the spring enough to give enough access to the snap ring with everything still connected.
I had to remove the front sway bar end link top nut on both sides. The sway bar would not lift off the end link without both sides removed.
Fully tighten your front lower strut mount bolts/nuts to the lower control arm before sliding the axle shaft back into the knuckle. While it can be done with a wrench the axle is right over top and makes it very very hard to get to. Save yourself some time and tighten them down before bringing the knuckle back up.
All in all it is not a bad job (I got to do the fronts twice) Taking everything out is quite simple I did all the removal myself with no issues. Reinstall is much more time consuming and need an extra set of hands to help line everything up properly.
To my surprise reinstall of the fronts is much easier than the rear. Reinstallation of the rear lower control arm bolt to the frame is TOUGH. One needs to have it lined up perfectly or you are pounding it in (bad idea since you’ll damage threads).
It’s hard to see the alignment on your back (likely much easier if on a lift). A jack under the arm to get it close then a pry bar to get it aligned was the best way we could come up with.
Make sure to keep an eye on your brake lines when reinstalling the rear especially they get stretched to the max when pulling everything down to reinstall. Plenty of slack once back in.
On the front driver’s side check your metal brake lines up top that are right next to the joint in the steering shaft. May have just been since my initial 4” lift was too much but it pushed those lines up and when turning the wheel the shaft joint would occasionally contact the lines making a clicking sound when turning.
Mark the top hat, spring, lower perch, and shock position so you are close on reinstall.
Not a huge deal if off slightly. A couple of mine were. Put the assembly standing up in a vise, put a prybar between two of the top studs and the top hat rotates fairly easily to get the studs where they need to be.
Also during removal make notes of what the bolt and nut sizes are. For the most part they are 18mm, 19mm, 21mm, and 24mm. That way on reinstall you can just look at your notes instead of guessing again.
Also to loosen the driver’s side upper control arm front nut you need a very flat wrench. There is some sort of electronic box directly in front of it and there is very little space between the two.
Then of course get an alignment. I am actually typing this from the lounge while getting aligned.
I won’t do a full write up as there is a good video of the install here.
Have a buddy help! - Lining stuff up for reinstall needs an extra set of hands.
If using jack stands (like me) do the front and rear separately so only one end is off the ground at a time.
Get it as high in the air as high as you can especially the rear. Those rear lower control arms need to come WAY down to get the strut assembly reinstalled with the spacer. I did not have it high enough and had to raise it a fair amount with both ends on jack stands. That was not fun.
If you are going to compress the springs yourself.
DO NOT even bother with one of those rental spring compressors that I call the side squeezer.
https://m.autozone.com/loan-a-tools/loaner-strut-spring-compressor
I could not compress it enough with this unit.
Rent one of these instead. Takes a little coordinating because most stores do not have them but you can have it shipped to your house or store.
https://m.autozone.com/loan-a-tools...erbuilt-strut-coil-compressor/537058_0_0?aqs=
Or just remove the strut assembly and take it to a shop to be compressed. Won’t cost much. I got lucky neighbor owns an auto shop and does lots of work at his house happened to ask him if he had a compressor at the house I could borrow. He did not but told me to run the assemblies to his shop and they would take care of it.
So I did not have to fight/destroy the OEM shocks like NASCARMike did to get the perches off. HUGE time saver. I ate at Wendy’s while they did the hard stuff. He said they were a beast to get off.
If you opt to use the 5100s instead of a front spacer the lift amount specified for each notch in the instructions on the strut (spec’d for the F150) DOES NOT, I repeat DOES NOT correlate to the lift for our Expeditions due to different spring rates. I did not expect such a huge difference between the lift rates. I set it at the highest notch which is 2.1” (spec’d for the F150) I got 4” of lift which is WAY to much lift.
So I got the joy off pulling all apart and doing it again at the 2nd notch which is .79” (spec’d for the F150) and I got right at 2” of lift.
To move the snap ring the strut has to be fully removed from the assembly for some reason. One could not compress the spring enough to give enough access to the snap ring with everything still connected.
I had to remove the front sway bar end link top nut on both sides. The sway bar would not lift off the end link without both sides removed.
Fully tighten your front lower strut mount bolts/nuts to the lower control arm before sliding the axle shaft back into the knuckle. While it can be done with a wrench the axle is right over top and makes it very very hard to get to. Save yourself some time and tighten them down before bringing the knuckle back up.
All in all it is not a bad job (I got to do the fronts twice) Taking everything out is quite simple I did all the removal myself with no issues. Reinstall is much more time consuming and need an extra set of hands to help line everything up properly.
To my surprise reinstall of the fronts is much easier than the rear. Reinstallation of the rear lower control arm bolt to the frame is TOUGH. One needs to have it lined up perfectly or you are pounding it in (bad idea since you’ll damage threads).
It’s hard to see the alignment on your back (likely much easier if on a lift). A jack under the arm to get it close then a pry bar to get it aligned was the best way we could come up with.
Make sure to keep an eye on your brake lines when reinstalling the rear especially they get stretched to the max when pulling everything down to reinstall. Plenty of slack once back in.
On the front driver’s side check your metal brake lines up top that are right next to the joint in the steering shaft. May have just been since my initial 4” lift was too much but it pushed those lines up and when turning the wheel the shaft joint would occasionally contact the lines making a clicking sound when turning.
Mark the top hat, spring, lower perch, and shock position so you are close on reinstall.
Not a huge deal if off slightly. A couple of mine were. Put the assembly standing up in a vise, put a prybar between two of the top studs and the top hat rotates fairly easily to get the studs where they need to be.
Also during removal make notes of what the bolt and nut sizes are. For the most part they are 18mm, 19mm, 21mm, and 24mm. That way on reinstall you can just look at your notes instead of guessing again.
Also to loosen the driver’s side upper control arm front nut you need a very flat wrench. There is some sort of electronic box directly in front of it and there is very little space between the two.
Then of course get an alignment. I am actually typing this from the lounge while getting aligned.
I won’t do a full write up as there is a good video of the install here.
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