Replacing my struts 208,000 miles

[Muddy Bean]

I have a '15 Limited EL with the Nivomat rears. I have 208,000 miles on my truck now and just recently hit an unseen dip at speed, left the pavement briefly and came down blowing one of my rear Nivomats. Literally. As in I split the steel tubing and burst the hydraulic oil out. Anyway, it's time to replace all four corners since they are all original. I know I can pop Bilstein 5100's on the front, but I have been scouring the forum on how to replace the Nivomats with a Bilstein and not having much luck on finding clear info. Can this be done and what is the procedure and which shock is appropriate?

 

[Langer]

I have a '15 Limited EL with the Nivomat rears. I have 208,000 miles on my truck now and just recently hit an unseen dip at speed, left the pavement briefly and came down blowing one of my rear Nivomats. Literally. As in I split the steel tubing and burst the hydraulic oil out. Anyway, it's time to replace all four corners since they are all original. I know I can pop Bilstein 5100's on the front, but I have been scouring the forum on how to replace the Nivomats with a Bilstein and not having much luck on finding clear info. Can this be done and what is the procedure and which shock is appropriate?

Sorry to hear about the suspension, but glad to see you’re still running at 208k! Truck’s been otherwise uneventful since the turbo crapped out?

 

[tacoduck]

Came here to ask the same question. How is your truck holding up?

 

[injunear]

SAME QUESTION iHAVE A 2013 el mAX REAR AIR SUSP WENT CRAZY! i WENT TO REG SUSP BUT i CANT GET RID OF THE LIGHT ON DASH i GUESS i CAN LIVE WITH IT eNGINE DEVELOPED A HOLE IN ONE OF THE CYLINDERS!REPLACE ENGINE AT 126 K

 

[Johnathan M]

I don’t have a problem with my rear air suspension yet, but I’m interested to hear answers to this question. My 2013 EL has 234K and I may eventually have this same question.

 

[Muddy Bean]

To clarify, I don't have air suspension on my 2015 Limited. They are special struts called Nivomats that use hydraulic oil and special valving to automatically level. All self contained. As for how the truck has held up, it's been relatively low drama so far.

I have replaced both turbos one at 100,000 miles and the second one at around 180,000 miles. I had the throttle body replaced under warranty at 100,000 miles as well. I have replaced coil packs and plugs often. I had to drill a weep hole in my intercooler to stop multiple cylinders from misfiring. I have never installed a catch can. I have had one front wheel bearing die and replaced it. The power steps still work and I lube them religiously. Power fold mirror on passenger side just went bad. I'll be replacing it. Heated and cooled seats keep having that one pin burn out. I've fixed it once with a new harness, I'll need to do it again. It's a thing with these. I have $1200 into a 93 octane race tune by ZFG racing and it's wild. Truck is very very quick. I used ForScan years ago to turn off my seatbelt chime, turn on my LED fog lights as Daytime Running Lights, add two flashes to my lane changing turn signals from 3 flashes to 5. I also made some changes to my instrument panel. I have GTR Ultra LED head lights and high beams and swear by them. Lifetime warranty from The Retrofit Source. 4WD still works perfectly. Upgraded to drilled and slotted rotors and stoptech brakes. Happy with them. Not sure what else to say....wish someone had real info on replacing Nivomat rear struts with aftermarket bilstiens.

 

[mjp2]

Assuming the mounting bolt holes line up, it should be as easy as getting some stock Motorcraft rear shocks to salvage the spring seats, buying coils/upper mounts/coil isolators, and swapping all those parts onto the Bilsteins. A visit to a local auto recycler would likely be a good move.

 

[Muddy Bean]

This is some good info. I'll look into this. Thanks!