Bilstein strife

[peterpre]

I just broke the thread off the bottom of a rear Billstein on my 94 Disco. It was not being treated harshly by any means, and has had quite an easy life (for a shock absorber). The thread has snapped clean, no cracks, no wear (I picked up the bits).
Do you think Bilstein in Australia want to know about it? No. Quite unfriendly and dismissive. "Buy a new one" he said (of course). I wont be buying expensive German shocks again. See also http://www.aulro.com/afvb/technical-chatter/58334-broken-shock.html

[incisor]

how old is the shock and how many klm's had it done ?

[rick130]

As Inc said, how old/km ?
It can be repaired, but welding onto the body means dismantle and de-gassing, and new seals, oil and re-gas at a minimum after repair, which probably goes a fair way towards a new one.

[spudboy]

It's bad that Bilstien are not interested in assisting you (assuming it is not 10 years old or anything).

[PAT303]

Has anyone come up with a proper fix for this?.It doesn't matter what you buy they all snap. Pat

[Bush65]

I don't know how much difference there is between a 94 disco and my 98 disco.

The problem is the rubber bushes at top and bottom mounts can't enough flex enough to accommodate the change in angle as the axle articulates.

The early rangies were much better. The washer and split cotter pin in the rangie top mount does not constrain the rubber like the washer and nut on the disco. I swapped my top mounts to the early rangie style.

The bottom mount on the disco has cups that constrain the rubber and the washers foul the cups causing the pin to bend. Reversing the washers or using smaller od washers help a bit but it still is not good.

If you only drive to the shops it will be fine :( - that is what discos are designed for.

[PhilipA]

My 92 RRC just returned from 14K trip with about 3K on bad dirt , with no Billy problems.
On the contrary I think they are brilliant.
92s do not have the cup and AFAIR a conversation with Graeme Cooper, he said that they chisel the cups off later cars, and use the Billy washers.
Conversly on the front you cannot use the Billy washers.
Regard sPhilip A

[Pierre]

Yep, agree with Phillip. Take to the welded-on cups on the bottom of the rear mounts with air chisel.

Use the supplied washers. No problems with either Bilstein or Koni after this simple mod over the roughest of terrain.

Pete

[peterpre]

Thanks for the useful replies. The shocks are certainly not new, but haven't had a thrashing, and show no wear on the shaft. The Billy sticker is still on, even.
I agree they are fantastic shocks, perhaps just not strong enough. I'm mainly annoyed with Billstein Australia's (lack of) response. The thread sheared off at the thinnest point, aand could be a design flaw; I'd certainly be interested if Billstein were MY product/brand.

[peterpre]

Actually, I WAS on the way to the shops. The shock sheared as it extended over a speed hump, which means no axle articulation. I had just got back from a trip tho... but I don't believe that it was cracked etc.


...

If you only drive to the shops it will be fine :( - that is what discos are designed for.

[Bushwanderer]

Hi peterpre,
The reputation of Billsteins is very good. However, all manufactured parts can fail. I suspect that you should "bite the bullet" and get a new pair.

Best Wishes,

[Bush65]

The shocks aren't designed to endure the bending loads that occur due to the problems/faults that Land Rover created.

Fatigue occurs over many cycles that are below the ultimate strength of the part. Often the final break occurs under a quite small load.

In case you haven't got the message yet - the disco shockie mounts are at fault and there have been solutions posted by several users.

If you have standard suspension and don't drive off road (like many disco owners), then the disco mounts are ok - so Land Rover won't admit to any fault.

The bilstein shockies are not the problem - they will perform faultlessly if only loaded in tension or compression. So no need for them to take the blame for intallations that cause the shaft to bend.

[amtravic1]

I snapped the shafts on two Koni rears years ago when I used the old Rangie Spares top mount conversion (to theaded shaft and nut). This clearly did not allow enough sideways flex and I have never had another problem since returning to the washer and split pin set up. This is on a Rangie Classic.

Ian

[Xtreme]

I don't wish to throw a spanner into the discussion but I had the shaft of a brand new Bilstein shear off while I was installing it a few years ago. I hadn't even got to the stage of putting any pressure on the spanner!

Inspection of the break revealed very porous metal with air holes - quite visible to the naked eye.

Needless to say, it was replaced by the supplier at no cost.

Roger

[isuzurover]

I don't wish to throw a spanner into the discussion but I had the shaft of a brand new Bilstein shear off while I was installing it a few years ago. I hadn't even got to the stage of putting any pressure on the spanner!

Inspection of the break revealed very porous metal with air holes - quite visible to the naked eye.

Needless to say, it was replaced by the supplier at no cost.

Roger

That was obviously a manufacturing defect, and they replaced the shock FOC.

However a shock that has been fitted for many years...

John (Bush65) and other are of course correct - the problem (in this case) lies with Land Rover, not Bilstein.

My 110 has done over150k km on its bilsteins (a lot offroad) and they are still like new.