New shocks and struts

I'm planning to have Bilstein 4600 series shock absorbers and struts on my 2000 SR5 access cab soon. Will this require a mounting kit to go with it ? I'll be farming out this job to someone and want to make sure they have everything they need to do the job.

 

No, although the rubber bushings are larger than the stock OEM shock. I had trouble myself getting the top nut on and had to leave off the dust boot, but that’s me. Others here suggest using the weight of the front end to compress the shock/coil and get the top nut onto the shock. There are threads here about it.

You might even be able to reuse the old bushing if they aren’t distorted too much.

 

Yeah the Bilsteins come with the hardware you need. Only consideration is whether you want to replace the front upper shock mounts. If they're original it's not a bad idea, but up to you.

$34 KYB SM5442 - Mount and Insulator

Link


Regardless of whether you live in a rust area or not, a few days before the job is the time to start spraying nuts/bolts with PB Blaster.

 

I had these put on Friday along with the lower ball joints. The ride before felt like my seats were mounted to the axle. I could feel every crack and bump on the road. Now it feels like the seats are mounted to springs. Very bouncy. Is that normal on a new install ?

 

Feel is subjective. The ride with the 4600s and factory springs should be relatively controlled. But firm vs bouncy is relative.

 

Typical. Sounds like you were like me and changed them when they were way overdue, hence the feel to every bump in the road. The rear shocks made a big difference to me in that area but that’s only after waiting 230k miles after they were way past gone.