Bilstein 5100 Install Cost

So I purchased the 5100 kit, along with the Corn Fed 1" spacer to do 1.75"F/1"R. Contacted a local off road shop, told them what I had (actually showed them), and was floored by the quote


I mean, it would probably take me all day to do this myself, but 5 hours for guys that do this day in and out with lifts and proper tools??? Seems very excessive, hell the rear should take them 30mins max I would think. Feel like the whole job shouldnt take more than 3 hours for professionals.

I haven't done any kind of work like this from a shop in a long time so I might be off on what things should cost and time, but honestly I was expecting it to be about half of what it is here.

So I guess the question is this normal nowadays? My plan is now to shop around, but there doesn't seem to be much to choose from in my area.

 

Seems excessive to me and a hourly charge for an alignment. I haven’t had many alignments done but more than a few and have never been charged an hourly rate for an alignment

 

Looks about right compared to the estimates I got this summer for a shock upgrade.

 

Price is also going to vary/fluctuate due to your location

 

True, ones I have in the past were just a flat fee if I recall.

 

I get that. I'm in Michigan, not a very expensive place to live overall. But $140 an hour for labor is generally stealership rates. And you cant tell me the techs are getting anywhere near half of that.

 

That’s pricey but seems about right. Shop around & it will be higher & or lower. Check your local threads on here & see if you can get a group going to work on stuff. On Tacoma world, ppl work on each other’s rigs for beer, pizza etc

 

If you have the ability. I say do it yourself and find an independent aliment shop that the car guys in your town use.

Took me about 6 hours to do the job and my alignment guy is $99. All the car builders around here use him. Alignment was as close to perfect as he could get and he walked me thru the whole process. Will never use a tire shop for this again.

 

If you have the ability, time, and space, buying your own tools for the job and banging it out by yourself or with friends is the way to go.

700 bucks buys a decent amount of tools that you get to keep forever, and if you use those tools next time you'll save even more money.

If you don't have the time, ability or space, I'd shop around, but $700 for the install doesn't seem completely unreasonable.

 

It could also be a higher rate because you're supplying your own parts. Typically shops want to provide the parts, so they profit off that as well.

 

Possibly. Might explain the estimation of time. As someone mentioned above, took them 6 hours by themselves, no shop and lift im assuming. And after seeing videos of the install, there's just no way this would take professionals 5 hours. 3 hours at the most I would think.

Gonna call the shop and ask questions.

 

I was quoted well over $3000 including parts to install Bilstein 6112/5160, JBA UCA’s and rear springs plus alignment. That was from a local well known 4x4 shop.

I was entertaining this until I realized two important things, first, the 285’s on stock Pro rims would probably rub on the JBA UCA’s (as reported by others) and I would still have the shock top out issue with the rear 5160 shocks since they have the same fully extended length of 23.5” as the OEM.

This led to my decision to go back to 265’s and have the spacer lift removed. In the end, all that I gave up was 2-3 inches of ground clearance.

 

Shit. Id install it

 

$700 is about the right price for suspension lift install labor here in CO.

As for the lift parts, IMO you only need 4 Bilstien5100 shocks and 1 Corn Fed spacer that goes on top of the rear spring. 1in spacer = 1in rear lift.
Front lift is adjusted by preloading the front spring using the clips on Bilstien5100s.

For alignment the shop only charge me $100. Not sure why its $280


DIY option may not be a good since you have to assemble to coil overs. Me and my friend installed pre-assembled Iron man suspension, oh man...., its a royal pain. Didn't even had peace of mind to record a video for my Youtube even not having KDSS. Need to be very careful with ABS lines and speed sensor. Even simple things per shops like installing rear springs was not easy having jack stands to hold the back and jacking up one side to install the springs and make sure the vehicle won't fall off the jack stands. I would never install a lift by myself.

 

These are good points that led me to pay a professional to do the suspension. Having access to an actual vehicle lift seems like it would be more efficient and safer.

I watched many DYI videos on this subject. Each person approached it differently which isn’t a bad thing. I know from my experience as a mechanic that things rarely go as planned and all it would take would be a couple of stubborn bolts and a seemingly straight forward job could turn into a major PITA. Plus I’m no longer a young buck I have to admit.

 

May be because I'm an amateur the small things like installing the rear spring was scary. My buddy was jacking by the axle on one side and I was under the car on the other side trying to squeeze the spring in. If jack stand give up / slip on my side it would be game over. In my situation I would pay a shop vs taking that risk not having shop level equipment.

 

I'll also add for awareness the sketchiest part of installing coilovers is building them. Most auto shops will do it. Mine charged me $70 to build the pair.

 

Having proper tools is key. Although I don't have a lift (yet), I use 6 ton jack stands and make sure the vehicle is fully supported before I get under it. Secondary safeties are important as well. I tend to leave the floor jack in place with no weight on it or a wheel under the frame. Would rather lose a wheel than my life.

Installing a moderate lift is significantly easier than a 3"+ lift. From disassembling / reassembling existing front coilovers to getting them in the front buckets to tilting the rear axle to get springs/ spacers in. Plus, a moderate 1-2" lift is going to maintain cv axle geometry so you don't have to go in and rebuild those down the road. CVS are a real pia that I want to avoid if possible. Did them 2x on my 4th gen.

A set of Bilsteins at 1.75 and rear springs was a walk in the park, especially since the T4R only had 52 miles on it when I did it.

 

Pricing seems backward (front vs rear costs) to me but the hours are about right.

Rear is a 2hr job even for rank amateur.

Front is a bit more involved.

Did a lift kit last weekend and spent 4 hours on front and 2 hours on rear including cleanup, coffee, and explaining process to my 9yo son who was helping. I am particular about doing things correctly as well. Disclaimer: I would say I have higher than average mechanic skills and experience for an amateur having built many motorcycles over the years.

I'd expect a shop that is setup to do the work to come in at or under those hours, which appears to be the case with your quote.

Jason

[edit because I didn't read the original post closely enought at first]
Total install at 5 hours is solid.
Two hours for alignment seems unnecessary.

I took mine to a local shop and had it done for $80 last Sunday after installing the lift.

Shout out to Ramos Tires in San Jose, CA - hardcore Mexican shop with get-it-done attitude and plenty of experience from being a high-volume shop. Had contemporary alignment equipment and took me through the details.

 

There should be no Open hourly rate charge. They need to be specific on how long it should take and how much per hour. Slow mechanic doesn't get pay more...