Warning about bilstein 5160

One of my 5160s developed a leak, no offroading done except mild fire trails less than 4k miles on them.

Do a search it's pretty common. I actually regret doing mods, if I can do it over I would have kept it stock except for tires. Even $3,000 kings rust

 

Had 5160’s on my taco for 30k+ and no problems. But cool!

 

Had them on my taco with no problems too. Search the other 4runner site and tons of guys have issues, guess the ones they make for the 4runner are garbage

 

Maybe some research before buying something would be beneficial for the future?
I mean even the 4runner frame will rust at some point

 

Thanks for your words of wisdom, don't be a fucking smartass

 

I have all the take offs from my 17 SR5 if you’re interested. They have about 4000 miles on them.

 

Thanks! I still kept all my stock components so im probably gonna go back to stock. I appreciate it though

 

@Pavo I've heard of the 5160's leaking as well. I went 6112/5100 and no leaks after 15K miles and beating them pretty hard on occasion.

I wouldn't let leaky 5160's turn you off to the aftermarket completely. There are a lot of great products available. Just avoid 5160's and Icon and you should be fine. And, research products extensively before buying.

However, if you want to go back to stock, there's nothing wrong with it.

 

Cough **** ironman foam cell pro*** cough...

 

That's the set I've been drooling over. I think I'll be in a better position to buy them next year.

 

I don't have KDSS so I would never go back to that horrible stock suspension.

 

Even with KDSS, there is still nose-dive. The Bilsteins are a huge improvement.

 

Are you guys talking about nose-dive during off-road driving? Or while stopping on the streets? I never mind the stock suspension on the streets, but wonder how aftermarket may help on the trails. I have noticed that the truck likes to rock back and forth a good bit when modulating the brake pedal down a large obstacle. That said, I'll honestly be upset if my choice of aftermarket suspension is much stiffer because the whole reason I initially purchased the 4Runner was so I could drive over all of these pot holes without care.

 

I've got about 15k on my 5160s with no leaks. Sometimes shit breaks, sometimes it doesn't. Doesn't mean they ALL do.

 

The body roll for on road handling of the stock non-KDSS suspension was my biggest complaint.
The nosedive isn't as annoying.

 

6112/5160 combo here with no leaks after about 20K. I do about 20% off road which is not much, but better than none

 

I had these on a 2014 truck.. saw it a few months back and they were still on it. Had 20k when I sold the truck 5 years ago. As mentioned, most every brand has a lemon or 2

 

What's the difference between the 5100's and the 5160's?

 

5160's are basically a 5100 with a remote reservoir.

 

https://www.4runners.com/threads/3-lift-and-cv-question.17037/


No personal experience so I don't care. But I mean if he grumbling about Bilstein

 

I just wanted to share my experience to maybe help with the statistics. Seems to be more 5160 leak evidence on the other 4Runner forum but I am not able to upload photos there.
I have a 2018 4Runner TRD Pro with the Bilstein suspension and I found the rear shocks had leaks around 25,000 miles. From my research, the rear TRD Pro shocks are similar (if not identical) to the 5160 shocks. Luckily, these were still covered under warranty and the dealer installed new TRD Pro rear shocks. The 5160 warranty does not appear to be as good (90 days?!?!). Here are a few photos of the leaking shocks before they were replaced:

 

My LR 5160 is leaking badly. Actually, it's probably not leaking any more based on the oil stain on the driveway. I'll take it to the shop tomorrow to see what's next. Less than 20k miles/2 years old. The other three are still OK.

 

That sucks! This issue is why I have 5100's in back rather than 5160's. I wish Bilstein made a rear shock comparable to the 6112.

 

Don't those use old school twin tube design while every other "premium" off road shock company uses a monotube?

Trying to figure out what makes the Iron Man lift special. I like Iron Man stuff, I just don't get the suspension.

 

they have great product description on their website. Plenty of folks have been running their suspension with absolutely zero issues and Ironman offers unmatched warranty. I no longer own a 4runner, but if I ever decide to lift my GX460 I will absolutely only consider ironman.

 

Replaced by RSG under warranty! The culprit: