3rd gen Bilstein shock length issue

I recently purchased a set of Bilstein shocks for my 2001 4Runner 4WD SR5 with no modifications. When I had everything apart, The new Bilsteins are longer than the originals by 1 & 1/2" inches. Not sure if that is due to a longer travel of bilstein or whatever. Has anybody ever dealt with this?

 

Following…

 

Longer how?

Is the body longer?

Is the shaft longer?

 

I have attached pictures to my original message. The body is right but the shaft is longer

 

If you push both all the way in...still a different height?

Unless the 3rd gen suspension, when bottoming out, has less room that the minimum height of the shock, it should be no issue.

 

Excellent idea! They are both the same height when pushed in. The new one was a struggle, the old one was like pushing through soft butter.
Many Thanks

 

Well now you know you have a few more inches of travel if you ever want to lift your suspension a little.

 

Your old shocks have completely lost all dampening abilities and are in a 'collapsed' configuration.

Safe to say you were a good 15 years past due on replacing your shocks; non-serviceable shocks should be replaced every 5 years or 50k miles.

 

I disagree.

Shocks, struts typically last well past 5 years and it's a waste of money to replace them that early. Shocks\Struts going past 15 years is not unheard of. 20 is probably pushing it for most cars but I have cars with 30 year old shocks that are still holding up. I also have cars where they started failing after 10. But 5? That's barely their half life.

My original shocks front and back were 20 years old when I replaced them with TOYOTA OEM shocks. When I compared them, they had no discernible difference in dampening. I felt bad that I was probably throwing away good shocks, but it was time as the car is my daily driver.

 

Seals can only last so long before they leak whether they're oil or gas charged, and although a shock isn't physically 'broken', they've surely lost their ability to dampen as well as they used to.

If we're talking oil-filled shocks, that oil over time breaks down...just like the oil in your engine or other lubricants used throughout your vehicle. If they're gas charged, they'll leak over time just the way tires need refilling every so often...even if it isn't for months.

But like you said, you disagree.

 

I got like 17 years out of my factory shocks they were not even leaking or anything, I just figured I would do it for something to do. Rides great about the same.

 

Thanks for the great points. I bought the 4Runner a couple of years ago and bought the shocks a while back. Sure glad I found my round tuit