Bilstein B 5160

I see these shocks don’t come with a dust cover or boot from the factory, how critical is it to have one?

anyone have any negative experience due to not having one?

 

Not 100% necessary to have but could give you peace of mind having one and not hard to put on. There’s always potential for a rock/debris to make a chip in the shaft big enough to tear up the seals on the inside of the shock, but id say the likelihood of that happening is fairly slim. But like I said, they’re easy to put on and cheap so it’s up to you.

 

They are 20 bucks or so and worth their weight in gold. The main issue is the shaft taking gravel dings and then damaging the shock seals. And while the rears are not hard or expensive to replace why create an unneeded expense.

 

One of my rear shock (boot) covers has ripped at the top and is now exposing the shaft. Is there a replacement product that allows it to be put back on without un-bolting the stock?

Also, I'm pretty sure they all come with boot's, they just don't show it in the pictures?? I could be wrong though...

 

I don’t think so, but you don’t even need to jack up your truck to remove the shock. It’s just 2 bolts, takes maybe 5 min to get it off and slip on the new cover.

 

They don’t come with covers but you honestly don’t need them. Even the serious off-road ultra 4 trucks don’t run them. Maybe in snow states where seals and suspensions components rust due to salt but not for anything else.

 

saw these the other day, I wonder if they'd fit

https://accutuneoffroad.com/product...9-E20HL7qDsCRbAJm5rPSkc6WFH8KdMBoCLp4QAvD_BwE

 

Yea after I pulled my 5100, they were full or dirt on the inside the boot. They might do more harm than good. Or just not significant enough protection and why Bilstein doesn’t include them out of the factory

 

I had the same. The boot can trap dirt and make things worse

 

I mean if they make Fox and 5160 without it
then it’s probably for a reason

 

All , they are designed to not have one per Bilstein