HELP - Front Bilstein Install ?'s

[08Hemi]

Okay...dropped my rig off this morning to have the front Bilsteins installed. I just called over there and he said "it was a little more involved than I thought"...someone please tell me how hard it is to install front struts on an 08 WK. I need to have an understanding of how difficult it is so I will not get raped! Please tell me how much you paid for install, total time for install, and any troubles you are aware of...THANK YOU in advance for any assistance...FYI I am picking it up in an hour :confused:

[White WK Swagga]

I think that was a tactic to stall cause they're fawking off.

[Scottina06]

it is a biatch dude! They have to move the fuse boxes, coolant tank, remove the strut bar and remove the strut/springs all together. its a pretty good job. I was charged $50 for each side....so $100.

[LTrainGC]

I did it myself - and was a pain in the ass. In retrospect I would have gladly paid someone $100-$150 to do it for me.

[NHWK05]

Damn, round here i was told if i supplied the struts it would be about $3-400 to get it done.

[blackpepper]

Over in California where labor rates start at $85/hr it should cost you a little more than $200....

With that said, it is an involving job and it took my shop three hours on the dot to finish the job.

[08Hemi]

So they got it done....it was $300 and took a little over 3 hours. It is involved like posted (ie move fuse box, compress the spring for the strut etc) so I am fairly happy with the price since I did not know anyone at the shop, but now I do!

[Scottina06]

A lot of people dont realize that on things like this the dealer may be the best option because theyve more than likely done it before. Now i have no idea how much time is quoted for strut changes at the dealer....but that would be the most they would charge. My dealer charges me for actual time they work on my truck...not by the quoted time in their computer. keep that in mind when you have things done. call the dealer too. My dealer charged me $50 for each strut...but....a lot of dealers are different and try to rape their service csutomers. Anyway....I bet you live the new struts and shocks! i have the SRt Bilsteins and they are one of the best mods I have done. they completely transformed my jeep!

[08Hemi]

Called two dealers and they would not install a non OEM part...and i brought up the fact that Bilsteins are OEM on the SRT8, but they said we will not install anything other than what came from the factory on my WK...and the other dealer i spoke with wanted $300 so that is what I was going to cap my cost at! I agree the 25 miles I put on it after the install totally made me pat myself on the back for spending the $600 on the suspension parts :eek:

[Scottina06]

oh...was that for all four? If so that was pretty fair IMO

[08Hemi]

No I put the rears on myself...so it was a little pricey but like i said i had no clue who these guys were, nor did they know me...but we had a nice chat about my jeep and they were impressed with some of the stuff I did, so i will get a better rate next time (hopefully):confused:

[jeepaholic]

it is a biatch dude! They have to move the fuse boxes, coolant tank, remove the strut bar and remove the strut/springs all together. its a pretty good job. I was charged $50 for each side....so $100.Yeah but all that only takes like 5 minutes under the hood and maybe a half hour for everything else. 100 bucks is a fair price though. I did one set on mine so anyone can do it.

[UrBaNAcID]

yea i did it myself and it took me a little over 1 and a half hours on each side

[blackpepper]

^^^ Did you use a strut compressor?

[UrBaNAcID]

yea i have one at my shop. I've never dropped a suspension before so it was a learning experience for me. Its a family owned business, i tend to not get involved but now that i have my toy i spend most of my time there

[TimmyB]

So the people that did the fronts themselves, what did they use for a spring compressor? I bought a "clam shell" spring compressor, and the hook part on them are thick and will not fit between the coils of the eibach springs I have. The coils of the stock springs are set far enough apart for it to work though.

I did my research, and have the WK manual on disc so I know what is involved, as stated above moveing the coolant tank, fuse boxes etc.. I would only trust a jeep dealership doing it for me, or there is this one shop I stopped in because I see diff high end cars like bmws parked in front that are all lowered. I creamed my pants walking in there, he was working on an 06 Ferrari F430 Spider, that car is SICK!!!! Talk about having money to burn on toys, my god. Anyways, so yea I wouldnt trust just any shop to do this install properly.

All of the spring compressors i have found at stores like sears and even auto stores have the thick arms that do not look like they will fit between the eibach coils. The bottom 3 coils are wide enough but then they get tight towards the top. Im thinking my best bet is to find just a basic shop that has the correct spring compressor, take the struts off myself and drop them off to be switched. unless anyone knows of a spring compressor i can purchase for the job?

[TimmyB]

yea i have one at my shop. I've never dropped a suspension before so it was a learning experience for me. Its a family owned business, i tend to not get involved but now that i have my toy i spend most of my time there


Really, your not in line to take over the shop later on? I'd love it if my father owned a shop, i'd be there everyday till its in my name, then hire people to run it while I screw off collecting all the money. lol. Your very lucky, I wish I had access to a shop and all the goodies in it. I'd have the sickest car around with all the crap I would do to it.

[UrBaNAcID]

Really, your not in line to take over the shop later on? I'd love it if my father owned a shop, i'd be there everyday till its in my name, then hire people to run it while I screw off collecting all the money. lol. Your very lucky, I wish I had access to a shop and all the goodies in it. I'd have the sickest car around with all the crap I would do to it. No, it's not really my niche and he knows it. It is very convenient that i can go work on my Jeep whenever the mod bug bites. But i have other plans. DOD ftw :D

[Scottina06]

Timmy-did you look into borrowning a spring compressor from like Advanced auto or autozone?(or whatever auto parts stores are in your area?

They charge a deposit...and when you return the tool...you get the deposit back