Things learned with the ongoing saga of purchasing Bilstein "L Spec" shocks for my HD truck...
As recommended I chose the Bilstein Sport. These are the shocks that everyone suggested for the HD.
4600 Series Sport
Part Number: 24-187442 Front
Part Number: 24-187459 Rear
I originally started out with try to order from http://www.shockwarehouse.com/index....cted_year=2003
This turned out to be a huge mistake! I called 'em and asked 'em if they had 'em in stock.
They said yes, we have about 14 of the 24-187442 and about 8 of the 24-187459.
They are about an hour south of me so I took a ride expecting to purchase the shocks.
I got there and they didn't have them! They had two 24-187442 Front & one 24-187459 Rear.
What the hell am I going to do with only THREE shocks???
First off, I must say that the place was a nasty hole in the wall. The office had not been cleaned in years!
Second, it was full of folks that appeared to me to be completely clueless. Yes, they had shocks on a rack.
They said pay us for the shocks. The truck is arriving tomorrow and we'll ship 'em to you when they arrive.
After looking at the place, I said, call me when they arrive and I'll come down, get 'em & then pay for 'em.
It has been a week and I call 'em everyday, and everyday I get the same "the truck is arriving tomorrow".
I found this if anyone's interested. http://www.bbb.org/south-east-florid...070/complaints So today I gave up.
I started looking up folks in my area local (not 1 hour away) that carried Bilstein shocks. Here's what I found.
4 Wheel Parts http://www.4wheelparts.com/Lift-Kits...ptID=3306&pg=2 The shocks are listed on their website.
I called & the 4WP service folks were GREAT! (although they tried to steer me towards the Bilstein 5100 series).
They also stated that they install install the shocks too. The cost is $30+ each so that's about $125 plus change.
They told me they have the 24-187442 Fronts in stock but do not have the 24-187459 in any of their 80 stores!
Did I mention they are cheaper too! Anyway, while I was on-the-line they called Bilstein to see if they had any.
He came back & stated to me that Bilstein is also out, but they will be manufacturing them again in November.
November??? This is August!
Ok, I said I would see what I could find. Summit has 'em http://www.summitracing.com/parts/bsn-24-187459
They were $10+ more, but they had 'em in stock & they'd ship out FREE today. I should have 'em in 3-5 days.
OK, now back to 4 Wheel Parts...
The good news is that 4 Wheel Parts said they'd install 'em "even though you didn't purchase them from us".
A lot of shops around here are funny about that. They will only install a part if you purchased it from them.
Anyway, this is what I had to do to purchase the two front 24-187442 and two rear 24-187459. Your results may vary.
How have your results been with these two companies? For me, so far so good but I don't have the shocks in hand yet.