I should know better than to buy off E-Bay, but I did anyway. I bought a set of Bilstein shocks that the seller said would fit my 02 4x4 SCrew. I have since found out that the front shocks I received have numbers (F4-BE5 2489 HO)for fitment on regular and supercab 4x4s. Various websites list the correct shock for the front of my truck (F4-BE5-2574) as fitting SCrews and Expeditions. Would I still be able to use these shocks, or should I not chance it?

 

That's a toughy. I bought a set of Steins off of ebay for my 03 Screw. I thought that the ones for the SCab and Regular cab 4x4s were the same for the Screws on our year truck (97-03s). I could probably pull the invoice later tonoght and tell you what part #s I had.

But, I installed a set on a 2000 Scab 4x4 and on my now 03 Screw 4x4 and I thought I bought the exact same part # for both. I would give them a try, I think you'd be OK. The front shocks are a B*tch to put on though. The rubber bushing is almost too big and many guys have difficulty threading the nut on top once they are in. I threw my bushings in a vice to compress them the second time around it gave me just enough compression to get the nut to strt to thread...

So, if no one else chimes in and tells you for sure that they are the wrong shock and won't work, I think you could probably use what you have. Like I said though, the front are going to take some finessing.

Great shock BTW, I love them and highly recommend them. Good Luck, let us know how it goes.

 

Will they work?? Yes. Are they the correct shock?? No.

The 2574 IS the correct shock for the SuperCrew trucks. The 2489 is for all others as mentioned. There is a difference between the two shocks.

The torsion bars are different on our SuperCrews and the 2574 shock is valved different to accomodate. The valving is very very close though, only off by one size or part number (or what ever that system they use to label the specific valving) but it is different none the less. Bilstein also list the length of the shock as being different. I have no idea why as the length is not enough to make a difference, so I wouldn't sweat that part. I had the dimensions but can't find them now.

Would you ever notice the difference?? By all accounts, most likely no!! Not unless you compared both shocks back to back. For FYI, the shock you have in your posession now is valved with a little softer rebound than the correct SuperCrew shock...that may be a good thing for you but may offer a little less "control" of the bouncing action given the nature of our different torsion bars.

Just speaking for myself however...it would drive me completely bonkers thinking I had the wrong shock and I would literally have to fix it before I could sleep at night.

I do think it's an honest mistake by the seller...who would normally think the shocks between the two trucks would be completely different??

 

Great info Galaxy, I had no idea... Because he bought them on Ebay, you'd probably have to eat the shipping back to get the correct ones, unless the seller really prides himself on Customer Service. IMO, I'd just use what you have, but it's your call.

 

I appreciate the prompt resonses that I have received from several people regarding my Bilstein shocks. I have written to the supplier and await their response. Depending on the response, I may just install them on my truck. I just didn't want to install them and create problems. If the differences are miniscule, then I will probably go for it!

 

Just a word to the wise...

I just purchased my Bilsteins off eBay. Before I purchased, I went to several different websites that sold shocks to verify the exact Bilstein part # for my truck. Then I verified that the eBay store was selling this exact part # before I purchased it.

This way no screw-ups! Shocks are too heavy for me to want to ship back.

 

Paul, like I mentioned...if anything, the shock you have is going to be softer than the correct one. Heck, you may even preferr that. Since it's softer on the rebound side, that's where you'll get that one extra "bounce" after a bump or something. Odds are, unless you tried both back to back you probably wont even notice. I don't even notice if one valve size difference would be enough to notice even if you did try them back to back.

 

Thanks Galaxy for the information. I will go ahead and put the shocks on and not worry about it. I decided to buy them off Ebay in the first place because they seemed like a good deal on a quality shock. They are labeled "Roush Racing Blisteins HO", which may or may not be any different from just a plain Blistein, but the price was right-$170 shipped to my door. I guess time will tell if they were a good deal. Again, I appreciate the positive info.

 

$170 was a good price for all four shocks. The Roush Racing mumbo jumbo is just that....mumbo jumbo!!