Bilstein B16 top shock nut size?

[Ape Factory]

Anyone have a clue what the size and thread pitch is on the Bilstein shock for the B16 kit? This is the very top nut that secures the shock body to the top mount. It's a one-time use nylon lock nut of unknown dimensions. I called Bilstein US and they didn't know what it was. Frustrating. Really need this in advance so I have the parts ready to go and don't have to make a separate trip to locate an appropriately sized nut.

Thanks in advance!

[Surfer8210]

I guess I’ll have this same issue as I bought a pre-owned set of B16’s.


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[Ape Factory]

When are you supposed to get them? It’ll be a bit easier for you as you can just take the nut to NAPA or a place like Ace Hardware or Fastenil and find a match. Mine’s still on the car unfortunately. I’ll be creating a new thread with part numbers to the myriad of stretch bolts and nuts that need replacing when swapping in coil overs.

[Surfer8210]

I’ve had mine for a month sitting in a box.
Just waiting for this weather to have them installed.
I’m gonna inventory everything in the box tomorrow. If that can help you in any way let me know.


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[Ape Factory]

If there's any way you can tell me what the strut nut size is, that's all I'm looking for. Need to know the size and the thread pitch. You can go to Lowe's or Home Depot or the like and they have boards with multiple bolts so you can figure out nut sizes. I've circled it in red in this ECS diagram.


Another photo, the nut is circled.

[Surfer8210]

Okay, I’ll get back to you with the info tomorrow.


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[Ape Factory]

You rock.

[JamesRS5]

https://www.ecstuning.com/News/Schwa...22mm_24mm_Kit/

This is the kit I have which has the cut out for the hex key in the strut piston. Worth the investment to make life easy for yourself.

[Ape Factory]

I saw those! Once I figure out the size of the nut, I'll probably just buy the right size. Right now I have about $60 worth of nuts and bolts in my "cart" on the ECS website. So you spend $30 each on the top strut mounts and then another $100 on parts to put them in, LOL.

[Jrac743]

I did my struts in the fall and used a set of pass through sockets from sears and a long hex head socket. Worked like a charm. I feel it was 18 or 19mm


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[Ape Factory]

How did you torque them to spec that way? Did you have a pass-through torque wrench?

[The Flash]

The stock strut is a 12 mm x 1.5 thread pitch its the same on the bilstein.
when i installed my billstein struts (Not Coilovers) a couple of days ago one of the nuts was missing so i just reused the factory one.
take the strut to home depot or lowes the they have a board where you can see the different thread sizes you can use that for help

[Ape Factory]

The B16 nuts are most likely not the same as the Audi strut nut or the Bilstein insert strut nut which are designed to work with the stock hardware/spring, etc... I'd do what you're suggesting but I may be installing these when I do not have access to a second car and I'd rather have the correct parts prior to disassembly. I like to do things all at once as there's less chance you make a mistake or forget something! Worst case scenario, I get there and they're out of the nut I need. I always try to plan for the worst and hope for the best!

[Surfer8210]

The B16 nuts are most likely not the same as the Audi strut nut or the Bilstein insert strut nut which are designed to work with the stock hardware/spring, etc... I'd do what you're suggesting but I may be installing these when I do not have access to a second car and I'd rather have the correct parts prior to disassembly. I like to do things all at once as there's less chance you make a mistake or forget something! Worst case scenario, I get there and they're out of the nut I need. I always try to plan for the worst and hope for the best!

I didn’t do the measurements today because I assumed that the previous post would have been sufficient.
I’ll get to it.


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[Ape Factory]

No worries at all...I know we all have things to do :) But I do greatly appreciate your time!

[Jrac743]

I didn’t torque it to a specific number I just did it tight but not tight where anything would strip. It’s been 9 months and no creaks or pops. Rides better than oem


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[Ape Factory]

Surfer, you're off the hook. Bilstein Germany finally got back to me.

The Bilstein strut nut is sized M12x1.25. Bilstein part number 2517630. Obviously you can pretty much get any grade 8 lock nut of that dimension and it'll work. You can also use two reusable, non-locking nuts if you're servicing the car often (like on a race weekend) and removing the top nut.

[Surfer8210]

Surfer, you're off the hook. Bilstein Germany finally got back to me.

The Bilstein strut nut is sized M12x1.25. Bilstein part number 2517630. Obviously you can pretty much get any grade 8 lock nut of that dimension and it'll work. You can also use two reusable, non-locking nuts if you're servicing the car often (like on a race weekend) and removing the top nut.

Thank goodness, I felt guilty for not getting back to you sooner.


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[Ape Factory]

No worries at all, I just appreciate the offer!

The rear nut size is an M10-8 nylox nut.

I ended up ordering 10 from Amazon for $7.50 shipped. The U.S tech for Bilstein did give me a link to a shop where you can purchase just one: https://www.bavauto.com/catalog/prod...iABEgKLvfD_BwE

[Ape Factory]

I thought I'd provide a breakdown of the costs associated with removing the two front strut assemblies. This could be applied to those wanting to do a coil-over swap themselves. If you already have all the necessary tools, you can disregard those costs. I ordered everything through ECS Tuning.

TOOLS
Strut Nut Socket - 19mm
ES#: 2652177
(1)$14.95

Ball Joint Separator 12-56mm
ES#: 2795140
(1)$36.95

Strut Spreader Bit
ES#: 2826524
(1)$13.15

NUTS AND BOLTS
Self-Locking Nut - Priced Each
ES#: 5835
(2) $1.38ea. $2.76 Total

Hex Bolt - Priced Each
ES#: 8526
(2) $3.40ea. $6.80 Total

Self-Locking Hex Nut - Priced Each
ES#: 10150
(2) $2.20ea. $4.40 Total

Hex Bolt - Priced Each
ES#: 468842
(2)$2.60ea. $5.20 Total

Hex Bolt - Priced Each
ES#: 472051
(8) $2.80ea. $22.40 Total

Self-Locking Hex Nut - Priced Each
ES#: 1926017
(2) $3.60ea. $7.20 Total

12 Point Shouldered Nut - Priced Each
ES#: 473178
(2) $6.60ea. $13.20 Total

Hex Bolt - Priced Each (This is actually a subframe bolt so don't include)
ES#: 2707374
(1) $12.73

Upper Control Arm Bolt - Priced Each
ES#: 3031020
(2) $5.20ea. $10.40 Total

Sub Total: $150.14
Shipping - Ground: $17.06
TOTAL: $167.20

ECS didn't have an M12x1.25" nylox nut so I had to order those through Amazon. Unfortunately they came in a quantity of 10. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Those are $7.93 These nuts take a 19mm socket so I ordered the 19mm version of the ECS strut socket as suggested by James.

So all told, to replace the two top front strut mounts, it'll cost me $162.40 just in parts, not including the $60 for the actual mounts. Now...theoretically I may not have to replace every nut and bolt if I'm able to get the entire assembly out without removing the lower fork bracket or lower control arm. As I said earlier, plan for the worst and hope for the best. As long as we're speaking theoretically, one could reuse the stretch bolts and blue loctite all of them. I wound't recommend it. There's always the cheap way to do things and then there's the way to do it right.

I will not have to remove the two upper control arm bolts or their nuts. Those'll stay installed. Doesn't look like I'll need to have an alignment done either as long as I keep my adjustable upper arms locked down.

In addition to the above cost, I bought two RaceRamps 8" wheel cribs for $100. These are essentially two "blocks" that the front tires rest on. They provide 8" of clearance below the wheels themselves. This is essential to adjust the end links and torque down any bolts going through a rubber bushing (lower control arm to strut fork bracket in this case). You can get actual ramps that provide about 5" of clearance but I wanted to make sure I had enough room to get in there since the car is lowered.
Here's a link to the RaceRamps wheel cribs on eBay. This is the lowest price I found with shipping included: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Race-Ramps-...72.m2749.l2649

I haven't figured out the cost (or the parts) for the rear suspension just yet.

[wkhanna]

the detail & accuracy of your info is greatly appreciated!
thanks for taking the time to do this

[Surfer8210]

the detail & accuracy of your info is greatly appreciated!
thanks for taking the time to do this

Agreed 1,000%...!


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[Ape Factory]

It was such a pain to look everything up, I felt I had to do it and put the info out there for others. I also suggested to ECS that they put together a "kit" of all the nuts/bolts for front strut replacement as well as rear shock replacement. Hopefully that'll happen in the near future.

But I appreciate the thank you!

[Ape Factory]

One more tidbit for us Bilstein B16 coil-over owners...if you've lost your wrenches, you can order new ones through ECS and Turner Motorsports (and assuming others). It's Bilstein part number 4-XS1-Z001A00. Tip came from another forum member named russianaudichick.

The Bilstein uses a pin-type spanner wrench with a small pin on the tip that slots into a hole on the adjustable spring perch. Most others use a notched setup. https://www.ecstuning.com/b-bilstein...xs1-z001a00~b/

[Ape Factory]

More Bilstein PSS10 information. I'm debating swapping in new dampers in the not too distant future since I'm at 50K on mine. They've been feeling a bit soft to me as of late so I dialed them up to 9 front and rear and liking them on that setting. I remember thinking 5 was firm not too long ago. Instead of pulling out the currently installed dampers for a rebuild, I may just purchase another set. I confirmed with Bilstein they are available separately. It's listed on Bilstein's site but posting here for future reference.

F4-VM3-E724-H0 - front

F4-BM5-E725-H0 – rear

They mentioned Tire Rack, ECS tuning, Summit Racing, World Pac, SSF as being possible places which may have individual dampers in stock. They're out at the HQ.

Once I have the old out, I may choose to rebuild them and have them custom valved to the RS5 instead of the one-size fits all valving for the A5/S5/RS5. If anything, I'd like to make some changes in the front dampers.