Bilstein B8 shock Problems and no help - shock seized

[audis5Kam]

Hi guys

I have a 2013 audi s5 with bilstein b8 shocks paired with H&R OE springs. I had to take them out because one of my front shocks appears to be seized as it was riding really rough and it wont compress when you push on the car.

So I took it all out and found out the following.

Both rear shocks and one front shock will compress if I push on it, rebounds slowly back up.

One of the front shocks will no compress with my weight, if I force it down, it will compress maybe 1/4 inch but it rebounds right back. the only way to compress it is to put it on my 3 ton jack from the bottom, and the top of the shock against my wood shelving with around 800pounds of weight. I am then able to compress it but when I release it to go back down the jack blows out from the bottom as the shock rebounds like a sling shot. The rebound is crazy and there is a reason my my car would not move down when i push on it as it requires a lot of weight to move it even 1"

I ended up emailing bilstein and had technician respond by the name of Eduardo Lopez, pretty much his response is "it is an aftermarket shock that will provide a firmer ride when compared to oem shock therefore it has a higher rebound and compression ratio". I know that I have had bilstein shocks in all of my trucks and previous cars, no help at all even after advising the rest of the shocks can compress and the rebound is nice.

Can anyone please provide assistance on this and has anyone heard of this before? I am getting no where with Bilstein.

[hahnmgh63]

I'd Email or call again and if you get no help then ask for a supervisor. Tell them you are a longtime Biltstein customer and have used them in various applications and have compared that shock to its counterpart on the car and know it is definitely bad. Can you contact the business you purchased them through to see if they can help?

[audis5Kam]

I di demail them back explaining my situation again to see what they tihink. Not sure how the shock can be siezed but i did find on the forum on individual where this happened and it ended up causing significant damage to their car.

[hahnmgh63]

compression valving stuck/jammed somehow?

[audis5Kam]

something is wrong, can't compress the strut it is pretty much seized. Only way to compress it is with a lot of weight. My car with the seized strut sat higher than the rest of the car, it was horribe and I had to remove it as I didn't want it to cause any damage to the car.

Any others have heard of this?

[Spitfire007]

Usually you have to send the shock in to be evaluated before they send you a replacement.


Sent from my iPhone using Audizine