rear OEM bump stop with the rear Bilstein Prokit strut?

Do I use the rear OEM bump stop with the rear Bilstein b12 Prokit struts? The instructions are barebones.

I know the front Bilstein struts have internals bump stops. Not sure about the rear.

 

I realized that yes, unlike the front struts which have an internal bump stop and a piston much larger/thicker than the OEM struts (making reuse of the OEM bump stops impossible), the rear struts do allow you to use the OWM bump stop and cover.

The instructions are a joke. 12 pages of nothing then 2 paragraphs of instructions and some bizarre drawings of different strut types none of which correspond with the Bilsteins I purchased. I thought KW instructions were bad...

Its been 10 years with KW V3. Ive had the rear V3s struts rebuilt 2x already. I was able to compress them very easily compared to the Bilstein's. Clearly they are worn out again.

 

I'm currently on Koni Actives on OEM springs, I'm moving to B8s on Swift Spec R springs. Currently on the Konis I'm using the OEM bumpstops. When I switch I'll use the rear OEMs and trim them as I mentioned. Fronts already have bumpstops built in as you mentioned.

 

I didnt understand how the hell they intend for you to hold on to the rear center section as you tighten the strut to the aluminum top hat/mount. Or maybe you dont need to keep it from spinning?

Simple adjustable wrench was best I could figure and I have a lot of automotive tools.

 

What's there? Flats? My Konis have a spot for an Allen wrench.

 

Isn't it a nylon nut? You don't need to crank the hell out of those. Pretty sure when I did mine I just hit it with a socket and held the shaft with my hand and was able to bottomed it out

 

I've got a Nylock nut there and yes it's just needs to bottom out like you said EB doesn't need to be super tight.

 

Its a tiny little nub with 2 fats. Its very hard to hold while tightening because its so small.

A socket will not go on it.

A vice was likely the best option but I didnt think of that at the time. I just used the plumbers wrench.

 

So what did you end up doing about the bumpstop / dust shield situation?

 

I used the OEM bump stops and dust shields but didn't trim. That's what Bilstein intends... As I understand it

I realized that I didn't install the little hockey puck from the OEM rear struts onto the Bilstein piston. I assume they are intended to prevent the bump stops from pushing into the piston seal.

The kw v3 came with their own pucks.

Here is the front puck from the Koni....dont know if it is OEM or Koni.

 

Those pucks are usually used to prevent bumpstop bind when the suspension compresses. If Bilstein didn't include them, don't worry about it.

 

Bilstein didnt include anything other than the struts and spring. Ya need to move everything over.