quigley van shocks
- Thread starter marcus
- Start date
dsw4x4
Adventurer
I just replaced a front shock on my 2000 quigly if you call quigly with your vin they will tell you exactly what year shock fits your application and save you a lot of headaches at the parts counter. Ujoint is right though if you want to upgrade your ride do not go with a auto zone shock these vans are tall and heavy and a big quality shock should make a big difference in ride and handeling.
Derek
Derek
Maybe you guys can answer this question for me...
Boomer has an uncanny way of fading my front shocks (admittedly cheap-as-hell but brand new Rancho 5000's). Is this an isolated problem with my also admittedly crappy front suspension design, or do our 4x4 vans really require additional oil capacity (aka reservoir shocks) to prevent this issue entirely? I'm seriously considering some Bilstein 7100 Reservoir shocks when I re-do the front end of the van in the next couple years but want to make sure I'm not foolishly spending money (like this has ever really stopped me before...!) Thanks
Spence
Boomer has an uncanny way of fading my front shocks (admittedly cheap-as-hell but brand new Rancho 5000's). Is this an isolated problem with my also admittedly crappy front suspension design, or do our 4x4 vans really require additional oil capacity (aka reservoir shocks) to prevent this issue entirely? I'm seriously considering some Bilstein 7100 Reservoir shocks when I re-do the front end of the van in the next couple years but want to make sure I'm not foolishly spending money (like this has ever really stopped me before...!) Thanks
Spence
ntsqd
Heretic Car Camper
Your use may or may not warrant a reservoir shock. It is something that can't hurt to have (except in the wallet) if you didn't need it. I would never discourage someone from buying a monotube damper unless price was their primary consideration.
I have some old yellow Bils. 5100's (no res.) on the front of my '84 Toyota leaf sprung live axle Mini and in chasing desert racers I have to work pretty hard to fade them. I can do it, but I'm beating on the truck pretty hard.
The thing to consider in your case is that you're sitting right on the front axle, so ride quality problems are exacerbated. Add a heavy unsprung axle mass and it gets worse. Quality damping is called for. You may find that you'll need to change the valving, dunno. It's not that difficult to do, but with Bilsteins it does take a simple and not terribly spendy special tool. Chris has it called though, once you know what the extended and compressed lengths are call Shane. He is a pretty sharp guy and should be able to get you close if not spot-on with the damping.
I have some old yellow Bils. 5100's (no res.) on the front of my '84 Toyota leaf sprung live axle Mini and in chasing desert racers I have to work pretty hard to fade them. I can do it, but I'm beating on the truck pretty hard.
The thing to consider in your case is that you're sitting right on the front axle, so ride quality problems are exacerbated. Add a heavy unsprung axle mass and it gets worse. Quality damping is called for. You may find that you'll need to change the valving, dunno. It's not that difficult to do, but with Bilsteins it does take a simple and not terribly spendy special tool. Chris has it called though, once you know what the extended and compressed lengths are call Shane. He is a pretty sharp guy and should be able to get you close if not spot-on with the damping.
ujoint
Supporting Sponsor
You don't even have to measure, Shane knows what you need!
Res shocks on the vans can be tricky because of where the shock mounts (in the bucket) So pay close attention to the direction of the res hose, as well as the fittings for clearance. It's also tough to find a good spot for the res because the brake/ABS line is in the way. Anything is possible though!
I think they have a new 5100 series with res.... ask him about that.
Res shocks on the vans can be tricky because of where the shock mounts (in the bucket) So pay close attention to the direction of the res hose, as well as the fittings for clearance. It's also tough to find a good spot for the res because the brake/ABS line is in the way. Anything is possible though!
I think they have a new 5100 series with res.... ask him about that.
shawn_nj
Observer
New quigley e250 owner bumping old thread.
I recently bought a new 09 e250 extended quigley and I did not get the Bilstein shock option. I have put 1000 miles on it and 90% of the time driving its just fine. Problem is it does have a tendancy to bottom-out pretty badly every so often. Would installing a front/back set of Bilstein shocks help with ride comfort enough, to justify the cost of putting them on an essentially new van? Mad at myself for cheaping out when I bought it, as it would def have been cheaper to do it righ the first time. On a 1-10 scale with stock ride comfort being a 4, where does the Bilstein shocks get you too?
Just some background, mine is a bare cargo van that will never have alot of weight in it. It is basically a dirtbike, jetski hauler and will be left pretty light. As far as 4x4 use, I will never be putting it to hard use. Just needed it for beach driving, sandy boat ramps, and occasional dirt roads. Nothing intense. Just trying to get max highway comfort as its my daily driver, and so passangers can sleep REASONABLY comfortable on long trips. I know its a heavy cargo van and will not drive like a caddy.
Thank you for the input!
I recently bought a new 09 e250 extended quigley and I did not get the Bilstein shock option. I have put 1000 miles on it and 90% of the time driving its just fine. Problem is it does have a tendancy to bottom-out pretty badly every so often. Would installing a front/back set of Bilstein shocks help with ride comfort enough, to justify the cost of putting them on an essentially new van? Mad at myself for cheaping out when I bought it, as it would def have been cheaper to do it righ the first time. On a 1-10 scale with stock ride comfort being a 4, where does the Bilstein shocks get you too?
Just some background, mine is a bare cargo van that will never have alot of weight in it. It is basically a dirtbike, jetski hauler and will be left pretty light. As far as 4x4 use, I will never be putting it to hard use. Just needed it for beach driving, sandy boat ramps, and occasional dirt roads. Nothing intense. Just trying to get max highway comfort as its my daily driver, and so passangers can sleep REASONABLY comfortable on long trips. I know its a heavy cargo van and will not drive like a caddy.
Thank you for the input!
Last edited:
shawn_nj
Observer
UPDATE:
Spoke with both Shane and Quigley today.
Quigley gave me these part #'s
Rear - BE5E074HO
Front F4BE5C95HO
Quigley also suggested putting a lighter spring in, but warned bottoming out will get worse. I dont want that, so going to ignore lighter spring suggestion for now. May look into getting custom spring later. Quigley also warned that a heavier duty shock will be stiffer, and ride quaility could suffer.
Shane @ Bilstein gave me these shock part #'s.
BE56243H5 (5100 Series Front)
BE5E074H0
Shane said these should help ride quaility and "bump" control alot. Also will help with resisting bottoming out. Being shane works for the company that designed the shock (and manf quigley recommended), I am going to trust shanes judgement and go with his suggestion.
Will update once I get them delivered and installed.
Spoke with both Shane and Quigley today.
Quigley gave me these part #'s
Rear - BE5E074HO
Front F4BE5C95HO
Quigley also suggested putting a lighter spring in, but warned bottoming out will get worse. I dont want that, so going to ignore lighter spring suggestion for now. May look into getting custom spring later. Quigley also warned that a heavier duty shock will be stiffer, and ride quaility could suffer.
Shane @ Bilstein gave me these shock part #'s.
BE56243H5 (5100 Series Front)
BE5E074H0
Shane said these should help ride quaility and "bump" control alot. Also will help with resisting bottoming out. Being shane works for the company that designed the shock (and manf quigley recommended), I am going to trust shanes judgement and go with his suggestion.
Will update once I get them delivered and installed.
shawn_nj
Observer
There is not alot of info online (I have done a ton of searching) so I figured I would update this for anyone searching. First off do not order the part #'s Shane gave me!!!! Front does not fit. Was a slightly expensive lesson. So I went ahead and ordered the part #'s quigley gave me.
Being I had to wait to that the new fronts delivered, I went ahead and just had the rears installed. This was a NIGHT and DAY difference. Cut down on the low speed body wobble/shimmy simmy about 70%. Highway still has mild steering wheel shake (70% eliminated) But the STOCK quigley fronts were still too soft for taking ANY kind of offroading. Even mild unpaved parking lots without bottoming out anymore then 5mph. Still if you want highway comfort, this was a very smooth setup.
Then I ordered the correct bilstein front shock part #'s that quigley provided. This stopped low speed wobble completely and cut out 90-95% of highway speed steering shake. Completely fixed the high speed drifting if you hit bumps on the highway. I am very impressed. From a daily driver comfort point of view, it does ride a little rough (quigley warned me that it would, and its still 10x better then the stock shocks), so the gains FAR outweigh the cost. From a safety standpoint.... I cannot understand why these are not required for the quigley conversion, as they make the high speed bump handling 100000000x better. With the stockers I actually had the van drifting into the shoulder on a few occasions while doing 65mph on potholded strech of highway. So I HIGHLY recommend the Bilstein HD series parts below to any new quigley owner!!! These should be the first thing you do!
Quigley provided part #'s
Rear - BE5E074HO
Front F4BE5C95HO
These are Bilstein HD series shocks, and are Blue and Yellow colored. If anyone has figured out how you get a Bilstein 5150 (integrated res) or 7000 (external res) series to bolt up to a quigley, I am still very interested in seeing what comfort/offroad improvement is being left on the table.
Being I had to wait to that the new fronts delivered, I went ahead and just had the rears installed. This was a NIGHT and DAY difference. Cut down on the low speed body wobble/shimmy simmy about 70%. Highway still has mild steering wheel shake (70% eliminated) But the STOCK quigley fronts were still too soft for taking ANY kind of offroading. Even mild unpaved parking lots without bottoming out anymore then 5mph. Still if you want highway comfort, this was a very smooth setup.
Then I ordered the correct bilstein front shock part #'s that quigley provided. This stopped low speed wobble completely and cut out 90-95% of highway speed steering shake. Completely fixed the high speed drifting if you hit bumps on the highway. I am very impressed. From a daily driver comfort point of view, it does ride a little rough (quigley warned me that it would, and its still 10x better then the stock shocks), so the gains FAR outweigh the cost. From a safety standpoint.... I cannot understand why these are not required for the quigley conversion, as they make the high speed bump handling 100000000x better. With the stockers I actually had the van drifting into the shoulder on a few occasions while doing 65mph on potholded strech of highway. So I HIGHLY recommend the Bilstein HD series parts below to any new quigley owner!!! These should be the first thing you do!
Quigley provided part #'s
Rear - BE5E074HO
Front F4BE5C95HO
These are Bilstein HD series shocks, and are Blue and Yellow colored. If anyone has figured out how you get a Bilstein 5150 (integrated res) or 7000 (external res) series to bolt up to a quigley, I am still very interested in seeing what comfort/offroad improvement is being left on the table.
Last edited:
shawn_nj
Observer
The FRONT part #'s Quigley gave me are F250/F350 part numbers. The REAR is a E250/E350 part #. Bilstein does not make any 4wd van specific shocks that I know of.
ntsqd
Heretic Car Camper
I'd expect that the F series fronts will have valving that is closer to what is needed than will the generic 5150's or 7100's. Not to say that you couldn't tune the latter to have the ideal valving, but for an out of the box solution the F series are likely the best fit.
Were someone determined to fit 5150's or 7100's I'd call Shane and ask if they can be special ordered with the F series valving in place.
Were someone determined to fit 5150's or 7100's I'd call Shane and ask if they can be special ordered with the F series valving in place.
shawn_nj
Observer
Agreed about the Fseries shock being better out of the box. I am very surprised on the lack of info about others modifying there quigley suspension. They ride horrible stock, and for a few hundred on shocks it transforms the van.