Rebuilding JBA Adjust a Struts - part numbers

[lfhoward]

A number of folks (like me) are running Jeepin By Al’s adjust a strut lift kits. JBA stopped supporting or making these a few years ago. The question periodically comes up, what happens if I need to repair one of the units?

The coilover shock itself is a Bilstein. A member over on Jeep Forum dug up some old pictures that had the part number of the threaded shock, which is F4-B46-0204-HO. Several places online carry this one. (Note, this part number is for the basic shock without “total control” valves or external reservoirs.)

Here is a link to the JF thread that has the info. I am posting this for my future self, as well as anyone else who eventually needs to replace the shocks in their Adjust a Strut kits. I have more than 130,000 miles on mine so far, and so far so good.

Adjust a Strut Jeepin By Al REBUILD

www.jeepforum.com

For the coilover spring part number, this appears to be an Eibach FSCO-250-1000-G, according to a thread on Nitroforumz. Amazon has these in stock as of this writing. Here is the Nitroforumz thread where I found this info.

JBA Coil-Over shock

www.nitroforumz.com

Now if anyone can find a part number for JBA’s 4” lifted rear springs, that would rock. There may have been different part numbers for the KK and KJ 4” springs. I know mine will not last forever with how much I tow my trailer, and I’d rather not have to combine OME 2.5” lift springs with spacers.

Please post any other JBA lift kit-related part numbers in this thread so we can keep our JBA-lifted Jeeps going. Cheers,

Lauren

 

[duderz7]

Almost enough ro peice a set together, would need the clevis and top mount. Which I'm sure someone could make.

 

[lfhoward]

Almost enough ro peice a set together, would need the clevis and top mount. Which I'm sure someone could make.

Who here has the fabrication skills?
Grab some junkyard parts to experiment with.

 

[duderz7]

I've got the skills, what I don't have is access to the equipment to exercise said skills. Maybe someday.

 

[Johnny O]

Who here has the fabrication skills?
Grab some junkyard parts to experiment with.

I know a fab guy in Arizona that does custom stuff. Mostly leveling lifts for VW busses these days, but if you have dimensions/plans/blueprints he can make them.

 

[tommudd]

Been down this road before
not getting involved and losing my a$$ again on projects like this
Good luck guys

 

[lfhoward]

LOL, not planning any kind of project. Just thinking how a comparable unit could be made from these parts plus a KK or KJ clevis & top plate, if someone with welding skills wanted to give it a try. I started this thread thinking only of refurbishing existing JBA units when the springs or shocks needed replacing.

 

[duderz7]

If I did anything with this information it would only be for myself. There's probably a reason Jba quit making them...something to do with profit.

 

[2TALL1]

Looks like another attempt at finding the ever elusive 4" rear spring part number. LOL
If someone has a set I'd just like the specs off them so I could find something close.

 

[lfhoward]

^^^ X2

Bumping this thread.

 

[lfhoward]

Found the 4” REAR Bilstein shock part number that matches JBA’s back in the day:

Bilstein B8 5100 Series Shocks F4-BE5-6248-H5​

This shock has been superseded by a new model with the same specs:

Bilstein B8 5125 Series Shocks 33-185552​

From what I’ve found, JBA’s internal part numbers for their rear springs were RCS (6, 4, 250 for corresponding lift heights). RCS is a company called Renton Coil Springs, which makes custom springs for all sorts of applications.

RCS HOME

Renton Coil Spring Co. is a world-class spring manufacturer for the aerospace, military, commercial, and motorsports markets.

www.rentoncoilspring.com

Their automotive spring catalog is here, although I don’t know which one corresponds to what JBA used:

https://www.rentoncoilspring.com/assets/files/2023-AUTO-WEB-CATALOG.pdf

 

[lfhoward]

I will have to measure the dimensions of my springs sometime, both diameter and height and the number of coils. The measured height will surely be an underestimate considering these are 12 years old and I tow a trailer with them. I also don’t know the weight rating, but we can estimate that by looking up the weight rating of OME HD rear lifted springs. With that info and the RCS catalog, we can probably come close to finding springs similar to what JBA used for their 4” lift.

 

[lfhoward]

Well here we go. After 12 years and 160,000 miles, I lost a Bilstein shock. Shocking!!!

You must be registered for see images attach

This probably happened because of the rough forest roads I drove in West Virginia last week while on vacation. The passengers side coilover is dripping pretty badly.

You must be registered for see images attach

I contacted Marlin at JBA, to see if he had any guidance since JBA doesn’t sell lift kits any longer. He wrote me back within the hour with the part number! It was the same as we found above, but it is good to have confirmation.

F4-B46-0204-H0 5" travel coilover with no lower rod end or jamnut because JBA used a custom made KJ or KK clevis.

Thank you Marlin! I have always loved JBA’s customer service.

The problem now is that these shocks are on national backorder, so no new ones currently exist. However, they can be rebuilt. The ones with the remote reservoirs can be rebuilt in the home garage with the right tools, but mine are “factory rebuildable” and do not have the remote reservoirs. Marlin suggested I call Bilstein and send them in for service. Normally this would be a good option but I am in Michigan visiting the in-laws, 600 miles from home, and I need my Jeep up and running! I am looking around for a shop that rebuilds Bilsteins and have a few leads. I will have to wait and see on Monday if I have any luck there.

Note to anyone wondering why I don’t just get a different shock: these are JBA coilovers that are specially made for the KK. The shocks have threaded tubes to allow the ride height be be adjusted, and the shocks are part of the suspension geometry. I need an exact replacement, or better yet, just fix the ones I have. The ride quality is amazing, and I wouldn’t want to go back to the stock setup or even OME if I can keep these going.

 

[Johnny O]

deleted out if respect for proprietary IP info

 

[lfhoward]

Still trying to find a way to get these Bilsteins rebuilt. I have a bunch of emails and voicemails that I'm waiting for responses on, including with Bilstein the company.

Because my model of Bilsteins are out of stock nationally, and there doesn't seem to be an easy option to rebuild the ones I have, I am beginning to look at other brands, like Fox shocks. They make some nice coilovers as well.

Edit: made some headway talking with Bilstein customer service. I will know more tomorrow.

 

[lfhoward]

Here is what I found out in my research the last few days, and calling and talking to many places, including Bilstein corporate.

Bilstein used to rebuild their own shocks up until the pandemic. After that, they began outsourcing that service to a few trusted shops. These include:
Downsouth Motorsports (San Diego) https://www.downsouthmotorsports.com/shock-services/
Performance Shock (Sonoma) https://www.performanceshock.com/bilstein-service/
Wheel Every Weekend (El Cajon) https://www.wheeleveryweekend.com/pages/shock-rebuilds
Delta Vee Motorsports (Kalamazoo) https://deltavee.net/services/

The process is to ship your coilovers to the company doing shock service, and they will rebuild it and send it back to you. The time this takes to rebuild it depends on a lot of factors, and can take between 2 and 16 weeks, based on what I was quoted by different companies. [My daily driver is going to be out of commission for a while. It is good that Philly has good public transit that I can use to get to work.]

The cost of rebuilding coilovers is also not trivial. This cost ranged from about $219 to $330 but the $219 quickly adds on and $330-340 is about what you can expect to pay per shock of this type.

The other option is buying new coilovers. The same model of Bilstein coilover is priced at $245 or so at multiple shock outlets online, but this model is unavailable nationwide until at least Sept 5, but that date may not be hard and fast. If I waited and they were not available my Jeep would be out of commission much longer.

One other consideration of buying new is that my coilovers were custom valved for the KK 4” lift kit for JBA, while an off the shelf unit would not be. I want to keep the ride and handling characteristics I have rather than cross my fingers that the generic version would be as good.

There are other good coilovers out there like those made by Fox or King, but I don’t know if those units would be plug and play with the custom JBA KK clevis.

Instead of taking the chance that new Bilstein coilovers would become available in a month, and that they would have similar on-road and off-road characteristics, I am sending my old ones to San Diego to be rebuilt. I zapped the shock bolts with AeroKroil today and will hopefully remove the coilovers tomorrow for shipping.

 

[DadOSix]

Here is what I found out in my research the last few days, and calling and talking to many places, including Bilstein corporate.

Bilstein used to rebuild their own shocks up until the pandemic. After that, they began outsourcing that service to a few trusted shops. These include:
Downsouth Motorsports (San Diego) https://www.downsouthmotorsports.com/shock-services/
Performance Shock (Sonoma) https://www.performanceshock.com/bilstein-service/
Delta Vee Motorsports (Kalamazoo) https://deltavee.net/services/

The process is to ship your coilovers to the company doing shock service, and they will rebuild it and send it back to you. The time this takes to rebuild it depends on a lot of factors, and can take between 2 and 16 weeks, based on what I was quoted by different companies. [My daily driver is going to be out of commission for a while. It is good that Philly has good public transit that I can use to get to work.]

The cost of rebuilding coilovers is also not trivial. This cost ranged from about $219 to $330 but the $219 quickly adds on and $330-340 is about what you can expect to pay per shock of this type.

The other option is buying new coilovers. The same model of Bilstein coilover is priced at $245 or so at multiple shock outlets online, but this model is unavailable nationwide until at least Sept 5, but that date may not be hard and fast. If I waited and they were not available my Jeep would be out of commission much longer.

One other consideration of buying new is that my coilovers were custom valved for the KK 4” lift kit for JBA, while an off the shelf unit would not be. I want to keep the ride and handling characteristics I have rather than cross my fingers that the generic version would be as good.

There are other good coilovers out there like those made by Fox or King, but I don’t know if those units would be plug and play with the custom JBA KK clevis.

Instead of taking the chance that new Bilstein coilovers would become available in a month, and that they would have similar on-road and off-road characteristics, I am sending my old ones to San Diego to be rebuilt. I zapped the shock bolts with AeroKroil today and will hopefully remove the coilovers tomorrow for shipping.

Crazy !

how does one of these units get rebuilt?

is it something a hydraulic shop could handle? Just seals and o-rings?

 

[lfhoward]

Crazy !

how does one of these units get rebuilt?

is it something a hydraulic shop could handle? Just seals and o-rings?

It’s a pretty involved process. This article from off-road magazine explains how they rebuild the Bilstein M 7100, which is the same model I have in coilover form.

http://www.off-road.com/aimages/articlestandard/trucks4x4/182010/667020/bilstein-7100-rebuild.htm

In my case they will also have to drill and tap my shocks and add a schrader valve so they can refill them with Nitrogen. My shocks did not have this feature initially, but it will make for an easier and cheaper rebuild in 10 more years, LOL.

 

[DadOSix]

It’s a pretty involved process. This article from off-road magazine explains how they rebuild the Bilstein M 7100, which is the same model I have in coilover form.

http://www.off-road.com/aimages/articlestandard/trucks4x4/182010/667020/bilstein-7100-rebuild.htm

In my case they will also have to drill and tap my shocks and add a schrader valve so they can refill them with Nitrogen. My shocks did not have this feature initially, but it will make for an easier and cheaper rebuild in 10 more years, LOL.

Thanks! I will check out that link. I always thought shocks were sealed. Cool stuff.

 

[Johnny O]

Here is what I found out in my research the last few days, and calling and talking to many places, including Bilstein corporate.

Bilstein used to rebuild their own shocks up until the pandemic. After that, they began outsourcing that service to a few trusted shops. These include:
Downsouth Motorsports (San Diego) https://www.downsouthmotorsports.com/shock-services/
Performance Shock (Sonoma) https://www.performanceshock.com/bilstein-service/
Delta Vee Motorsports (Kalamazoo) https://deltavee.net/services/

The process is to ship your coilovers to the company doing shock service, and they will rebuild it and send it back to you. The time this takes to rebuild it depends on a lot of factors, and can take between 2 and 16 weeks, based on what I was quoted by different companies. [My daily driver is going to be out of commission for a while. It is good that Philly has good public transit that I can use to get to work.]

The cost of rebuilding coilovers is also not trivial. This cost ranged from about $219 to $330 but the $219 quickly adds on and $330-340 is about what you can expect to pay per shock of this type.

The other option is buying new coilovers. The same model of Bilstein coilover is priced at $245 or so at multiple shock outlets online, but this model is unavailable nationwide until at least Sept 5, but that date may not be hard and fast. If I waited and they were not available my Jeep would be out of commission much longer.

One other consideration of buying new is that my coilovers were custom valved for the KK 4” lift kit for JBA, while an off the shelf unit would not be. I want to keep the ride and handling characteristics I have rather than cross my fingers that the generic version would be as good.

There are other good coilovers out there like those made by Fox or King, but I don’t know if those units would be plug and play with the custom JBA KK clevis.

Instead of taking the chance that new Bilstein coilovers would become available in a month, and that they would have similar on-road and off-road characteristics, I am sending my old ones to San Diego to be rebuilt. I zapped the shock bolts with AeroKroil today and will hopefully remove the coilovers tomorrow for shipping.

hurrah for Kroil!