AHC on the fritz. Which suspension should I choose?

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arbetrader

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This is on my brother's truck, not mine. He's got a 2000LX with approx. 150k miles.

His AHC light is flashing, it's riding in low, and nothing will make it go back up. Any ideas?

Anyway, I think it's on it's way out. So, for suspension options...

The idea is to keep the height (small baby in family) as close to stock as possible, a very slight lift (1-1.5") would be okay. Perhaps something a "little" more durable than factory toyota would be okay, but What would you recommend?

I was thinking he just rip out the AHC system, then crank TBars up front, and just replace with new springs in the rear. Which springs (OME) or any other brands gives a nice soft compliant ride, but perhaps with a very slight lift over stock? He will be running rear airbags for towing so a stiff suspension is NOT what his is looking for.

It seems like there's a larger selection for 80 series rear springs on their website. Are any of those springs interchangeable with the 100 series? Perhaps 862's?

Also, would he be needing front springs? I only see 1 option for those, and isn't that what the t-bars are for? Sorry for the lame question, but I'm not a mechanic...

Ideas?
 
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Because he has AHC right now he has different springs AND T bars than the normal toyota suspension...so you need to replace the t bars not just crank them up.

My land cruiser guy just gave me some LC springs and offered the t bars out of a truck he's put an OME lift in for free. You'd save a lot of money just going with the standard toyota suspension which is plenty "durable". If you wanted that slight lift you could crank the LC t bars and put a small spacer in the rear springs. You could choose your shocks to alter your ride to suit your needs

For your purposes this seems like the best and most cost effective way to go.
 
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I'd install a conventional LC setup. Much more reliable. There is a LX in Atlanta being parted out. If you want me to check the suspension for parts PM me with what you need. I'll be happy to pull/look at them for you
 
DallasCrzr said:
Because he has AHC right now he has different springs AND T bars than the normal toyota suspension...so you need to replace the t bars not just crank them up.

My land cruiser guy just gave me some LC shocks and offered the t bars out of a truck he's put an OME lift in for free. You'd save a lot of money just going with the standard toyota suspension which is plenty "durable". If you wanted that slight lift you could crank the LC t bars and put a small spacer in the rear springs. You could choose your shocks to alter your ride to suit your needs

For your purposes this seems like the best and most cost effective way to go.
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Thanks for the responses! Just to clarify, if his truck has different springs than a normal landcruiser setup because it has AHC, then how would a conventional toyota landcruiser setup work anyway? Sorry, maybe I didn't understand your answer properly.

Going factory may be a good option for him then. To confirm, can he just throw in regular landcruiser springs (from and non-AHC rig) and shocks and tbars?
 
arbetrader said:
Going factory may be a good option for him then. To confirm, can he just throw in regular landcruiser springs (from and non-AHC rig) and shocks and tbars?
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Right. Coils, TBs & shocks. Could also rip out some of the other ahc stuff like actuators, accumulator, reservoir, pump, valve body, etc, to make space for other gadgets.

Nother option is to fix the ahc set-up. Not rocket science. Just read the book (FSM) first.
 
Yeah ^

the lx has weaker (thinner) springs and t bars bc the hydraulic shocks hold some of the weight. So when you put the car in Lo it just releases pressure from the ahc shocks. So you can imagine the stock lx springs and t bars are not enough to hold the car like the regular LC ones are.

Since the lx shocks are not standard shocks they would need to be replaced as well no matter what spring and t bar route you went.

I recommended the LC setup since you might be able to find someone here lifting theor car to send them to you for the price of shipping. Make sure if you use used tbars they are marked Front rear left and right
 
What kind of cost to do ome coils, shocks, and tb's? I'm not familiar enough yet to look everything up.
 
2000UZJ said:
I'd install a conventional LC setup. Much more reliable. There is a LX in Atlanta being parted out. If you want me to check the suspension for parts PM me with what you need. I'll be happy to pull/look at them for you
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Wow, that would be great! First, I just need to find out exactly "what" is wrong with his AHC system. Any chance you know how many miles are on it? I'll PM you once I know what parts are needed and if he wants to stick with the AHC system. Cheers :)
 
arbetrader said:
Wow, that would be great! First, I just need to find out exactly "what" is wrong with his AHC system. Any chance you know how many miles are on it? I'll PM you once I know what parts are needed and if he wants to stick with the AHC system. Cheers :)
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2000 with 20K on it. Been sitting for 9 years. I'm going to see it today after work and will post up what I find.
 
dibs on the steering wheel! :idea:
 
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